Coming Out - Dream and Letter

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I took some time to respond to them, and I wanted to share the correspondence, for I felt that others in a similar situation might be encouraged.</div> <div> I pray that something here would be used to bring encouragement or understanding to you.</div> <div> Joseph Herrin</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Dream</B></div> <div> Recently a brother and sister in the USA both had troubling dreams on the same night and they related them to me and asked for my thoughts on them. The dreams had a personal interpretation, but also a more general application for many who are finding themselves outside of the organized church in this hour, or who are considering coming out. Desiring to encourage some in this position, I am including this brother's dream and the interpretation for the Church's consideration.</div> <bR> <div> Following this is a letter to a young sister in Singapore that also has found herself outside of the body of Christ recently and she has been troubled some by feelings of guilt due to her separation. I pray that it might speak to you as well.</div> <bR> <div> Note: I have removed personal names here as they are not necessary to the understanding of these messages.</div> <div> Joseph Herrin</div> <div> The dream related to me:</div> <bR> <div> I was walking down a road in Wisconsin, waiting for my Dad to come and pick me up with my car, I kept missing him.</div> <bR> <div> Without going into a lot of detail, I grabbed a ride on a bus and was standing on the outside step by the front door. I was holding on to the mirror and thinking to myself the driver was going too fast.</div> <bR> <div> I remember driving by my uncle’s farm, it was abandoned and overgrown. </div> <bR> <div> The bus driver went around a corner too fast and the bus went off the road on a sharp cliff.</div> <bR> <div> I jumped from the bus and tried to grab a hold of the edge of the cliff, but could not hold on. </div> <bR> <div> The driver tried to give me a boost as the bus started to topple over the edge, but even that didn't help.</div> <bR> <div> It seemed like thousands of feet to the bottom of a valley and when I realized I was going to die from the fall, I started to repent and ask God's forgiveness. I remember thinking as I repented in my dream how real my words sounded, not like part of the dream. </div> <bR> <div> I didn't die and somehow ended up at my Grandmothers house in NY and started to look for my Dad again... I woke up before I found my Dad. </div> <div> [end dream]</div> <bR> <div> Dear [Brother],</div> <div> I am just going to start all over in looking at your dream, since I didn’t copy down what I already wrote. The Father is often quite practical in our dreams. He often relates things to us that pertain to us at that time. It is similar to Paul when he was heading to Jerusalem and he testified that everywhere he went that the Spirit was testifying through people that bonds and imprisonment awaited him. Agabus the prophet even bound Paul with his own belt to signify what the Spirit was revealing. In similar way the Father often portrays to us some facet of what we are dealing with to give us understanding, or to make us aware of something, that we might pray about it, or give special attention to a matter. I believe your dream is of this type and it is a personal word to you, thus you had all the personal references of people and places that you were familiar with.</div> <bR> <div> It is noteworthy that you and [your wife] have just come through a time of decision regarding participation in the church and you have found yourself once again outside the camp. I know this has been a difficult decision for the two of you. It is hard to not do the church thing when it is what we have known for years, or even all of our lives. We often feel some sense of condemnation for not participating in that which most people consider to be the greatest trait of a Christian, attending church. It goes against the grain for us to step back from it and to declare that the Spirit is not leading us to attend, but rather to come out and be separate. It goes against every natural inclination we have.</div> <bR> <div> I suspect that this is some of the purpose of your dream. To get you to look at this a little more in depth.</div> <bR> <div> In your dream you saw the following:</div> <div> <I>I was walking down a road in Wisconsin, waiting for my Dad to come and pick me up with my car, I kept missing him.</I></div> <bR> <div> I think it is significant that your Dad was going to pick you up in YOUR car. As I mentioned previously, vehicles represent ministries, and your heavenly Father has a ministry prepared just for you. Does this not fit where you have been walking at? You have thought that perhaps God would use you in this place, or that place, and you have tried to position yourself in these places so that He could use you, but your ministry in these places never materialized. When you expected God to meet you in a place, such as the [last] church you have participated in, it seemed that the doors were actually quite shut to you.</div> <bR> <div> You then experienced the following in your dream:</div> <div> <I>Without going into a lot of detail, I grabbed a ride on a bus and was standing on the outside step by the front door. I was holding on to the mirror and thinking to myself the driver was going too fast.