Acts 2:16-21
But this is that 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. And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
On the day of Pentecost the citizens of Jerusalem and all who were gathered there for the feast were amazed as an extraordinary and unprecedented event took place in their midst. The Spirit of God descended upon a people in a way in which He had never done before. Tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the 120 gathered in the upper room and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. They were infused with the indwelling Spirit of Christ.
There had been instances before when prophets and holy men of old had known the Spirit of God dwelling WITH them, but never before had he been IN them.
John 14:16-18
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides WITH you , and will be IN you.”
On the day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago the disciples of Christ were filled with the Spirit and there was a sound of a rushing mighty wind. Multitudes were drawn to the commotion and they found men and women prophesying in tongues that had formerly been unknown to them. Some accused those who had received the Spirit of being drunk. They must have been ecstatic, and manifesting great joy, leading some to make such a declaration.
The apostle Peter, filled with the Spirit, corrected the people. He told the thousands gathered around them, “This is That” which the Scriptures and the prophets foretold. The Spirit is testifying that a similar day is coming, and is near at hand, when once more the Spirit of Christ will be poured out in tongues of fire upon a people who have been patiently awaiting the promise of Christ.
These people have come apart from the rest of the religious crowd to do only that which Christ had commanded. Many have felt idle. They have watched as those in the corporate church have busied themselves with programs and activities and the pursuit of the things of the world. All the while they have been experiencing a calling out from those things which once occupied their attention and consumed their time. They have been seeking the face of God to know His will, and they have been obediently waiting upon Him even as God has been reducing their flesh man in many ways.
The Spirit of Christ is once more about to fall in tongues of fire upon His people and all the world will witness the spectacle. Many will be drawn to that which they observe even as those residing in Jerusalem were drawn together on Pentecost. They will hear a message of the Scriptures being fulfilled in their very midst. A new ministry for many of the called out children of God will be inaugurated in the same manner that the Son of God began His ministry.
Luke 4:20-21
And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
If you have read the past two posts to this blog, you know of that which I am speaking. Many of the people of God will be astonished. They will experience a wide range of emotions, from intense interest to great fear. Many will be filled with sorrow as the understanding dawns upon them that the appearing of Christ IN His saints has occurred and they have not been partakers of His manifestation; Christ has not been revealed in their members.
A great multitude will be added to the number of called out ones in that hour and in the days to follow. Many will realize that once more the Scribes and Pharisees of the day have fed them lies and fables. They will begin to question all they have been taught. They will manifest an intense hunger to know the truth, and Yahweh will have ministers after the pattern of Joseph and Moses who will unlock the storehouses and provide the manna from heaven that will feed the people and save many alive.
Back in 1993 Yahweh had me begin praying intensely and regularly that He would raise up a people to the praise of His glory in the earth. Around 1998 He began speaking to me of a Windmill people, a people who were both directed and empowered by His Spirit in all their activities and words. I have labored many hours in prayer petitioning the Father to raise up such a people, and the Spirit of Christ is testifying that the time is close at hand. It is an hour to be expectant, to have a heart of anticipation.
Two days ago (Saturday) I got on the scales to weigh and found that for the first time in over a decade and a half they registered 165. This is the goal the Father set for me to reach. It has been a long and often weary road as God has not only been performing a reduction of the outer man, but of the Adamic man as He has been laboring tirelessly to bring forth a spiritual creation. The time is at hand for the butterflies to emerge from the cocoons in which this hidden metamorphosis has been taking place. The fleshly earth-bound creature must give place to a spiritual being that can soar in the heavens.
On the same day that the scales reported I had reached the goal the Father set for me, two remarkable things occurred. I had gone into Macon that morning and as I was driving into town I saw a large billboard that announces the daily total for the Georgia State Lottery. The billboard read, “Lottery $22 Million.”
The Spirit bore witness that this was a SIGN testifying that those who have submitted to the flesh cutting process of God are about to enter into experiences that will be akin to having won the lottery. Great and awesome things are at hand. Many have been the promises the Father has spoken to me over the years of that which is coming. I confess that I am not worthy to receive those things the Father has planned, but He delights to give good gifts to His children and He has been waiting long and patiently to bestow upon His obedient sons and daughters the awesome gifts that have been prepared for this hour.
Many will be given sight into spiritual things that have been hidden in darkness. Many doors of opportunity, of provision, and blessing, will be opened.
Isaiah 45:2-3
I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars. And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places...
The Spirit will fall upon many in a way that has never been witnessed before. Even the day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago will not compare to that which is coming. Now, at the end of the age, the Father will pour forth the early and the latter rains together.
Joel 2:23-27
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you — the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of Yahweh your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I AM IN the MIDST of Israel.
Peter told the crowd gathered on the day of Pentecost, “This is That” of which the prophets spoke. They were receiving the former rain. Now it is time for the former and the latter rains to be poured forth together. Then all the earth will know that Yahweh is IN His people.
The threshing floors will be full of wheat. Yes, those who have submitted to the refining of the Father will overflow with grain to feed a hungry world. The vats will overflow with new wine and oil. Truly, those vessels who have submitted to the preparation of the Father will find within them a fountain overflowing with the anointing of the Spirit and the life of Christ.
John 7:38-39
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive...
Those who have long borne reproach will be elevated as Joseph was in the day he came forth from the prison to stand beside the throne. Honor will be their portion, for they have willingly borne shame and ridicule. These will be humble servants of the Most High who will seek only His pleasure and live for His approval.
