A Time of Examination

Joseph Herrin (09-16-2010)

Workman Inspect Building Damage in Christchurch

If you knew that a great earthquake was coming to Christ’s church, what would you do? Would you not want to know whether your home would stand in that hour?

There is a great shaking coming. The Father is leading many of His sons and daughters to allow Him to reveal faults and weaknesses that could lead to tremendous loss if steps are not take to address them.

Shortly after I arrived back in Georgia I sent out a letter to a number of people with whom I have frequent correspondence. I shared with them some experiences on the trip Randy Simmons and I recently completed. I shared that during the trip the Father had revealed some weakness and faults in my life, and I was being led to take steps to address these shortcomings.

Those who have walked for a long time through wilderness places, and have known much of the dealings of the Father, may have made much progress in their lives. However, they can still have some area of weakness, some fault that can cause them to suffer great loss.

Moses is a case in point. We have the following testimony of Moses’ life.

Hebrews 11:24-27
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

At the age of forty Moses departed from Egypt and spent forty years in the wilderness tending his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep. He left a life of affluence, or honor and authority in one of the greatest civilizations of all history, and endured a wilderness experience. Apart from this experience, Moses would not have had the character formed in him which was necessary for Yahweh to employ him as the instrument of His people’s deliverance. After forty years in the wilderness we find that Yahweh describes Moses as the most humble man alive on the face of the earth.

Numbers 12:3
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.

Despite Moses’ great progress, there was a fault within him, a weakness that unaddressed would lead to great loss. This fault was revealed toward the end of his life as he was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. Becoming exasperated with the people’s complaints he struck the rock a second time when Yahweh told him to speak to it.

Numbers 20:6-12
Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and fell on their faces. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to them; and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink." So Moses took the rod from before Yahweh, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, "Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."

Moses suffered a great loss due to this transgression in his life. Moses violated the command of Yahweh due to an impatience that sprang from a root of selfishness. Moses’ pitied himself, considering the burden of the people that God had placed upon him to be too difficult. This self-pity eventually manifested itself in a way that caused him to suffer loss.

I am unable to fully develop this hidden fault in this writing. If you desire to read more on it, I recommend the writing titled The Peril of Self-Pity.

http://www.heart4god.ws/id281.htm

The Father does not want His sons and daughters to suffer loss. He wants them to attain to all that He has prepared for those who walk as overcomers. He has invited all His children to qualify themselves to be numbered among the firstborn sons of God, attaining to the first resurrection. Yet only a small remnant will do so.

Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

To become a partaker of the first resurrection is the spiritual equivalent of being a firstborn son. The birthright and the blessing belong to the firstborn. These will be preeminent among all their brothers.

The apostle Paul had his eye on this prize, and he exercised self-control at all times lest he should be disqualified. Paul permitted the Spirit of Christ to reveal any hidden faults, any lack that might disqualify him from the prize before him.

Philippians 3:10-14
To get to know him, and the power of his resurrection and fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death, - If by any means I may advance to the earlier resurrection, which is from among the dead: Not that I have, already, received, or have, already, reached perfection, but I am pressing on - if I may even lay hold of that for which I have also been laid hold of by Christ Jesus: - Brethren! I, as to myself, reckon that I have, not yet, laid hold; one thing, however, -  the things behind, forgetting, and, unto the things before, eagerly reaching out, with the goal in view, I press on for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.
[Rotherham Emphasized Bible]

I have been mindful that even after having spent the past four months preaching to others that there is a prize to be attained, and the great peril of falling short of the will of our Father, I may yet fall short myself. I must compete according to the rules if I would attain to the prize. It is not enough to know truth, we must walk in the truth. Self-control, personal discipline, are required by those who strive for the mastery in sports and who would achieve the top prizes. How much more must those who are seeking the greatest prize of all exercise self-control in ALL things?

I Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

People of God, I confess that my flesh does not want to be crucified any more than any other person’s. I would not have walked the path I have been on for the past eleven years unless I saw that there was some prize before me and a fear of falling short had gripped me. Our Father has called us to set our eyes on the goal, and to be as Christ “who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). We must see the goal, the prize, the joy, if we are to run the race with endurance.

At times my endurance flags. I find myself growing spiritually lazy, failing to exercise the self-discipline required of an overcoming son. I shared these things in a recent letter to some friends and saints. One brother, who is a believing Jew, wrote me back and mentioned that the dealing of the Father in my life was very much in synch with the Jewish feast days. I asked him to explain what he meant.

