Saturday, May 29, 2010

Crossing the Stormy Sea

Joseph Herrin (05-29-2010)


























Luke 8:22-23
Now it came about on one of those days, that He and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended upon the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

I know Christians who hold to a belief that if they are walking in the will of God they will always have smooth sailing. They declare that sickness, financial need, calamities and unexpected difficulties, are always the result of disobedience, or Satanic attack, but are never the will of the Father. Some immediately change course when they see storm clouds gather. Trials, however, are the regular portion of those who follow Christ faithfully.

In the Scripture above it is plain to see that the disciples did not launch out to cross the sea on their own initiative. They were not out of the will of their Lord. Yahshua told them to get in the boat and cross to the other side. Christ then fell asleep and, as the disciples had no other directions from Him, when they saw stormy seas ahead they knew they must continue on their course. After a while things became desperate. Yet there was great reason to be at peace. Christ was in the boat with them.

Luke 8:24-25
And they came to Him and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"

This was not a lone incident. We read of another occasion when Christ sent His disciples across the lake and a storm arose to resist them.

Matthew 14:22-24
And immediately He made the disciples get into the boat, and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already many stadia away from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

Once more we see the disciples following Christ’s instructions and encountering fierce opposition. This time Christ was not in the boat with them, but neither was He far away.

Matthew 14:25-28
And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Yahshua spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Who is this One whom the wind and the waves obey? Who is this One who walks upon a stormy sea, making it bear Him willingly as if it were the ground of a quiet park? He is the same One who is with His disciples today. He is the Son of God, and He is always near.

The rest of this story is well known. Peter responds to Christ saying, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waves.” Christ replied, “Come.” Peter then got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, but taking his eyes off of Yahshua and looking to the wind and the waves, he began to sink in doubt and fear.

Matthew 14:30-31
But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Yahshua stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"


























For many years I have found these two stories to be a great comfort. I have often found Christ directing me to go here, or go there, only to be met with trials, sickness, financial distresses, or unexpected difficulties. Satan would come to torment me, suggesting I must be out of the will of God. He would tell me to turn around and give up. Oftentimes I have heard the adversary’s voice whispering to me that life would be much easier if I returned to work as a computer professional, had a regular salary, acquired a home, and pursued a much more secure life.

There was a time when my Lord was content to permit me to live such a life. He even led me to a job in the computer field. He taught me many valuable lessons while there. But like a child progressing through the grades at school, there came a time when I had to graduate from the elementary things and go on to more difficult lessons. In 1999 the Father instructed me to launch out into the deep, leaving the safety of the shore behind.

The path to maturity in Christ is one where the disciple must be willing to embrace vulnerability. The Spirit of Christ will lead the saint to venture forth into circumstances where they are in a position of much weakness. At such times the saint must find their strength in Christ.

II Corinthians 12:9-10
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

We will never learn the strength of Christ; we will fail to reckon on His abiding presence with us, if we are always walking through this world in a position of strength. If we have a steady job, money in the bank, good health, a comfortable home, and an expectation that tomorrow will be much like today, then we are prone to lean upon our own strength. Our security insulates us from a close dependence and reliance upon Christ.

I have found that when I am walking in vulnerability I am much more careful to discern the will of Christ in all things. When I feel secure, settled in a place with money in my pocket, I am more prone to spend money without careful inquiry as to the will of Christ, and make decisions without appropriate consideration of the will of God. However, when I am daily cast into a dependent state upon Him, trusting Him to provide food, shelter and the daily needs of life, I am encouraged to consider all that I do lest I get out of His will.

As Randy and I have been on this trip we have known numerous trials. There is no doubt that Christ told us to get in the boat and go to the other side. We dare not turn back. We must confront the storms, and look to the Son of God to deliver us in our need. I will share a recent series of events with you.

I wrote in a recent post about our departure from Columbia, MO. We had gone about 40 miles down the road when Randy had a rear tire blow out on his van. It took us several hours to get it repaired, at which time Randy also discovered that his gas tank was leaking.

The next day we camped at Longview Lake Campground in Western Missouri. Randy was led to get one more tire replaced, and to find the part he needed for his gas tank to fix the leak. I got on Google and found a local Walmart and a repair shop who said they could fix the gas leak. I printed out maps for Randy using the address of the campground supplied on their letterhead, and the addresses of the other businesses. With maps in hand, Randy set out.

It didn’t take long for Randy to call me back and say that the directions and maps didn’t make sense. It took him well over an hour to get to the auto repair shop which was about ten miles away. He even called the shop for directions, and they could not tell him how to get there. Randy was frustrated, and had his situation aggravated by rude motorists who honked at him as he was trying to find his way about in a strange place.

Randy finally arrived at the shop to be told that he needed to go to the Dodge dealer to get the part he needed. The shop worker gave Randy bad directions, and he ended up lost again. By the time Randy made it to the Dodge dealer, and paid $30 for a small rubber bushing, he had burned up a lot of gas and hours of time. He then had to drive to another town to purchase a second tire at Walmart. No longer having any confidence in his maps, he asked a secretary if she knew how to get there. The woman said she lived in the town where the Walmart was located, and she kindly wrote him out an entire page of detailed instructions. Randy followed them perfectly to his destination.

The employee in the tire department was going to lunch about this time (2:30 in the afternoon), so Randy had to sit and wait. It was several more hours before he got out of Walmart, having had both new tires moved to the front. I had printed him out a map from Walmart back to the campground, so Randy began to try to follow it back.

Randy called me around 6 P.M. saying he had no clue where the campground was, for the directions he followed took him to a completely different location. We talked back and fourth on the phone three or four times, and I suggested that Randy pull over at some location and I would use my GPS to come and get him. Randy did not want to give up, but by 7 P.M. he was at the end as tiredness and frustration had brought him to give up on the effort. He pulled over at a convenience store, told me his location, and I drove to his location and led him back.

As we examined the matter to see why the maps and their instructions were so far off, it was discovered that the address on the campground letterhead was not their own address, but the location of the County Parks office in a nearby town. The map looked deceptively right, for the Parks Office was located right next to a lake, just like the campground, but the lakes were about ten miles apart.

I spoke to the campground host the next day to see if they had a mail drop, and she told me they didn’t even have an address where they were at, and no mail service. This confirmed to me that it was not their address on their letterhead. It seemed that the events of that day were perfectly ordered to sow confusion, and to lead to a great trial for Randy. Before the day was over the enemy had suggested to him that he should give up and head back to Georgia, assuring him that he could find Macon and home again.

Although the enemy is often present in our trials, we must recognize that nothing enters our lives that is outside of the will of the Father. He has determined that His sons must be tried. Spiritual fruit is matured under stress. As Randy and I talked about the situation later, we looked at the spiritual fruit that was required for him to pass through this specific trial successfully. When he was lost he needed peace. When he was aggravated he needed patience. When he was being honked at by rude drivers, he needed gentleness and humility. When he was tempted at the end of a long day to give up, he needed longsuffering and self-control.

