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