</I></div> <bR> <div> As I mentioned before, this bus is another vehicle representing ministry, and by its size it indicates that it is a ministry vehicle that accommodates many people. I believe it represents not just a single church, but the organized church in general. It is quite significant that you found yourself outside the bus. This is exactly where you are now. You are outside the organized church looking in. Those responsible for driving the bus (the ministers) were doing so in a reckless manner, and you realized this. Their behavior was endangering the safety of all those who rode with them.</div> <bR> <div> It is also significant that you were still holding on to the bus, for I don’t believe you have yet released the organized church, but you still hope that it will get all those who are traveling on it to their destination. It is also significant that you were holding on to the mirror. The mirror was one that was facing backwards. Even so, it is your reflections on the church and how it has been used in the past that make you hesitant to let go. But even as a mirror shows a reflection, and not true substance, what you are holding onto is an image of things that have no substance today. The church has fallen away from the will of Yahweh, and it is not taking people to the destination God would have them arrive at. Instead the ministers are recklessly driving it towards tragedy and judgment.</div> <bR> <div> Next you experienced the following:</div> <div> <I>I remember driving by my uncle’s farm, it was abandoned and overgrown. </I></div> <bR> <div> I believe this is one more reference to the mission of the church that is not being fulfilled. We are told to pray that Yahweh would send laborers out into the harvest. Instead the laborers have been busy building buildings and establishing little kingdoms and becoming fascinated with the things of the world. The church today most exemplifies the Laodicean church that looks at its material wealth and prosperity and equates it with godliness and fulfilling the Father’s will. But the church has neglected the things that truly matter. The fields of the Lord have been abandoned and their condition is one of being overgrown with weeds.</div> <bR> <div> It is again significant that you were being carried along by the bus when you saw these things. The church goes right past the fields that Father would have them to labor in every day, their offices, their neighborhoods, their schools, etc., but they roll on by oblivious of their overgrown and destitute condition.</div> <bR> <div> One thing I battled in the last church I was involved in was trying to get the focus of the church away from the building that they met in a couple days a week. The building is not our ministry field, nor the neighborhood around the building. The ministers are to equip the saints for the work of the service and this service is to be carried out in the places where they spend their lives. Because most churches focus on the ministers carrying out the work of the service, the focus tends to be upon that place where the minister works - the church building. It should be upon the place where the body works - the world.</div> <bR> <div> Even in a body that was stating that they wanted the ministers to decrease that the body might increase, a body where the ministers stressed the importance of home groups and equipping and releasing the saints, we never saw a departure from a building based mentality. Most of the reticence seemed to be due to concerns for how offerings would be collected and distributed if we did not have a centralized focus. Time after time different ministers would suggest some new program or outreach and it was invariably centered around the church building when 80% of the congregation did not even live in the town the church building was located in.</div> <bR> <div> The ministers refused to depart from a building-centric and minister-centric focus because they were afraid of what would happen to their position and support. So the body was never actually equipped and released into the fields of the Lord. They remained as riders on the bus, following the leading of the ministers and finding pride in who was driving the bus and what the driver was saying and doing.</div> <div> (Sorry for my rabbit chasing.)</div> <bR> <div> Next you wrote:</div> <div> <I>The bus driver went around a corner too fast and the bus went off the road on a sharp cliff.</I></div> <bR> <div> The church and her ministers are not paying attention to the warning signs. They are recklessly heading for disaster and they are missing the warnings and directions the Father is giving in this hour. The road the Father has us on is narrow, and there is great danger in running off of it. This is represented by a sharp cliff. Even as Pride and Haughtiness are said in Proverbs to lead to destruction and a fall, so the church that resembles Laodicea is proud and says they are in need of nothing. They proclaim that they are rich and increased in goods and they are walking in a haughty manner before God, not being sensitive to His leading or His desires. Their judgment is coming swiftly.