The next day Randy and I drove to a campground outside Mena, Arkansas. We stayed at Shadow Mountain Campground. Having driven all day, and neither one of us having the comfort of air conditioning while driving, we were very tired. We got two campsites for the night, and the owner told us there was a fishing pond on the property. We had both brought fishing poles, and decided to wet a hook before it got dark. In about an hours time we had caught more than a dozen white perch, and warmouth perch, and Randy also caught one bass. We did not keep the fish. I was too tired to clean them and cook them.

The next morning I arose early and went fishing again, In about thirty minutes I had caught 7 or 8 fish, and I kept three of them to cook and clean. Randy went fishing shortly afterwards, and he also kept three fish. We had a brunch on these fish before getting back on the road.

As soon as I pulled out of my campsite and headed up a hill on the campsite property, my van died. I could not get it to run, and it was determined that the fuel filter was clogged and gas was not getting to the carburetor. Randy drove me into Mena about 4 miles away, and I purchased one for about $5.00. Returning back, Randy and one of the campground employees replaced it, and my van was running once again. I looked at my GPS where the van had died, and it identified the road as Pioneer Lane.

Those following this blog know that the Father has been speaking to me much through the symbolism of pioneers. My last message in Columbia was on the topic of Pioneers versus Settlers. During the message (which will be posted as soon as I can get it edited) I read an allegory I had come across some years earlier that compared Christian doctrine to Pioneer Theology and Settler Theology. Following is a brief excerpt.

Frontier Theology
by Wes Seeliger

There are two views of life and two kinds of people. Some see life as a possession to be carefully guarded. They are SETTLERS. Others see life as a fantastic, wild, explosive gift. They are PIONEERS. The visible church is an outfit with an abundance of settlers and a few pioneers. The invisible church is the fellowship of pioneers. To no one's surprise there are two kinds of theology. Settler theology and pioneer theology. Settler theology is an attempt to answer all the questions, define and housebreak some sort of "Supreme Being," establish the status quo on Golden Tablets in cinemascope. Pioneer Theology is an attempt to talk about what it means to receive the strange gift of life and live! The pioneer sees theology as a wild adventure, complete with indians, saloon girls, and the haunting call of what is yet to be.


The Wild West offers a stage for picturing these two types of theology. Settlers and Pioneers use the same words but that is where it stops. To see what I mean--read on.


THE CHURCH


IN SETTLER THEOLOGY--the church is the courthouse. It is the center of town life. The old stone structure dominates the town square. Its windows are small. This makes the thing easy to defend, but quite dark inside. Its doors are solid oak. No one lives there except pigeons and they, of course, are most unwelcome.


Within the thick, courthouse walls, records are kept, taxes collected, trials held for bad guys. The courthouse runs the town. It is the settler's symbol of law, order, stability, and most important--security, The mayor's office is on the top floor. His eagle eye scopes out the smallest details of town life.


IN PIONEER THEOLOGY--the church is the covered wagon. It is a house on wheels--always on the move. No place is its home. The covered wagon is where the pioneers eat, sleep, fight, love, and die. It bears the marks of life and movement--it creaks, is scarred with arrows, bandaged with bailing wire. The covered wagon is always where the action is. It moves in on the future and doesn't bother to glorify its own ruts. The old wagon isn't comfortable, but the pioneers could care less. There is a new world to explore.


GOD


IN SETTLER THEOLOGY--God is the mayor. The honorable Alpha O. Mega, chief executive of Settler City. He is a sight to behold--dressed like a dude from back East, lounging in an over-stuffed chair in his courthouse office. He keeps the blinds drawn. No one sees or knows him directly, but since there is order in the town who can deny he is there? The mayor is predictable and always on schedule.


The settlers fear the mayor but look to him to clear the payroll and keep things going. The mayor controls the courthouse which in turn runs the town. To maintain peace and quiet the mayor sends the sheriff to check on pioneers who ride into town.


IN PIONEER THEOLOGY--God is the trail boss. He is rough and rugged-full of life. The trail boss lives, eats, sleeps, fights with his men. Their well being is his concern. Without him the wagon wouldn't move--the pioneers would become fat and lazy. Living as a free man would be impossible. The trail boss often gets down in the mud with the pioneers to help push the wagon which frequently gets stuck. He slugs the pioneers when they get soft and want to turn back. His fist is an expression of his concern.


JESUS


IN SETTLER THEOLOGY--Jesus is the sheriff. He is the guy who is sent by the mayor to enforce the rules. He wears a white hat--drinks milk--outdraws the bad guys. He saves the settlers by offering security. The sheriff decides who is thrown in jail. There is a saying in town that goes like this--those who believe the mayor sent the sheriff and follow the rules won't stay in Boot Hill when it comes their time.


IN PIONEER THEOLOGY--Jesus is the scout. He rides out ahead to find out which way the pioneers should go. He lives all the dangers of the trail. The scout suffers every hardship, is attacked by the Indians, feared by the settlers. Through his actions and words he shows the true spirit, intent, and concern of the trail boss. By looking at the scout, those on the trail learn what it really means to be a pioneer...


THE CHRISTIAN


IN SETTLER THEOLOGY--the Christian is the settler. He fears the open, unknown frontier. He stays in good with the mayor and keeps out of the sheriff's way. He tends a small garden. "Safety First" is his motto. To him the courthouse is a symbol of security, peace, order, and happiness. He keeps his money in the bank. The banker is his best friend. He plays checkers in the restful shade of the oak trees lining the courthouse lawn. He never misses an ice cream party.


IN PIONEER THEOLOGY--the Christian is the pioneer. He is a man of risk and daring--hungry for adventure, new life, the challenge of being on the trail. He is tough, rides hard, knows how to use a gun when necessary. The pioneer feels sorry for the town folks and tries to tell them about the joy and fulfillment of a life following the trail. He dies with his boots on.

[End Excerpt]

One thing the Spirit is urging me to do as I travel across the country is to encourage His people to embrace a Pioneer theology. I am not advocating thrill seeking, or a lust for adventure. What the Spirit is desiring is surrendered lives, people who will go where He leads, and do what He says. Our Father wants His sons and daughters to hold nothing back, to not be daunted by fear, or a desire to hold onto things of this world.

Randy and my own adventures have continued. The evening of the same day that my fuel filter had gone out found Randy’s van running hot. We finally had to pull over, near Carthage, Texas. There was a little country store there with a water hose around back. Randy cooled the van down and determined that the thermostat was stuck, not allowing water to circulate through the engine.

By the time the problem was determined the auto parts stores had all closed. Randy decided to pull the thermostat out, and run it without it, as this would permit water to circulate again. We needed some RTV gasket making material, and there was a Walmart about 15 minutes away. Being a small town, the Walmart closed at 9 P.M.. We got what we needed and left ten minutes before they closed. This was the grace of God.

