I mentioned in back in February that Yahweh directed me to leave the Fair Harbor RV Park in Perry, Georgia where I had been staying in my bus for 14 months. I sensed then that a time of transition was at hand. The number 14 is a number linked to transition in the Bible and the Father had used this number significantly in my life before to give me direction.
Back in 1999 the Father began speaking to me about leaving my employer, a county hospital where I had been working since 1985 (14 years). Yahweh indicated that I was to begin a ministry of writing and teaching full-time, trusting Him for all of my family’s provision. This was a major step. I had no money saved up and no church to support me. I would be looking to Yahweh for all things.
As you might imagine, this caused me a great deal of anxiety, so I asked the Father to give me confirmation of that which He was speaking to me. Soon afterwards I was walking through the kitchen of our home and my eyes fell upon a J. Oswald Chambers flip calendar we had in the window. Each page had a Scripture and a quotation by Oswald Chambers. The Scripture that day was Exodus 14:14.
There are certain things that when you see them you can sense the Spirit speaking through them. I had looked at that calendar many days and thought it was sharing good things, but never was my spirit arrested as on that day. I sensed the Spirit speaking about His call for me to quit my employer and embark on a new phase of life. The book the Scripture was taken from was Exodus. The word Exodus means “to journey out from a place, to depart.” I had been sensing the Father’s guidance indicating it was time to depart from that labor as a computer manager I had been performing and begin a new thing.
What arrested my attention even more was the repetition of the number 14. I had been at my employer 14 years. I was mindful that when something is repeated it can denote that the matter is settled with God and it will happen quickly. Joseph, the son of Jacob, spoke the following words to Pharaoh.
Genesis 41:32
"Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.”
I sensed that the Father was giving me an affirmation that day regarding His will for me to embark upon this wilderness trek He was leading me into. Yet, being beset by many doubts and fears I asked the Father for further confirmation. The Spirit spoke to me and told me to go look up the number fourteen in Scripture. I was particularly instructed to look for the first occurrence of the number, knowing that the first occurrence of various items in the Bible often testify to their spiritual significance.
I was using PC Study Bible at the time (an older version than I now have), so I went to my computer and did a search on the word “fourteen.” My Bible program gave a list of every Scripture containing that word with a brief snippet from each passage. My heart leaped when I saw the very first entry. It said “I worked for you fourteen years...” That is the NIV rendering, and it is what I saw. The Scripture reference was Genesis 31:41 where Jacob is speaking to his father-in-law Laban as Jacob is fleeing from Laban’s household and returning to the land of Canaan. This denoted a great transition in Jacob’s life.
As I read this I was greatly encouraged by the Father to believe what He was speaking to me, gaining a profound assurance of His direction at that time. I did not stop there, however, I also looked for the first occurrence of the word “fourteen” in the New Testament. The number is repeated three times in the very first chapter of Matthew.
Matthew 1:17
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
As I considered this list, and why it is broken up into three sets of fourteen generations, I perceived that at the end of every fourteenth generation a transition occurred in the way Yahweh was working with His people. Yahweh began a new thing when He chose Abraham from among the nations to raise up a single nation that would be His own peculiar people, holy unto Him. From the time of David Yahweh set kings over the people. (King Saul is not included in this list because he was stubborn and disobedient and is not in the lineage of the Christ, being of the tribe of Benjamin.)
At the deportation to Babylon the line of sovereign kings of Israel came to an end and Israel became a vassal state to other nations. This continued under Persia, Greece and Rome. At the time of Christ a final transition occurred. The true King and Messiah of Israel appeared and all men who would come to the Father would evermore have to gain their entrance through the Son of God. Thus we see that at each fourteen a significant transition occurred for the people of God.
In the book of Matthew the lineage of Christ is related in three sets of fourteen generations. Three is a number denoting fulness and divine completeness. Thus, at the end of the third set of fourteen we see the fulness and perfection of that which Yahweh intended. He sent His Son to be the ruler of His people. I share this as background so that you will understand what I would share regarding the specific ways in which Yahweh is leading me at this time. I left the RV Park I had been at after 14 months. I sensed the Father preparing me to enter into a new phase of my life and ministry. Since then He has been directing me to do certain specific things to get all in readiness for that which will follow.