</div> <bR> <div> We have some friends that have Sky Angel satellite TV. When we spent some time with them I was appalled at the ministries being aired on it and what they were saying. Signs of prosperity were everywhere. The people wore the fanciest of clothes, ministers wearing thousand dollar suits. They sat on gilded chairs perched upon luxurious platforms. Their messages were messages of blessing and prosperity. They flashed enormous rings on their fingers, and their well coiffed hair was never out of place.</div> <bR> <div> The proverb is true, "What began as a movement in Jerusalem became a philosophy in Greece, an institution in Rome, a culture in Europe, and a big wealthy enterprise in America..., but God is coming back for a movement."</div> <bR> <div> By the way, this aspect of your dream has been portrayed as a warning in many ways to the church recently. I wrote an article on my website that speaks of the prophetic significance of JFK Jr’s death in a plane crash while on the way to a wedding (Note the destination). If you have time to review this article, I would recommend it. More recently in Israel a group was at a wedding party that was being held on the third floor of a building. The floors collapsed and they fell to the first floor, killing or injuring most of those there. Note again the wedding significance and the fact that they fell two floors representing two thousand years of the church. Only a remnant survived, and these were those who were along the walls for the floor collapsed in the center. This is again symbolic of a remnant that is finding itself on the outside, or the periphery of the church, much like yourself holding on to the outside of the bus. They alone will escape injury in the coming judgment of God.</div> <bR> <div> In another example, the destruction of the World Trade Centers was prophetic of the judgment to come on the church. We have first the natural, then the spiritual. The WTC towers stood at the junction of Church and Liberty streets in Manhattan. It has been the churches abuse of her liberty that has led to her condition today in resembling the great harlot. Revelation 18 states that the harlot’s sins have ascended as high as heaven. The great harlot is also typified by Babylon and in Isaiah 21:9, Revelation 14:8, and Revelation 18:2 her demise is announced with the double usage of the word "fallen".</div> <bR> <div> So this is what I see portrayed in the bus running off the cliff. It is a sudden judgment coming upon her due to her carnality, worldliness, and rebellion. The ministers are driving her towards sudden destruction.</div> <bR> <div> Next you reported:</div> <div> <I>I jumped from the bus and tried to grab a hold of the edge of the cliff, but could not hold on. </I></div> <bR> <div> I believe this to be a warning of what will happen if you do not let go of the bus before disaster overcomes her. As I mentioned in another post, the scripture that the Father has brought to many prophets of late is Revelation 18:4, "Come out of her My people, lest you participate in her sins and partake of her plagues." This scripture continues as follows:</div> <bR> <div> Revelation 18:5-8</div> <div> 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.</div> <div> 6 "Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.</div> <div> 7 "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.'</div> <div> 8 "For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong."</div> <div> (NAS)</div> <bR> <div> [Brother], this is a most somber warning. I believe that the Father is speaking fervently to you in this dream to let go of the bus before it is too late to extricate yourself from her ruin. I read in some of your words that you still think the church will be revived and will actually arrive at her destination. You told me that you have noted that there are many more going to church since the events of 9/11. But what is the good of getting on a bus that is heading for a cliff and sudden disaster? Will not the people flee from one calamity only to be met with another? Will not the following scripture be fulfilled?</div> <bR> <div> Amos 5:18-21</div> <div> 18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of [Yahweh], for what purpose will the day of [Yahweh] be to you? It will be darkness and not light;</div> <div> 19 As when a man flees from a lion, and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him.</div> <div> 20 Will not the day of [Yahweh] be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?</div> <div> 21 "I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies."</div> <div> (NAS)</div> <bR> <div> Many people are fleeing from one calamity into the hands of another. Those who take refuge in an apostate church will suffer the plagues that come upon her. Many are running from calamity to join themselves to festivals and solemn assemblies that the Father takes no delight in. Do not these two things describe the majority of churches today? Some are like festivals with a party atmosphere, and the rest are like solemn assemblies as they deport themselves with gravity in the exercise of their man-made traditions.</div> <bR> <div> You then shared:</div> <div> <I>The driver tried to give me a boost as the bus started to topple over the edge, but even that didn't help.