The RTV material has to sit for an hour before tightening the bolts back down, so we stood outside behind this country store looking at the stars and the moon, which was full and glorious. As we looked at the heavens I was reminded of Paul’s words describing the resurrection of the dead.

I Corinthians 15:41-42
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.

I mentioned to Randy as we looked at the moon through his binoculars that surely those who attained to the glory of the moon or sun had to walk a more afflicted path than those who received glorified bodies equivalent to the stars. There is great reason to embrace the path the Father has chosen for us. As Peter has declared:

I Peter 4:12-13
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.

Randy and I got back on the road around 11 P.M.. We drove until we were within about an hour of our destination and seeing a rest area, we pulled off. It was 2:30 A.M.. We parked and got some sleep. In the morning around 7:30 we were back on the road.

We had not gone far and I noticed my oil pressure had dropped to nothing on my gauge. I did not hear valves tapping, and the engine was not getting hot, but the gauge was below the low mark. Being concerned I stopped and added a bit more oil, though the dip stick did not indicate that the oil level was below normal levels. Adding oil did not correct the problem. Having been told by a brother that low oil pressure on an older engine can be a sign of the motor bearings being worn, and that adding a thicker oil can improve pressure, I stopped a short distance down the road and had the oil changed. I had 20/50 oil added in place of the 10/30 I had been running. I also had a quart of Lucas Oil Stabilizer added. The bill came to $55.50. This seemed like an omen of grace.

Back on the road my oil pressure continued to drop to the bottom of the gauge, but then it would come back up for a time, only to drop again, and then back up. Such erratic oil pressure is something I did not understand. We were able to make it to Spring, Texas with no evident ill effects. All the way down Hwy 59 my GPS kept telling me that we were heading toward Humble, Texas. I knew there had to be a message in that.

Randy and I got a campsite for 5 days only to learn that there are no toilet or shower facilities here. This was almost too much for Randy. Checking around we found that there were no campgrounds in Spring with toilets and showers, other than one RV resort, and they do not permit vehicles over ten years old. We did not meet the criteria, and their prices were very high. We had to settle for more humble accommodations. I sensed that we were where God wanted us to be, and that we were being tested in our humility before God. Would we be willing to experience whatever He chose for us?

The campsite name on their letterhead is Trinity Spring Oaks RV Park. The address is 22014, which I found symbolic. Fortunately, both Randy’s van and my own have toilets in them, but we had never used them. I hooked mine up and it worked fine. Randy’s leaked from the water connection, so he had to pull it out and attempt to patch the leak. His attempts were unsuccessful. He has gone now to a local RV store to purchase a replacement. (I printed him out a map ).

Yesterday I replaced the oil pressure switch on my van to see if that would correct the problem of the pressure dropping. I have not tested it yet, for I have to drive it in hot weather, which won’t be long in coming. It was 94 here yesterday. It is possible that I will have to rebuild the engine, for the oil pump was recently replaced and the oil pressure switch was also replaced a couple years ago.

Randy also discovered that when his van ran hot that the manifold gasket on one side blew out, so he will have to replace that. He is able to do the work himself, but it is a tough job as it is in a hard place to access.

The Father has a provision for all of our needs. He desires that we would trust Him, rather than getting in a panic. The enemy would seek to discourage God’s sons when they encounter difficulties, but Christ never said that we would have smooth sailing when we did His will. Time and again the disciples encountered storms and trials when they were following faithfully the Lord’s instructions.

I am encouraged when I read of Christ’s words to Peter and the other disciples. “Why did you doubt? Why were you fearful?” Even though it seemed their boat must soon sink, the Lord saw no reason for anything but peace. I am encouraged that I too can find a place of abiding peace in the midst of storms. I must wrest my eyes away from the wind and the waves. I must not focus on the boat filling with water, seemingly soon to sink. I must place my attention on the Lord who is right beside me. He can put the angry waves beneath His feet, and mine as well.

I know that others of God’s children are also encountering difficulties, obstacles, and fearful circumstances at this season. Some have written to me to tell me so. Be encouraged. God has a place of abiding peace for you as well in that which you are experiencing. Press into Christ. Set your eyes on Him. He is a present help in a time of trouble.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog:
www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Monday, May 24, 2010

Pay Attention!

Joseph Herrin (05-24-2010)






















Isaiah 42:19-20
Who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of Yahweh? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.

Recently a man unfamiliar with my teachings was invited to attend a series of meetings. He went out to my websites to see what he could learn about me. Reading a few recent posts to the Parables Blog he discerned that I often share some lesson, or derive spiritual meaning, from events occurring in the natural world. This man was unaccustomed to perceiving the voice of God in any other means than through the reading of Scripture. He wrote back to the person who contacted him suggesting that I was dangerously superstitious.

I am not offended by such a judgment. Few Christians are aware that the Father is speaking through a vast variety of means. Many have been trained to expect to encounter God only through study of the Scriptures, or listening to the voice of their minister. They become suspicious of any other means by which Yahweh communicates.

For example, most Christians today have been trained to view heavenly signs with fear. They have been told so often that astrology is the domain of the devil that they cannot even entertain the idea that signs in the heavens are a means by which God speaks. Yet the Bible testifies that Yahweh is the originator of the heavenly message, and continues to speak to men through the heavens. The magi from the East correctly discerned the heavenly testimony of God announcing the birth of His Son. Because they had trained themselves to recognize and be alert to this form of God’s speech, they knew the King of the Jews had been born when those who studied the word daily had no clue as to what was happening. They were led unfailingly to the home in which the Son of God resided, and they presented gifts to His parents.

Christ told His disciples that in the last days there would be similar heavenly testimonies.

Luke 21:25-28
"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars and upon the earth... And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Those who are convinced that the Father does not speak through the witness of the heavens will not perceive His message when God sets it there. They have become blind and deaf to the voice of God in this area.

The same is true of a great multitude of Christians who have rejected the voice of God when it is manifested through dreams, visions, prophecies, tongues, or parables in the natural world. Having concluded that such things belong to the realm of the superstitious, and those who heed such things are dangerously led astray by Satan, they are unable to perceive the voice of God when He is speaking.

The Scriptures proclaiming that the Father speaks through all these means are so abundant that it would be wearying to those reading this post to have them all set before them. I will therefore provide only a token passage.

Acts 2:14-18
But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy.’”

Consider this experience described above. The last prophet who appeared to Israel who had given them words recorded in Scripture had lived nearly four centuries prior to the day of Christ. The people of God were unaccustomed to prophets standing in their midst and acting as God’s mouthpiece. The appearance of John the Baptist and of Christ was unusual in their day. No prophet had been present for centuries. The people had developed habits of receiving all things from a systematic study of the Scriptures, by listening to the lectures of the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the teachings of the Priests.