Much of that which the Father has been directing me to do is practical in nature, yet it is filled with symbolic import. The Father has been leading me to get my bus in top shape. Vehicles represent ministries. Having spent 14 months living in the bus I learned certain things. I realized some things needed to be changed, and I also identified areas of repair that needed to be performed. Mechanically I have been led to put new tires on the front of the bus. I had the rear axle seal replaced where it was leaking oil. The exhaust pipe which ended under the bus, I had routed out to the side. I had the brakes adjusted and the oil changed. More recently I also replaced the carburetor as I found when driving the bus to Jekyll Island that the old one with a governor (restrictor) built onto it was causing problems, leading to the bus backfiring and jerking when it approached higher rpms. The governor has been removed and the bus is driving as if it has been unchained. It really felt like it was dragging heavy weight before. (I will let the reader ponder the parables in each of these things.)
When I first converted the school bus to an RV I had painted the windows with a transparent black paint. This gave some privacy inside while also allowing some light to enter. I found, however, that the black painted windows absorbed a lot of heat and made the interior of the bus warm up. In the summer time the single AC unit on the roof was inadequate to keep it comfortable inside. To remedy this I recently stripped the paint off of all the windows and put mirrored reflective tint on them. The difference could be felt at once.
The tint provides privacy during the day as it has a mirror appearance when light is shining on it, but at night you can see right through it. This led me to find curtains to put over the windows that I could tie back during the day.
(Click on Any Image to View Larger)
It is a blessing to be able to look out all the windows now during the daytime. When they were painted black I could not see out of them. The natural light inside the bus is also increased during the daytime. I see symbolism in this as Yahweh is giving a greater illumination and increased vision.
There are some windows that are hidden behind walls. I could not access them to remove the black paint, so I painted those windows white from the outside to cut down on heat absorption. There have been numerous other projects I have been accomplishing, but the biggest thing the Father directed me to do was to purchase a larger trailer to tow behind the bus. I had been using the small 5' x 8' trailer that I had towed behind my van when I journeyed across the nation. Yahweh affirmed to me in very certain ways that it was His will for me to get a larger trailer. I did not know why at first, and I had no pressing desire in my soul to get one, but I clearly sensed the Spirit directing me in this way.
I began looking at trailers and after some investigation and much prayer, I discerned the specific one the Father would have me to acquire. It is a 7' x 16' enclosed cargo trailer and it was manufactured in a town not far from where I was staying. The price was by far the best of any other manufacturer I looked at. Once more I asked the Father to affirm His will. The Spirit led me to enter the address of the manufacturer in my GPS unit and see how far it was from where I was parked at that moment in another RV Park in Perry, GA.
1:15 Hours and 44.4 Miles
I had been writing at that time about Yahweh preparing His people for a wilderness journey intended to humble them. The number 4 denotes humility in the Scriptures. A triple repetition of the number 4 signifies a completeness of humility. This is to be accomplished as Yahweh leads a remnant of His people through wilderness experiences in the days ahead.
Deuteronomy 8:2
"You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you...”
Additionally, the estimated travel time was 1:15 hours. The number 115 is 23 times 5. Yahweh has frequently used these number together in my life to signify His grace (5) for provision (23 as in Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”) Again, the Spirit bore witness to His will in this matter and I placed an order for a trailer which I picked up right after I returned from Jekyll Island about two weeks ago.
The Spirit directed me to give the smaller trailer to Randy Simmons. This too was significant. Randy has followed me in ministry (quite literally at times). When I journeyed 11,000 miles across the nation in 2010 Randy was driving behind me in his van the entire way. He had a constant view of the back of the trailer I was towing. The manufacturer name was on the back of it in large letters “Carry On.” The Father was speaking to Randy at that time through the song by the group Kansas that says, “Carry on wayward son. There will be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don’t you cry no more.”
Yahweh has been preparing Randy for ministry in these latter days as well. It is significant that he would be given my former trailer as Randy carries with him in his heart those teachings he has heard me share on numerous occasions with the saints of God. Randy has been sharing these truths already, but this will be increased in coming days even as pulling a trailer signifies an enlarged capacity.
My New Larger Trailer
Bus with New Trailer
You can note in the picture above the windows that are now painted white. These are the ones with walls behind them. The reflective windows are all accessible and can be raised and lowered. The overall length of the bus and trailer together is approximately 50 feet. It can be a challenge to drive such a large vehicle. I have to carefully choose where I stop for gas, or what stores I visit. I have to scan ahead and make sure I can get in and out of the parking lots.
Another View of Bus and Trailer
Having been led of the Father to purchase a larger trailer I began to pray and ask Him what He wanted me to do with it. The revelation did not come all at once, but rather step by step. This is often the manner in which Yahweh will lead His sons and daughters. He will show us just the next thing we are to do. When we do that He will show us the following step.