</I></div> <bR> <div> There are those in a church headed for calamity that actually think they can still help others. The message in this is two-fold. Some have argued that they could do more good by remaining in the organized church to direct others to safety. But as was demonstrated in your dream, their efforts are ineffectual. The Father says, "Come out of her My people", and this should be our response. The second application is that there may be those in the organized church that will attempt to give you a hand, but you are not to place confidence in their sincere efforts or attempts for they will lead to naught.</div> <bR> <div> You then experienced the following in the dream:</div> <div> <I>It seemed like thousands of feet to the bottom of a valley and when I realized I was going to die from the fall, I started to repent and ask God's forgiveness. I remember thinking as I repented in my dream how real my words sounded, not like part of the dream. </I></div> <bR> <div> I am reminded of the following scriptures:</div> <bR> <div> Matthew 11:23</div> <div> "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day."</div> <div> (NAS)</div> <bR> <div> Mark 9:33-35</div> <div> 33 And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, "What were you discussing on the way?"</div> <div> 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.</div> <div> 35 And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."</div> <div> (NAS)</div> <bR> <div> In your dream you saw that it was a great fall that the bus endured, as well as yourself. In this first scripture it speaks of Capernaum experiencing a great fall. She thought to ascend to heaven, but she would descend to Hades. Capernaum was a city that demonstrated a spirit of great pride. We read in the second passage that the disciples manifested this same spirit as they approached Capernaum. It was as if the spirit of the city infected them and they began to wrangle about who was the greatest. This is also the mindset of many churches and ministries. They have abandoned any attempt to pursue humility and a servant heart. They want to appear great in the eyes of man. A great fall will be the result.</div> <bR> <div> You concluded your dream in this manner:</div> <div> <I>I didn't die and somehow ended up at my Grandmothers house in NY and started to look for my Dad again... I woke up before I found my Dad. </I></div> <bR> <div> Repentance is the fruit of humility. You repented fervently in your dream, and you testified that it seemed most real and fervent. The end result was that you remained alive. This bears witness with the following scripture:</div> <bR> <div> Zephaniah 2:3</div> <div> Seek [Yahweh], all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of [Yahweh’s] anger.</div> <div> (NAS)</div> <bR> <div> [Brother], so much is pointing to the fact that the day of the Lord is near. While many in the church are testifying that they long for this day, the scriptures foretell that it will be a day of great judgment and calamity. Judgment will begin at the house of God and all those who have eaten at the table of demons and pursued the things of the world, all those who have lived sensuously, will endure the plagues the Father pours out upon the great harlot. Yahweh clearly calls His people to come out of her, for they are in her. As I mentioned before, it is not the world He is speaking of, but an institution that sits as Queen, claiming to be the Bride of Christ, who says she is not a widow, she claims to be wed to Christ, but she is full of wickedness and those things described of her. Many of the saints are in this harlot church. Many are unwilling to come out. Some have come out, but they still cling to the hem of her garments, but as your dream indicates, this will result in sharing to some extent the judgments and plagues that befall her.</div> <bR> <div> You mentioned that [your wife] also had a dream the same night. Her dream left her troubled and feeling that some calamity had occurred and someone had died. The mood of both of your dreams indicates that this is a serious matter, and indeed the judgment of the house of God will be a serious matter. I believe your spirits were troubled for a reason. Great trouble is coming on the earth, and you should not be deceived into thinking that you will find safety in the arms of a church that has forsaken the ways of God.</div> <bR> <div> [Brother], the Laodicean church was never accused of denying their devotion to God. Their error was not in their confession, but in their actions. Their actions revealed their heart. Today we judge things by words very often. We see someone confessing Christ and we think they are swell and they must be pleasing to God. But God judges the actions of the churches. I heard a brother proclaim that in Revelation where the seven churches are addressed that it always states, "I know your deeds." It is the deeds of a carnal church today that will incur the wrath of God. They still confess Christ and proclaim their undying devotion, but their actions reveal that they have chosen the pursuit of mammon over obedience to Yahweh.</div> <bR> <div> In these last days deception will be great and Satan would attempt to deceive even the elect of God, if possible. We have to scrutinize things with an ever vigilant eye, lest we be taken in by the deceit of others.