Alan told me that the period of time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a span of ten days, is a traditional time of self-examination and repentance for the Jews. Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) began on the evening of September 8. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) will begin at sundown on the evening of September 18. It is a day to afflict one’s soul, a day of fasting, of confession and repentance.

Leviticus 23:26-32
And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to Yahweh. Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before Yahweh your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath."

This most holy day on the Hebrew calendar is often referred to as “a Sabbath of Sabbaths.” If you are unfamiliar with the spiritual substance of Sabbath rest, that which all Christians are to strive to enter into, I recommend to you the book Sabbath.

http://www.heart4god.ws/id214.htm

Our souls are the offering we are to bring to Yahweh on the day of Atonement. We are to permit His Spirit to burn shine forth His light into the dark and hidden recesses of our lives, to perform His work of fiery burning. We are to agree with Him concerning any work, any activity, or patterns of thought in our lives that are out of synch with His own holy character. We must set our faces to correct all that is not in alignment with Yahweh.

There is a danger for all saints in thinking that they have done enough, already, that their present level of conformity to Christ is enough. Our Father has determined that His sons and daughters should arrive at a fulness of conformity to the image of Christ.

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.

Our Father earnestly desires that Christ be FULLY FORMED within us (Galatians 4:19).

I have received some e-mails recently that impress upon me the seriousness of the hour and what is at stake. I will share a few here. This first one especially has impressed upon me the peril of complacency, of failing in diligence, in watchfulness and preparation.

Cheryl Bullard wrote to me the following:

Mr. Herrin,


I have something to share with you.  Please pray and ask Father to give you insight on it also, because I believe it is an important message.


Recall the story of Gideon's Army.  There is a parallel there that I believe is an eye-opener to those who believe they have already 'attained' overcomer status... One which will humble one and all...


Gideon "called up" all those who would come... 32,000 showed up... This is prophetic of all believers from among the world (they are the "called")....


Out of the 32,000 called, all those who were fearful were sent home.  This is prophetic of the overcomers being chosen from among all believers, and the reason is because they "overcame fear" whereas the ones sent home were therefore NOT "overcomers" (of fear).  The 32,000 was culled down then to 10,000 (the "called" and "chosen")...


I am sure that at this point the 10,000 "overcomers" believed that they were the final number for Gideon's Army.  I am sure all these overcomers believed that none would be sent home.  I am sure they believed there was no further test (just as many probably do today).  But there was.


Out of the 10,000 Overcomers, God had Gideon then WATCH and note who drank straight from the brook (with their face in the water) versus those who "kept on guard" of their surroundings and drank water from their cupped hand.  The 10,000 were culled down then to a mere 300.  This represents a tiny 3% of all overcomers who "overcame fear."  The other thing of note is that the overcomers did NOT know they were being tested and watched.  They didn't know there was another test to determine who would be in that final cut, and who wouldn't.  I believe this is the time period we are in right now, and many among this overcomer group are not aware they are being watched and tested.  The "test" is a timely one.... It is one of "being on guard"..."cautious"....hand on the sword (WORD) and watchful .... i.e., the test is one concerning DISCERNMENT. (These are the "called", "chosen", AND "faithful").
Cheryl

If you are content with your present spiritual condition, if you believe you have made the cut, do not permit yourself to be complacent in this hour. Strengthen the things that are weak and ready to die. Allow the Father to reveal anything that falls short of completeness in your life (Revelation 3:2). A man may fall from any height. It is a time to humble ourselves yet further, for there is a very great prize before us, and only the smallest remnant will attain to it.

Following is a note I received in reply to yesterday’s invitation for the saints to share what they are hearing from the Father. Sandi Keller wrote:

Brother Herrin,


You asked what others might of heard. I was actually sitting on the couch yesterday in silence and heard the words “Don't be caught Off guard.” When I read your blog this morning I looked it up -not prepared or Vigilant- not prepared in a state of readiness-slow to understand or respond. Just wanted to share.


Your sister in Christ, Sandi

People of God, I entreat you to stir yourself up yet more. Do not let down your guard, or slacken your pace, for the finish line has not yet been crossed. Stir up one another even as I am seeking to stir you up. Pray for one another. How tragic it would be for any to be called to be among the manchild company who will ascend to the throne, only to be disqualified unawares like the 9,700 men who made the first cut in Gideon’s army. Be watchful. Be ready.

A further word for consideration that was sent to me can be found here:

http://sermonplayer.com/c/coffeetalkswithmessiah/pdf/2482459_19375.pdf


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

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com  

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063