During this time the Father had been speaking to me much about altering my diet and eating more healthy. You may remember my blog posts on the discipline of sons and Yahweh breaking my leg as discipline for not ruling over my appetite for food. Along the way the Father began speaking to me about changing my eating habits. I was led to purchase a bread machine and a grain grinder and begin baking my own whole wheat breads. I installed the grain mill in the trailer as I do not have room for it in the bus. The Father also spoke to me about eating more beans of all types, and I also purchased a rice cooker in which I cook whole grain brown rice.
Having made these changes, and taken these steps of obedience, the Father began speaking to me about storing up grains and beans in the trailer. He disclosed that this was the purpose for which He gave me this larger trailer. Randy Simmons came down, and with his help and George’s, the man who has been staying with me, we built shelves in the trailer. I measured the large rectangular storage containers, of which I have a number already, and built the shelves accordingly.
After the shelves were built I looked into storage options for grains and beans and found that the large storage containers I have are not optimum for this purpose as they are not air tight and will not keep bugs out. I needed to get five gallon buckets with hermetically sealed (air tight) lids. I researched my options and found that the Gamma Lids are ideal for this type of storage.
http://youtu.be/YqIa21b4VLc
Gamma Lids
Searching the Internet I found the best prices for buckets and lids at a company named Baytec.
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/nsearch.html?query=gamma+lids
The best deals on Baytec’s site were in purchasing buckets and lids in multiples of 14. I considered how many I would need. I thought of purchasing 28 buckets and lids, but I had no peace about this amount. I was seeking to discern the witness of the Spirit and I sensed I was to order 42 buckets and lids. This is 14+14+14. I had no particular reason to order this number. I just sensed by the Spirit that this was the amount I was to acquire.
The buckets and lids arrived two days ago on my birthday. Thank you Father! That was a nice gift. Because I knew I would be putting grain and beans in the buckets and they would be heavy, I determined that the best place for them would be on the bottom shelves in the trailer where they would be resting on the floor. Now remember, I did not build the shelves with buckets in mind. I was thinking of the larger storage containers that are rectangular and have a volume of 18 gallons. I wondered how the buckets would fit and how many I would be able to put on the bottom shelves.
I put the buckets and lids together and laid them out in the trailer. When I saw how they fit I praised the Father. Only He could have guided me to build the shelves this exact size. All forty-two buckets fit on the bottom shelves in the trailer, and there was not more than an inch left over in any direction. If I had purchased buckets first, and then designed shelves to put them on, I could not have arrived at a more perfect fit.
Buckets in Trailer
Another View
I have observed so much grace in all that the Father has been having me to do of late. His hand has truly been guiding. My next task is to purchase the grains and beans and fill the buckets. I purchased oxygen and moisture absorption packets to put in the buckets with the grains and beans. If I can find some dry ice locally, I will also use this when I fill and seal up the buckets. The dry ice as it warms and sublimates, turning into CO2 gas, fills up the buckets, displacing the oxygen. This effectually kills any bugs that may be in the grains and beans and helps preserve them for long term storage. A 1/4 pound block of dry ice in the bottom of each five gallon bucket is sufficient for the task. If you do this, do not seal the container until the dry ice has completely sublimated or pressure will build up inside.
Now, some may naturally wonder, “Why are you storing up grains and beans at this time?” The answer, “Because Yahweh directed me to do so.”
I have been proclaiming to a remnant of God’s people for more than ten years that judgment is coming to the church and to the nations. Yet, never in the past ten years has the Father ever directed me to store up food. I am confident that this is His counsel “TO ME” at this time. I am not advocating that all Christians should run out and do the same. My counsel must continue to be that you remain sensitive to the voice of the Spirit and do whatever the Father instructs YOU to do.
Even as the body is many parts and has been given various gifts, I would not think it unusual for the Spirit to lead individual members to do different things in preparation for the days ahead. My name is Joseph, and Yahweh led Joseph many years ago to store up grain ahead of a time of worldwide famine. Perhaps my being directed to do so at this time has more to do with the symbolic nature of it than the practical aspect. Even with 42 buckets of grain and beans I could only feed a few people for a limited amount of time. I do not have the authority and resources of that Joseph centuries ago who stored up grain all across the land of Egypt.