</div> <bR> <div> When the Father told me to come out of the church (He actually had me put out, even as Lot was dragged out of Sodom), He revealed to me that I would now be able to see better for one of the plagues on the church is a plague of darkness. I believe your eyes will be sharpened, also as you come out of an organized church that has an appearance of godliness, but denies the power thereof.</div> <bR> <div> Well, you asked me what I thought of your dreams, and I don’t know that you might have gotten more than you anticipated. I try to relate these things faithfully as a minister of God. In the same way that one can speak in tongues and another interpret, you both have had a dream and I have tried to interpret. I haven’t felt that I was reaching in any of this. These things have just flowed as I looked at your dreams, and I think perhaps this is the way it should be.</div> <bR> <div> You both have a sincere heart after God, and I know you desire to be found pleasing to Him. He is honoring you by giving you further witness of the days we live in and what will shortly come to pass. It is also an admonition to release thoroughly that which is heading for calamity lest you share in part the judgment coming...</div> <div> Joseph</div> <bR> <div> Letter to a young sister in Singapore</div> <div> Dear [Sister],</div> <div> It is a blessing to me to know that the Father has used some of the writings He has had me post to minister encouragement to you. I know you are in a difficult situation, not being in a fellowship of believers. I have not been in a fellowship of believers for over a year and a half. I do believe that the Father will quickly bring us back into fellowship with saints who are seeking Him in a manner that is true and honest. In the meantime, I know He is using this time of separation in your life, and in mine, to develop a special intimacy with Him and to increase our faith in Him and our ability to hear from Him.</div> <bR> <div> So many of those whom the Father has found to be faithful to Him have had to stand alone for a period of time. Abraham was told to leave his homeland and go to a place he had never been before. He lived as an alien and a stranger in the land. Jacob had to flee his homeland to escape the anger of his brother Esau. While he was in Laban’s household he was treated like an outsider and he had to continually be on guard for his father-in-law’s treachery and deceit. Joseph was rejected by is brothers and sold into slavery to a foreign land. Later he spent years in prison after being falsely accused. What a terrible hardship for a young man. Moses had to flee Egypt where he was raised as royalty and dwell in the wilderness for 40 years before Yahweh called him. David had to flee the jealousy and wrath of a wicked king. For years he lived in caves in the wilderness, and he had to flee to the land of the Philistines to dwell there.</div> <bR> <div> But all of these men ended up being greatly used of Yahweh for special purposes. Their times of isolation and loneliness caused them to press into the presence of Yahweh and to develop a trust in Him that they would not have developed otherwise. I am sure it was not fun or easy for any of those men. Instead, it was a time of great difficulty and heartache. It is also difficult for us to endure separation from others who claim to be followers of Yahshua, but the Father has His purposes in it.</div> <bR> <div> You have asked me how did I build up my love for the Lord, and how can one grow deeper in intimacy and understanding of Him. In actuality, like yourself, I have many doubts at times, and I often feel that I am far away from where I should be in my relationship to God. David was said to be a man with a heart after God, but his own confession was that his sins were always before his eyes. I suppose that many of those who are used significantly, and those whom we read about in scripture, never really felt that they were special in any way, or that they were particularly pleasing to the Father. It is normal to have doubts.</div> <bR> <div> The apostle John seems to be one who was an exception in some ways. In his gospel he referred to himself as "the disciple whom Yahshua loved." John knew that Yahshua loved Him deeply, and it was perceived by the other disciples that John had a special relationship of intimacy with Yahshua. John was the disciple that was described as laying his head on Yahshua’s breast when they reclined at the table. There was a special closeness.</div> <bR> <div> The Father showed me some things about this closeness one time a number of years ago. He revealed the understanding of John’s words. John said he was "the disciple whom Yahshua loved", and in describing himself this way he was in effect saying, "I know Yahshua loves me." John had an understanding of Yahshua’s love for him that went beyond the other disciples and it gave him a boldness in approaching Yahshua and it led to a deeper intimacy than the others had.</div> <bR> <div> John gives us further insight into this in the epistle of I John. He states, "We love, because He first loved us." When the Father showed me this He revealed that our love for Him will increase as we come to a deeper understanding of His love for us. Love is reciprocal. When someone expresses love to us we naturally want to express love back. When we come to understand the depths of the love of God for us we will love Him back in turn. Dwelling upon the love of God for us feeds our love for Him.