Because of this, the religious leaders viewed John and Christ with great suspicion. They kept asking them by what authority they spoke the things they were uttering. The only authority they recognized was Moses, and he had been dead 1,500 years.

God had not ceased speaking to His people through other means, but the Jews had lost their sensitivity to the voice of God through any other means than the law and the prophets as recorded in the Tanakh. A remnant still understood that God spoke in a myriad of ways. The magi understood that God spoke through the heavens. Old Simeon heard the voice of the Spirit of God, and knew he would see the Messiah born.

Luke 2:26
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

The shepherds in the field were met with a chorus of angels informing them that a Savior had been born in the city of David. What would the religious think of the testimony of Simeon, of Anna, and of the shepherds? Would they not say as those gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost that they must surely be drunk?

I am not surprised when I am looked at with suspicion, and the testimony of the parables I perceive in the natural realm are castigated as superstition and the delusions of a heretic. If Yahweh is truly speaking through these means and His people deny His voice, are they not deaf and blind?

I will not go into a defense of God speaking through parables in the natural realm. I have a teaching posted on this topic.

http://www.heart4god.ws/id592.htm

This teaching can also be viewed as a video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-795845249233822786&hl=en#


The Bible is a book of Parables from its opening chapter to its final page. Every miracle of Christ was a parable. The histories of the Patriarchs and Kings are parables. The types and shadows of the Law are all parables. The feasts and the design of the Tabernacle of Moses are profound parables. God has always spoken through means other than the written word.

Yahweh’s relationship with man is marked by a profundity of communication. His Son is even called “The Word made flesh.” Yahshua did not just describe the Father with the spoken word. He manifested Him in His body. By His life, Yahshua fully explained and proclaimed the Father to mankind.

John 1:18
No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].
[Amplified Bible]

I have shared these things to proclaim to you that the Father is speaking today through many ways other than through the written, expository words contained in Scripture. It is critically important that the people of God pay attention to the voice of the Father. They must open their eyes and ears to perceive the presence and voice of God all around them. He speaks in a myriad of ways. Yet the words of Isaiah remain true today.

Who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of Yahweh? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.

The Spirit is testifying that His people who would pass through these present days as overcomers must pay close attention to His voice. They must consider the myriad of ways in which He would speak to them. They must especially heed the events and circumstances of their daily lives. When things happen they are to consider that it is their Father who orders their steps and orchestrates ALL the events of their life.

Not everything that occurs has as its primary purpose the communication of some message from the Father. But everything has a purpose. It is necessary that the people of God seek to discern the purpose of God in their daily experiences. Is God bringing discipline? Is He seeking to change our course? Is He giving a warning? Is He rewarding faithfulness?

I am often reminded of the following words of the apostle Paul to the Christians in Corinth.

I Corinthians 11:29-30
For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

The Corinthian believers were walking carelessly before a holy God. Like Uzza who perished when he reached out his hand to steady the ark which was being drawn on a cart pulled by oxen, the people of God oftentimes fail to consider the will of God and therefore suffer the consequences.

The Corinthians did not know why some of their members were sick, and some had died. They never pondered the reason for these things. Paul had to inform them of the reason. If the people who became sick had pressed in immediately to know the cause of their sickness they would have been granted the opportunity to repent and escape an untimely death. But they did not ask. They paid no attention to what was happening. They probably reasoned that sickness is something that all men experience, not considering that there was a cause, and a path of deliverance.

Do Christians who get sick today consider that there is a reason for it? Do they ask God why they are sick? Most treat sickness the same way as the lost. They go to the doctor. They get medicine to alleviate the symptoms, and they wait for it to pass. Not all sickness is the result of sin, but it all is with a purpose. God does not subject His children to any unnecessary, random, or vain experiences.

Yesterday the Father taught me a lesson in paying closer attention to His voice. When Randy Simmons and I were preparing to set out on this trip Randy’s grandfather told him he could take the camper/van he had purchased last year. It is a 1991 model, very similar to my own, but five years newer than my own.

Randy noticed that the tires had some dry rot on the sides, but the tread was very deep and the tires were hardly worn. Randy expressed concern about the dry rot, but did not want to purchase new tires if it was not absolutely necessary. He decided to put off buying tires, not knowing whether the tires would hold up, or not.

The van Randy is driving does not have a spare tire. However, my van, which is very similar in size, does have a spare, and it was assumed that if Randy’s van blew a tire that my spare could be used. With this assurance in our minds Randy and I set forth on this trip.

Somewhere outside of Columbia, Missouri Randy lost a hubcap on his grandfather’s van. The hubcaps completely cover the wheels and the lug nuts. When the hubcap came off, the wheel and lug nuts were exposed. Randy informed me that he had lost a hubcap, and it was a grief to him, as it was an eyesore. I thought little of the matter for we had just arrived at the next location at which I was to speak.

Randy mentioned the loss of the hubcap more than once, telling our hosts about it. I am in the habit of examining every event to discern if there is a parable in it with a message from our Father, but in this instance I paid little attention to the event.

Sunday we concluded our meetings in Columbia and Randy and I started out on the road for our next destination. We had gone about 40 miles when Randy called me on the walkie talkie and told me he had pulled off the Interstate because a rear tire had blown out. I pulled over immediately and began to take my spare tire off to come to his assistance. Randy called me and said he doubted that my spare would work, for his wheel had eight lug nuts, and my van had wheels with five lug nuts. Sure enough, they did not match. Not only this, our wheels were not the same size. He has 16 inch wheels and I have 15 inch wheels.

When the hubcap came off of Randy’s van on Friday the wheel and lug nuts were exposed. It was plain to see that there were eight lug nuts on the wheel. Yet neither of us paid attention to this fact. We thought of the experience as little more than a nuisance. We did not patiently inquire of the Father to ask Him why this occurred. Because we did not, it cost us several hours of our time, and some additional expense that could have been avoided.

Although the cost was minor in this experience, the voice of the Spirit is testifying to me that He is desiring that I, along with all His sons and daughters, pay close attention to the experiences we encounter. We need to be in the habit of seeking His mind and counsel in all things.

While Randy had the van jacked up beside the Interstate he noticed that the grommet where the gasoline fill spout comes into the gas tank was dripping gas. The drip was steady, and although it may have begun when the tire shredded and struck the tank, the grommet was dry rotted and needed replacing.

I do not want to miss another warning that the Father is giving to us. Randy described the rear tire blowing as sounding like an explosion. Then we see the gas leaking right near to the rear tire that blew. The smell of the gas is evident, and gasoline in vapor form is highly explosive. It is a matter that needs to be repaired without delay. Randy is out seeking to get it repaired even as I am writing this blog.