In a sense, the Father has been having me store up spiritual grain for years. Those teachings and revelations He has imparted to me are the food He has given. He has led me to prepare these teachings for consumption, writing books, blogs, creating newsletters, and recording audio files and videos. During the past 12-13 years in which I have been amassing this spiritual grain there has been very little hunger for it. The people of God have been sated on other things. The church has fed itself on a diet of junk food that does not profit, a prosperity gospel, messages about angels named Emma, and various other things. I believe an hour is at hand when Yahweh will awaken in a remnant of His people a hunger for true food that satisfies. He will then send the people to His Josephs to receive spiritual grain even as Pharaoh did millennia ago.
Genesis 41:55
So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do."
I am mindful that Yahweh raised up Joseph with the express intent of preserving a “remnant” alive in the earth. Though multitudes profited from Joseph’s work, Yahweh’s focus was upon a remnant.
Genesis 45:7
God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.”
It is this remnant that Yahweh has continually told me to focus upon. He has spoken of the remnant through the 153 fish the disciples pulled up in the nets after the resurrection of Christ. On my birthday two nights ago I was sound asleep when my cell phone rang. It was a wrong number, but when I flipped open my phone I saw the time displayed. It was 1:53 A.M.. Yahweh is speaking of a remnant. He wants His Joseph’s to be alert and awake and conscious of that remnant that He has called unto Himself.
Regarding the 42 buckets, I have reflected on the fact that there were 42 stops that the Israelites made in their wilderness journeys from Egypt to the land of Canaan. There are also 42 months that the woman (the church) is to be fed in the wilderness.
I sense that a time of great transition is at hand. Yahweh is having His people get things in readiness. These are some of the things He has been directing me to do. I am going to conclude this post by sharing two e-mails I received in the last week.
Hi Joseph,
Yesterday morning, May 5, I was awakened by flashes of lightning coming through the blinds intermittently. I was awakened in the midst of a dream in which I was praying a prayer of intense worship and thanksgiving. I awoke so peaceful and happy. I felt pulled out of bed, drawn, wooed-I don't know how to put it. Normally every morning I have a tussle with my flesh to get myself out of bed, especially THAT early, but not yesterday. It was so unusual.
So I went to my spot where I usually talk to God in the morning. I opened my notebook and started writing my prayer. After a bit, I flipped open my Bible and once again, as so many other times the past year, I opened to
Isaiah 14:27 "For the Lord of Hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?"
Then I was led to Isaiah 45 and 46. I am God, there is no other. My purpose WILL be established. Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I WILL do it.
I felt the Spirit speaking so deliberately and emphatically. I wrote:
In the midst of judgement - salvation.
Babylon's destruction/ judgement shall come upon her suddenly. And it IS coming, says the Lord God. I have prepared my people and I will carry my people through the fire. I will set them upon a Rock. They shall be my people and I shall be their God, from everlasting to everlasting. Stand still and look up, for your salvation draweth nigh.
Terri Harrison
---
Hi Joseph!
I read about your bread-baking experience with great enthusiasm – I also recently started baking! It is simply ‘mind-boggling’ ( I do not know if that is a harsh word or if it is spelled correctly) how the Lord works! I told my wife about three weeks ago that we must stop buying bread and start baking. I love the old way of cooking and use an old wood-fired stove. You only need about 6 – 8 pieces of wood to bake two loafs and prepare a meal (half the price of electric cooking). Not that harmful to the environment if you consider how much coal is needed for electricity! I like the bread baked to a dark colour, while my wife likes it less dark (see the pics!).
I took two slices – one baked and one bought(same size and thickness) – and weighed it. The baked slice weight twice as much as the bought one and it cost half the price. The Lord has been speaking to me about my lifestyle as well – I recently canceled all insurance and medical care and Jahwe made it clear that if I want to trust in Him for health, then I must eat what He provides and not what man ‘creates.’ All the processed foods available are there just to satisfy man’s greed and cravings for more tasty foods that are easier and quicker to prepare. In the process most of the nutrition is replaced by harmful substances that only serve to cause illness. In short, we eat out of greed and not out of need. And Jahwe does not provide for greed, only for need.
Does not the Lord speak to us through this bread parable? He is the pure, nutritious Bread of Life. He invites us to eat of this bread, which is all we need. Satan, through the church, also supplies ‘bread of life’ to man. It looks delicious and even smells and tastes great (it looks like the real thing and can easily be mistaken for the Bread of Life), but it is stripped of all nutrition and filled with his harmful substances. So therefore the church is being poisoned while thinking she is being fed. This poison even tastes good and makes you feel well. We can go a step further: all processed food looks very edible and tasty. But do we really know what is in it? We simply buy what suits our craving without asking questions. That is exactly what is happening in the so-called ‘church.’
Brian from South Africa
Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com
Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063
No comments:
Post a Comment