On that day it will be important to remain close to the Lord. Prosperity and blessing brings with it its own trials and tests. Many who have borne patiently with lack and suffering will find themselves tested by abundance. A sister in Christ wrote to me yesterday and shared the following vision she received from the Lord.
I found myself in what looked like clouds. I heard the Lord tell me to lay down. I was apprehensive, but He assured me that it would be ok. So I laid down. Immediately I fell through the clouds and found myself in a hallway longer than the eye could see. Both sides of the hallway had doors. All of the doors were closed. I asked, “What is this?” The Lord responded. “It is yet for an appointed time.”
About a week later as I was sitting with the Lord I found myself in the same vision. This time I was in the hall. I was a little girl, and was holding the hand of Jesus. Suddenly all the doors opened at once. With childlike excitement I let go of His hand and ran to see what was behind the doors. He rebuked me sternly and said, “NEVER let go of my hand, or run ahead of me. Only I know if what is behind those doors is safe. You need me more in times of prosperity than in times of lack.”
People of God, I desire to take this message to heart. Consider those men and women who win the lottery. How many of them make a shipwreck of their lives soon afterward? Many are unprepared to handle prosperity. Their flesh leaps ahead, envisioning the fulfilling of all the lusts and passions that reside within. Prosperity is a time when one must be particularly surrendered to seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is a time to avoid all presumption. To put away all selfish ambition and carnal desire. Prosperity can be the undoing of those who lack self-control and discipline.
There will be those even among the coming group who receive the outpouring of the Spirit, the infusion of fire into their members, who will stand before the Lord and experience the following conversation.
Matthew 7:21-23
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
It is not enough to begin well. We must also finish our race with patience. Let us not stumble after having made good progress in attaining to conformity to the image of Christ. Let us not revert back to living as Adamic men.
I have lost much weight, and have experienced much in the way of flesh cutting. Yet it is possible for all who have done so to put the weight back on and to become fleshly again. Understand the parable contained in these natural matters. We can nevermore abandon the discipline required to live as spiritual men and women.
I can tell you from experience that the temptation to eat an excess of the wrong kind of food is greater when we have an abundance of money than when we are experiencing lean times. Even so, the temptations to pursue fleshly or soulish desires will be greater in coming days for those who have received an abundance of blessing from the Father. It will be an hour to exercise self-control.
People of God, let us have an expectation and anticipation of those things which are coming. The blessings to be bestowed by the Father are for the benefit of His children who have walked in wilderness places, but they are not intended to be employed apart from the direction of His Spirit. We are called to be manifestations of Christ in this world, and He ever lived to do the will of the Father. He became a servant to others.
I mentioned that there were two occurrences that happened Saturday that were prophetic of that which is coming. I went to the Post Office and had received a check from a sister in Christ for $50.00. Fifty is a number relating to Pentecost, for Pentecost falls 50 days after Passover.
Upon going to the bank and depositing it, I came out and wondered what I should spend the money on. I considered whether I should spend it on self, or share it with a friend, or whether the Lord had some specific way in which He desires for it to be employed. I began praying and asking the Father to guide me.
As I walked out into the parking lot to return to my van an obese man walked over to me and asked if I could help him. He showed me his medical discharge papers from the hospital and told me he had been in a diabetic coma. He said he needed $50 for rent or his landlord was going to put him out on the street that day, and he needed a few groceries as he was not to take his medication on an empty stomach. The Spirit revealed to me that the man was speaking the truth to me, and I knew I was to help him. All he said was confirmed when I later took him to his room that he rented on the back of a house, and saw his prescription medication. I then took him to his landlord that he might pay her some money.
I gave the man the $50, plus all the money in my wallet, which only amounted to $17 more. With this he was able to get some groceries. I sensed very strongly that the Lord had ordered my steps, and upon reflection later I began to understand some of what was symbolized.
The fifty dollars represents the outpouring of the Spirit which is coming. It is not to be employed for selfish purposes, nor are we to employ it for the benefit of others as we see fit. We are to wait upon the direction of the Spirit and we are to employ what He gives us according to His direction. What the Lord is about to pour forth upon His children is specifically given to aid in the recovery of a fleshly church, to sustain them as God removes the flesh from them.
Had the Lord tarried in bringing this man across my path, I may very well have used the money in some other way, but God was gracious for He wanted to teach me something. I am encouraged to know that I did not spend the money on self, or use it according to the leading of my soul. I spent every bit of the $50, and then some, according to His leading and direction. This gives me encouragement for the days ahead. I desire earnestly for my life to be a fulfillment of the Father’s will and pleasure, not my own.
The Spirit also showed me that it was significant that this very day that I had reached 165 that I had this opportunity to minister to this man. I shared with him that I was once a big man as he was. I used to be 285 pounds. I told Him that I had also become diabetic, and that the Lord instructed me to cut the fats and sugars out of my diet. Doing so, I lost weight and all the symptoms of diabetes went away.
The Spirit is testifying that those who have submitted to the flesh cutting of God will receive supply that will open doors for them to minister to others, directing them to a course of flesh cutting that will result in health in their bodies. This is a parable, for the outer man is a picture of that which God would also accomplish in the inner man.
People of God, awesome things are at hand. Let us look up and be expectant. The appearing of the Lord in His saints is drawing close. Remember the sign given in the heavens on December 1st. There was a conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon in the Constellation Sagittarius. In Sagittarius is the altar turned upside down with the flames pointing toward the earth. The fire of God is about to fall. This is the testimony of the Spirit of Christ.
Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com
Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063
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