Though some would deride me as superstitious for seeking to discern the presence of the Father in the daily events of life, I find that there is great wisdom in doing so. It is true that spurious understandings can come forth. We must not be hasty to arrive at conclusions. But neither should we delay in seeking God’s mind. It is necessary to wait before the Father and to “pay attention” to what is happening in our lives. How easy it is to ignore that “still, small voice” of the Spirit of Christ when it comes to us in ways that we are not anticipating.

As the hour grows later, and the return of Christ is closer at hand, it will be increasingly necessary to pay heed to all that the Father is speaking. It will truly be costly to be deaf and blind to His voice. Let us not be as the Corinthians who died because they did not discern that which they were experiencing.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog:
www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Audio Files Now Available

The audio files from the North Georgia meeting have now been posted. You can find them listed under the heading "If You Would Be Perfect."

http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm

There are seven parts to this teaching series. The Spirit was guiding profoundly in these messages, and they contain an expression of the Father's heart for all His sons and daughters. The message sets before the saints a standard that exceeds the common conception in the hearts of the vast majority of Christians. It is a call of the Father for His children to arise to the call to attain to the fulness of the stature that belongs to Christ.

Matthew 5:48
"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Ephesians 4:13
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.

The audio files include the music of Brandy Vaughn. Our Father graciously made it possible for her to attend the meetings, which was a blessing to all who attended.

I anticipate having the audio files from the Tennessee and the Missouri meetings posted this coming Saturday (May 29th). Please keep Randy Simmons and me in your prayers as we travel. It is the Father's grace that carries us forward.

Note: Audio number 5 is not yet posted, but it should be available shortly.

Here is a devotion that I received this morning.

Lord, Disturb Me
By Pastor Marvin Williams

I follow the Radical Rabbi named Jesus, but I am too safe, too comfortable, too undisturbed.

I hang the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door of my life because I don't like my comfort, safety and status-quo living being interrupted by the turbulence of big dreams, the deep waters of radical obedience, the rough seas of suffering, and the dark nights of uncertain adventures.

The other day, I ran across a prayer, written by Sir Frances Drake (explorer and naval pioneer during the Elizabethan era), that disturbed me. This prayer affected my spiritual equilibrium so much, that I want to share it with you, in hopes that it will disturb you like it did me.

Don't just gloss over the words; sit with it for a minute and then spend some time, dissecting and parsing its content. Then ask God to help you identify "smooth sailing" areas of your life. Next, ask him to disturb the places in your life where you are safe, comfortable, undisturbed.

Here's the prayer:

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the Waters of Life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.

I know I have been sailing too close to the shore lately and I am asking Jesus to disturb me to action.
[End Devotion]


























Heart4God Website:
http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog:
www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Thursday, May 20, 2010

On the Road with the Holy Spirit - Part Three

Joseph Herrin (05-20-20)




















Joseph Herrin in Herrin, Illinois

(Click on image for larger picture)

Before I share some of the events of this recent trip, here is an update on the schedule of upcoming meetings.

Location:
Columbia, Missouri
(8502 South Trails Drive - Right off I-70)

Dates:
May 21-23

Meeting Schedule:
Friday Evening May 21st:
Meeting 7:00 P.M. - 9:30 P.M.

Saturday May 22nd:
Meeting 9:00 A.M until Noon
Break for a potluck meal together
Meeting 2:30 P.M. -5:30 P.M.

Sunday May 23rd:
Meeting 9:00 A.M. until Noon

Contact:
Please contact David or Donna Miller if you plan on attending so they will know how many to plan for. They will provide directions and advise on local accommodations. They can be reached at the following:

Phone: (573) 445-4731

Donna’s E-mail: millerdb@umsystem.edu

----------------------------------------------------

Location:
1015 Cooper Springs Dr
Spring, TX 77373 (Houston Suburb)

Dates:

May 30 - June 1

Note:
The weekdays and times of these meetings are different than the other meetings.

Meeting Schedule:

Sunday May 30th:
Meeting 11:00 A.M.

Break for a meal together
Meeting 2:oo P.M.

Monday May 31st:
Meeting 6:30 P.M.

Tuesday June 1st
Meeting 6:30 P.M.

Contact:
Please contact Matthew Washington if you plan on attending so he will know how many to plan for. Matthew will provide directions and advise on local accommodations. Matthew hosted a meeting last year, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship in his home. He can be reached at the following:

Phone: (713) 591-4414

----------------------------------------------
Location:
Hemphill, TX

Dates:

June 4-6

Meeting Schedule:

Friday Evening June 4th:
Meeting 7:00 P.M. - 9:30 P.M.

Saturday June 5th:
Meeting 9:00 A.M until Noon
Break for a meal together
Meeting 2:30 P.M. -5:30 P.M.

Sunday June 6th:
Meeting 9:00 A.M. until Noon

Contact:
Please contact Wendy Davis if you plan on attending so she will know how many to plan for. Wendy will provide directions and advise on local accommodations. She can be reached at the following:

Phone: (409) 594-8892

Wendy’s E-mail: soldoutbeliever@gmail.com

-------------------------------------------------------

Note: If there are any other believers who desire to host meetings in Texas, please let me know. I am heading toward California from Texas, but would like to hold other meetings in Texas, and in states between there are California, such as New Mexico and Arizona. If you believe the Father would have you to host some meetings, please contact me so we can arrange dates and times.

On the Road with the Holy Spirit - Part Three

Randy Simmons and I have been camping for a few days in Herrin, Illinois. It is amazing to me how the Father orchestrates our steps. We decided to drive a good distance toward Columbia, MO before stopping. Around 6 P.M. I sensed that I should get off the Interstate at the next exit that had a campground sign. Just a few miles further we came across one. Coming off the exit we were met with two signs. One said there was a campground 2 miles to the right. The other said there was a campground 4 miles to the left. I paused for a moment and turned to the left. It just happened that the campground to the left is in the town of Herrin. There were no signs at the exit pointing out this fact, but I am confident the Father led me this direction.

Some years earlier while I had been doing a genealogy search on my family’s last name I noted that there was a city in Illinois named Herrin. As far as I know, it may be the only city in America with my last name. I have considered since that it would be interesting to visit the town. I had no idea it was on my route, and I certainly did not plan on camping here. What a marvelous guide the Holy Spirit is.

As I was traveling from Mike and Donna Mitchell’s home in Tennessee the Father began speaking to me of the pioneer spirit He has called me to walk out. The morning Randy and I were set to depart a dear sister who had attended the meetings (Pat Warren) showed up bringing Randy and I both a large bag of deer jerky she had made the night before. We had talked about various foods over the week-end and I had mentioned how much I like deer meat and deer jerky. What a treat it was for this precious sister to bring us this food. Along with it she also brought us jars of homemade jellies made from blueberries, strawberries, kudzu (Southerners will recognize the vine that grows everywhere), Locust blossom, and honeysuckle. Pat has been learning to use wild plants for wilderness living.

It just struck me as I was driving down the road, heading to a campsite and chewing on a piece of deer jerky, how many pioneer symbols were present at that moment in my life. I knew the Father had orchestrated this, and had placed it upon Pat’s heart to share with us in this way. He has a marvelous way of testifying to things.

Randy and I in our camper/vans are types of modern spiritual pioneers. We are aliens and strangers in the land. We both have truly brought nearly everything we own with us. We have been led of the Father over the course of time to simplify our lives. There is a great freedom in this, and a liberty to go wherever the Spirit directs.

Upon arriving in Herrin I saw a street named Clark Trail. I told Randy that I bet that if I looked I would find some pioneer link to this town, and sure enough, on a small side street there was a neglected marker noting that George Rogers Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, had passed through this town in the 1780s.





















George Rogers Clark Marker

It is interesting how mankind has romanticized pioneers and explorers, but few want to live the life of one. There are dangers, toils and snares that pioneers and explorers must face. Pioneers and explorers leave behind the security of hearth and home and strike out for places unknown.

I shared with the saints in Tennessee, which is Boone and Crockett territory, that I at times deal with some anxiety as I set forth to the places the Father sends me. There is a vulnerability in living such a life, but there is also great grace from our Father. I know that when I look back on my life I will be very satisfied that I accepted the risks and the uncertainties of the path the Father has chosen for me.

As I have mentioned before, the Father has testified that He has called me to walk as a pioneer and explorer. Vehicles represent ministries, and He supernaturally provided for me some years back an Xplorer van with a Pioneer stereo and Trail Pathfinder tires on it. This is truly the call He has placed on my life.

He has further shown me that as I have walked this path for the past eleven years, I am now to encourage His saints to follow in that specific path He has appointed for each of them. In 2008 when He called me out from laboring at the Macon Rescue Mission, He began to reveal these symbolic things relating to my van, and the ministry appointed to me. At that time I wrote an article setting forth the revelations of the Father for this very hour I am now walking in. The two part article is titled “Explorers and Pioneers to Serve as Guides.”

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/explorers-and-pioneers-to-serve-as.html

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/explorers-and-pioneers-to-serve-as_21.html

The Scriptures speak much of Yahweh’s overcomers in the typology of explorers and pioneers, of aliens and strangers in this earth. Hebrews chapters 11 is the Bible’s honor roll of pioneer saints. They endured many hardships, and at time suffered great loss, but the Father has a reward for them that far outshines their temporal struggles.

Hebrews 11:8-16
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God... All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:37-39
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith...

I can say with a certainty that the Father has called all His sons and daughters to a life that is unusual and a departure from the ways of the world. Not all will live in wilderness places, for some find their wanderings in cities and suburbs. Yet, in a spiritual sense, they follow a very different path from those around them.

As the Father is sending me forth, He has led me to invite the saints to accept that specific path He has appointed to them. Many are being stirred up to accept the invitation of the Father. He is in the process of raising up a people who will be to the praise of His glory in the earth.

When your life is over, will your name be added to the honor roll of pioneers and men and women of faith? Will you be named among those who cast all over onto Christ and followed Him wherever He would lead you? He will certainly lead many who are weak, despised, and considered as nothing in this world’s eyes to walk paths that the mighty shrink back from. They will be enabled to stand for they have a Mighty Champion and a Good Shepherd who walks with them all the way.

The words spoken to Joshua echo still as the Spirit’s exhortation to the people of God.

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go."

On a closing note, at every meeting I have held thus far on this trip, there have been difficulties that have arisen suddenly among those have volunteered to host the meetings. There have been divisions among friends. There have been physical obstacles. Yet, pressing through these things and refusing to shrink back, the meetings have been times of great encouragement and a manifestation of the Spirit of Christ.

At the Mitchell’s house, a sudden court appearance was unexpectedly scheduled for that day. Around 9 A.M. their air conditioner went out, and their day was filled with a rush of activity. Pressing through it the Father worked all things out, and left a prophetic testimony behind in its place.

The Father had spoken to me some years back in my experiences through the air conditioners in the homes I was staying in. In perhaps the most painful experience of all, the home we were staying in had an air conditioner with the brand name Payne - Carrier. I was truly called to bear the cross and share in the sufferings of Christ while at this home. The air conditioner was hauled off the day we moved out of this home, for it had gone out. This was symbolic of the season of grace that followed. That very moment we were moving out the news reported that Tropical Storm Grace was heading for Corpus Christi, Texas. Corpus Christi is Latin for “the Body of Christ.”

Some look at such signs as the product of an overactive imagination, but those who know their God see His hand all around them. The following year the Father led me to another experience where we stayed with a relative who began to treat me very rudely. This Christian acted more rudely than anyone I had ever encountered before. My son came to me one day and said, “Dad, did you notice the name on the air conditioner here?” I told him I had. It was a RUUD (pronounced Rude).

I am not suggesting that everyone should go out and look at the name on their air conditioner and look for some hidden meaning in it. It was the Spirit who drew my attention to these symbols in these two specific homes. He showed me that even as an air conditioner controls the environment of the home, that the experiences I had in these two places were prophesied symbolically by the units outside the houses.

The Mitchell’s air conditioner that went out was a Carrier. We discussed it the morning Randy and I left. Donna told me that the bearings had gone out in the motor, and being an unusual motor, they could not find a replacement, but were able to have it rebuilt. It was installed by 3 P.M the same day, in time for the meeting to begin at 7 that night.

Mike and I discerned that the testimony of this event was that the environment God chose for these meetings was one of Carrying and Bearing the cross. We are called to be Carriers of Christ’s cross. We must go forth Bearing that which our Father has appointed to us. The entire home was filled with the fragrance of this message the entire time this wonderful group of saints met there. Mike also mentioned that the Air Conditioner blows air into the home, being symbolic of the moving and breath of the Holy Spirit.

Mike and Donna could have grumbled about the demise of their air conditioner that morning. Instead, they pressed on and found that the Father not only had a provision, He had a testimony in this experience as well. What an awesome God we serve.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog:
www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Fellowship of His Sufferings

Joseph Herrin (05-17-2010)

On Friday May 14th Randy Simmons and I struck out on the path the Father has appointed to us. Our immediate destination was Fayetteville, TN where I was to speak that night at 7 P.M.. The picture below is of our two vans at our starting point of Macon, Georgia.





















Just before setting forth the Father began to set a number of prophetic signs before me. The day before I was to leave an e-mail was forwarded to me which was a compilation of a large number of prophetic words that all had the theme of “2010: The Beginning of the REAL Crisis.”

http://www.christian-forum.net/index.php?showtopic=35440

These prophecies came from a wide variety of individuals. Many are Christian prophecies, some are predictions, and some are by sources outside the Christian community such as economic forecasters, and political commentators.

It is evident that America is well on its way to a coming collapse and transformation of its government. Barack Obama promised “change” as a campaign theme, and this is precisely what he is delivering, albeit not the change most expected, or desired. Freedoms are being stripped away. The public business sector is being gobbled up by the government in huge annexations. We have seen the banking and financial sectors socialized. The automotive industry, and most recently the healthcare sector. When the full impact of these changes are realized Americans will awake to a very different nation than the one their forefathers knew.

Another looming manifestation of the President’s promised change is that very soon the dollar will be worth mere pennies. As you will see in the article linked above, there are many predicting that this “change” will occur in the latter part of this year.

The Father has not given me any definite dates on the timing of the collapse of America, but I have shared previously the reasons that I believe it is not far off. One of the signs that were observed in recent times was the crash of Metrolink 111 in California. This train left Union Station in LA and crashed at full speed into a Union Pacific freight train traveling in the opposite direction. The calamitous impact occurred so suddenly that the Metrolink conductor never even applied the brakes. I believe this is symbolic of a sudden disintegration of the Union of America.

If you have not read about this event, you can find a blog on it here:

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/waiting-for-fall-judgment-of-america.html

That the train was number 111 is quite possibly related to the present Congress, which is the 111th. Truly there have been some very disturbing things done by this Congress, including the takeover of the healthcare system, the auto industry, and the delivery of trillions of dollars of American dollars to multinational bankers who are now reaping record profits. America is being looted, for the Father has delivered her into the hands of evil men for judgment.

Each Congress runs for two years, and we are now in the second year of the present Congress. This equates to the 222nd year of America. I found it very symbolic that on the morning that I left to depart on this current trek across the nation that when I got into my van to leave my odometer had the following reading on it.


























02220

Although the Spirit is testifying that very dark days lie ahead, darker than this world and nation have ever observed before, all is not black. The morning of my departure found me camping in Perry, Georgia and the Spirit bore witness that my site number was equally prophetic.





















Campsite 91

I had a strong witness of the Spirit that this number related to the Psalms.

Psalms 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to Yahweh, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made Yahweh, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him, and let him behold My salvation."

People of God, the Spirit is testifying that days of tribulation are near at hand. He is sending me to prepare a people to stand in the midst of troublesome days. It is those who give themselves to a full surrender and absolute pursuit of the will of the Father who will be sheltered in His presence. It is a time to put aside all double-mindedness, all compromise and partial devotion and obedience. The coming days will lead to the purification and glory of a remnant, and the fall of many who do not accept the cost of discipleship.

I had prayed and asked the Father to guide me to the next place He would have me to speak to His people. The same day I received an e-mail from Mike Mitchell in Tennessee. He wrote to say that a group of saints who meet in his home would like to receive encouragement in this dying process that I had been speaking about. I could not envision a more welcome invitation, nor one more pleasing to our Father.

I cannot describe adequately to you the difference there is in the fellowship of a group of saints who desire with all their hearts to bear the cross and follow Christ, from what one normally encounters in churches. Everything is more precious, more vibrant, more alive. The hearts of the saints are more fervent, and the presence of the Spirit is equally intense. There also is a marked increase of compassion as each saint understands the afflicted path to which all are called.






















Mike and Donna Mitchell - Hosts of Tennessee Meeting

What a great blessing this past week-end of meetings was. One sister (Julie Trommeter) flew in from Denver, Colorado to attend the meetings. She gets the long distance award for coming from the farthest distance. Julie was familiar with the hosts, having met them via the Internet. I also had the privilege of becoming acquainted with her last year through e-mail. It is a great joy to be able to sit down face-to-face with those whom we have only corresponded with.
























Julie Trommeter

Julie sent a note from Denver today. She said she had experienced the true Philadelphian Church. There was truly a spirit of brotherly love found in the Mitchell’s home throughout the meetings. People lingered in fellowship, and there were tears and heartfelt farewells in parting.





















Though Julie came the farthest distance, Carolyn Barney (pictured above on left), may have traveled the longest time. She drove six hours to attend the meetings, having come from North Carolina. Carolyn was also able to attend the meetings in North Georgia. Mike and Donna Mitchell graciously provided rooms for Julie and Carolyn to stay in. Some of the most precious time during the week-end was lingering until bedtime, in fellowship, sharing words of encouragement, and getting to know our far flung brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe one must experience such a time to fully appreciate it. I have no doubt that the relative isolation of many of Christ’s scattered remnant makes these rare times of gathering a very precious time. They are like an oasis of refreshing to those who have wandered in wilderness places.





















The Spirit of Christ truly guided in the meetings. Once more the message of a full surrender to the leading of the Spirit was presented. Understanding the significance of the hour we live in and recognizing the work our Father will accomplish among a remnant of His people was set forth.

A profound move of the Spirit was experienced in the session that took place Saturday afternoon. The Spirit was powerfully wooing the hearts of His people to embrace the path He has chosen for them, and to accept the life He has foreordained. One after another, Yahweh’s sons and daughters came to be prayed for and to express their intent to not fall short of the will of the Father for their life.

There were twelve or thirteen in attendance at each session. Many of those gathered have already experienced the cost of surrender. Some have found that family and friends have withdrawn. Christians they formerly had fellowship with have chosen a broad and easy path, and a separation has occurred there as well. A portion of the talks focused on the separation that is the natural consequence of following Christ. When one accepts the call of the Spirit to follow Christ down paths that are the antithesis of the desire of man’s soul, they find that there are few traveling companions.

Matthew 7:14
"For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

If you consider this matter, perhaps you can see why these small fellowships and intimate meetings are so precious. They are populated by fellow sufferers. There is truly a FELLOWSHIP in Christ’s sufferings.

Philippians 3:8-10
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Yahshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ..., that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death...

Revelation 3:10
Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give you], I also will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial (testing) which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth.
[Amplified Bible]

I believe the meaning of this passage is often misunderstood by the saints of God. I do not believe the Father is saying that the Philadelphia church will be bypassed by the hour of testing. Rather, they will be guarded and watched over carefully by the Father in that hour. Because they have stood faithful to Him, He will not forsake them.

It is my hope and earnest expectation that as the Spirit continues to lead me across America that He will bring together His last days message with those overcomers who have been prepared to receive it.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Will There Be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?

Joseph Herrin (05-13-2010)

For those waiting to listen to the audio messages from the first series of meetings in North Georgia, I received the audio files this week. I have edited and forwarded them to a brother in Christ who manages the Heart4God website for me (Thank you Ifeanyi!). As soon as he has them posted I will let you know. I do encourage the saints to listen to these messages as they are Yahweh’s words of instruction and encouragement to His people who must embrace a life of surrender to the leading of His Spirit if they are to be numbered among the firstborn and attain to the first resurrection.

You can keep checking the audio page of the Heart4God website to see when they are available. The series will appear under the heading “If You Would Be Perfect.
http://heart4god.ws/audio.htm

I will post their availability as soon as I am made aware of their availability and have time to post again. During days that I am speaking I do not have much time available to get on the computer.

Will There Be a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?

Recently, I received a correspondence concerning the subject of the widely accepted belief that there will be a pre-tribulation rapture of the saints. I thought it would be helpful to many to share this correspondence.

Subject: Information please

I have been receiving messages forwarded to me by a friend... I don't always have time to read everything, yet do try to scan the messages to receive insight and understanding.

What I'm wondering - I checked your site and didn't find the answer to this question so that is why I'm asking you via email - do you believe in the Blessed Hope with those IN Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit, will be removed prior to the wrath of God 7 year tribulation time?

The person sending me your messages states he does not believe in The Catching Away of The Body of Christ and believes all those in The Church, will go through the tribulation...

Thank you for responding.

In Him....abiding in His love and grace....secure in His rest...filled with HIS peace.

(Name Withheld)

Dear (Name Withheld),

Thank you for writing and asking your excellent question. There is a tremendous amount of false doctrine present in this hour, and it is the responsibility of every son and daughter of Christ to "study to show themselves approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." This specific teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture is one area in which all saints should seek the mind of the Father for themselves. Many have accepted doctrines that appeal to the soul and flesh. Without a doubt, avoiding all trouble and distress is an idea that appeals to the natural man. However, it is not an idea that harmonizes with the lives and teachings of Christ and His apostles.

Please consider the following verse as a starting point for your own exploration of this subject.

Mark 13:19-20
"For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, and never shall. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the days."

Christ is declaring here that the days of tribulation to come will be so severe that it would seem as if all life would perish in the evil of those days. For the sake of God's elect WHO WILL BE PRESENT DURING THOSE DAYS God has chosen to shorten the days. If He did not, even all the elect of God would perish.

There are MANY scriptures that reveal that it is the will of the Father for His sons and daughters to pass through great tribulation before they enter into glory. Christ is the pattern for all those who would stand as overcomers. He had to suffer before He entered into glory, and so too must all who would share in His glory.

Luke 24:25-26
And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"

Philippians 1:29
For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake...

In your e-mail you spoke of the "blessed hope" of a pre-tribulation rapture. The disciples and apostles never spoke of a rapture as the "blessed hope." It was the resurrection of the dead which is the blessed hope of the believer. Yet many who do not want to entertain any thought of walking through fiery tribulation with Christ have fixed a false hope on a rapture that will not take place.

I encourage you to labor to divide between the voice of your soul and the voice of the Spirit. The soul will always desire to avoid suffering, but such is not the plan of our Father. Many ministers and Bible teachers proclaim that which appeals to the soul, and have consequently amassed large followings, but they are leading multitudes into deception.

I pray that the Spirit of Christ might guide you into all truth.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,

Joseph Herrin

I do have other writings that relate to the subject in various ways. Many Christians believe the removal from the earth of Believers is the next great event to be anticipated. This is a false expectation. Even as the Jews were looking for the Messiah to appear in a manner that their souls found attractive, so too has the church fallen into a similar error. He will appear in a place, and in a manner, that will offend many Christians, even as His appearing 2,000 years ago offended many Jewish believers.

One writing that focuses upon this subject is titled “The Next Appearance of Christ.”

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/next-appearance-of-christ_09.html

The apostle Paul prophesied that “in the last days” men in the church would turn aside from truth and embrace myths and fables. He told Timothy that men would not endure sound doctrine, but would heap up to themselves teachers to tell them the things they wanted to hear.

We are living in the hour of the fulfillment of the apostle’s words. I encourage those who read these writings to develop solid habits of Scripture study for themselves. In an hour when deception is sweeping across the church like a flood, it is only those who are anchored who will not be swept away into error.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

P.S. There is so much in the news at this hour that I want to write about, but time has not permitted me. The nomination of Elena Kagan as the 112th Supreme Court Justice is a watershed moment in this nation. It will be the first time that there will be no Protestant Christians serving on the nation’s highest court. Ms. Kagan is also a homosexual, and her appointment is in keeping with the direction of the current Presidential administration which has staked out a clear course of promoting abominations, inviting the judgment of Yahweh upon this land.

I am reminded of the Kingdom of Israel under King Ahab.

I Kings 16:29-32
Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of Yahweh more than all who were before him. And it came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. So he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.

The present government acts as if it is a trivial thing that the nation has heaped up judgment against them by the great weight of her sins, murdering her unborn babies, degenerating into rampant immorality where fornication is the norm and chastity is now a great rarity. The nation and her leaders have not repented, but are pursuing a course of ever increasing wickedness.

Tragically, the people of God have not appeared as salt and light to this generation. Christ told His disciples that they would lose their saltiness if they did not count the cost of discipleship and submit the entire rule of their lives to the Father. A church that has given Yahweh only a portion of their lives is not fit even for the manure pile. Such words offend, but they are not my words, they are the words of Christ.

Luke 14:25-35
Now great multitudes were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying,' This man began to build and was not able to finish...’ So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

People of God, can a Christian be considered salty today if he/she has not given the entirety of their life, possessions, and relations to God? Christ stated that they would lack the flavor, and taste, the aroma of His Father.

The judgments coming to America are first for the people of God. In the nomination of Elena Kagan I can truly see the tribulation and chastisement that must soon appear to those who are people of God. A recent article relating to her nomination states the following:
























Elena Kagan - Scourge of God’s People?

Wright told LifeNews.com that Kagan was Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton and Deputy Assistant to him for domestic policy -- which, under Clinton, advocated abortion.

Kagan was credited by the ACLU with “shaping Clinton’s policy on hate crimes," Wright noted.


"The Clinton Administration treated pro-life activists like violent criminals, creating a task force in the Department of Justice and a grand jury to investigate peaceful pro-lifers. This raises serious concerns that she shares the hostile view that religious beliefs are a form of 'hate,'" she said.

[Source: http://www.lifenews.com/nat6220.html]

(Those familiar with the symbolic meaning of the numbers 6 and 22 will appreciate the importance of the numbers in the above link. 6 is the number of the flesh man and 22 symbolizes flesh cutting, or the removal of flesh. Yahweh will raise up scourges in this nation whose ultimate impact will be to remove the flesh from His people.)

I have no doubt that in the very near future that a great many “religious beliefs” will be subject to criminal prosecution. This blog post will itself be a chargeable offense in the near future. Yet, persecution is not an evil thing. The church has become degenerate in its ease. Persecution is a great separator and refiner. Those who refuse to bear hardship will fall away, leaving a living and vital core remnant of true believers who will be purged, purified and refined as they walk as aliens and strangers in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation.

What I see occurring in the nation is very much related to the subject of this post. Yahweh will not remove His people from persecution and tribulation. It is intended to refine them as silver and gold, which is put in the fire. Those who are proclaiming an escapist rapture will fail to prepare themselves to stand in days of trouble.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog:
www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

Mailing Address:

Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063