</div> <bR> <div> As a young man, I think the things that aided in my developing a closer relationship to God was that I truly feared God. I understood that He desired that I live for Him, not for myself. Because of this understanding, and my fear of the consequences of failing to live as He would have me to, I never strayed far from God. I was always concerned with His will for my life, and I desired to fulfill that destiny He had chosen for me.</div> <bR> <div> I didn’t do it all right by any measure. I had much sin in my life that I struggled with, and I still struggle with it. But I was quick to repent when I sinned, and to seek to be restored to fellowship. Nothing was more frightening to me than to be separated from fellowship with God.</div> <bR> <div> Unlike many other young men, I did not have all of the hobbies and pursuits that they had. I never devoted myself to hunting or fishing or going out with the gang and partying. Instead, my free time was filled with studying His word and praying. These were things I was drawn to. In earlier years I used to read a lot of books about the scriptures and about God. This was my pastime because I wanted to learn more about Him. I read many, many books and I was greatly helped in my understanding through them. More recently, however, I have found that I don’t read as many books by other people. Instead I spend more time just listening for His voice and studying the scriptures. </div> <bR> <div> Although you probably would not characterize yourself as someone who has a heart after God, it is evident from your words and questions that you do have such a heart. You are seeking to be found pleasing to Yahweh. You are asking probing questions about developing deeper intimacy with Him. You are making time in your life for prayer and Bible study. You are spending your time reading articles and books by others who encourage you in your relationship with the Father. You are disturbed by the presence of sin in your life. You were frustrated that in being in a traditional church your passion for Christ had been squelched. All of these things are signs of a heart after God.</div> <bR> <div> One thing that helped me a lot when I was younger is that I had an older minister who gave me some good counsel and he set an example of pursuing God before me. He would go on walks through a peach orchard behind his house and just talk to God. His prayers were very unusual when compared to those heard in church. He talked to God as if He was a friend and he was very open with God. He did not hide anything, or try to sound religious.</div> <bR> <div> One day as I was walking with him he told me about his prayer times. He said, "You know, God already knows every thought of your heart so there is no reason to try to hide anything from Him." He shared that he was very frank with the Father in speaking to Him. For example, he would say, "Father, you know today at work when that man made a smart remark to me I felt like punching him in the nose. I ask You to forgive me for my anger." Or he would say, "Father, you know when I saw that attractive woman today that I had impure thoughts towards her and I confess it to you and ask for your forgiveness."</div> <bR> <div> His words were very frank and open. My experience with many saints was that they tried to sound pious and religious when talking to God, but this man was humble and honest. By following his example in my prayer life, my prayers and times of intimacy were revolutionized.</div> <bR> <div> One of the first things I began praying about with this type of frankness was that I really detested times of prayer. I had never mentioned this to God before because I felt that it would displease Him. But after hearing this man speak to me, I realized that God already knew my thoughts regarding prayer, and the best thing would be for me to speak openly about it.</div> <bR> <div> I told the Father that I felt that my prayer time was as dry as sawdust and that it was a labor to make myself pray. I didn’t pray because I wanted to. Instead, I prayed because I felt like I was supposed to and I would not be a good Christian if I did not do so. I asked God to change my heart so that I would begin to enjoy prayer, and even to desire times of prayer.</div> <bR> <div> It was not long after this that the Father did change my heart. He began giving me a passion for prayer. He began giving me a fervor for praying for the church and for others. I continued to pray and to ask the Father to give me a shepherd’s heart so that I would care for the flock and be able to pray passionately for others. The Father answered this, and at times He would bring a person to mind and I would pray for them with great fervor and even tears. My heart would feel consumed with the Father’s love for this person.</div> <bR> <div> Prayer became something that I longed for. On nights when all of my friends and co-workers would be pursuing some worldly entertainment I would drive myself to a quiet place and enter into prayer with the Father. Hours would go by and it would seem like no time at all. Sometimes I would be shouting in intercession for others, and sometimes I would sing praises to the Father and Son and Spirit. I did whatever was on my heart. Often I would pray in the church building and I would walk around like I was preaching to the congregation, although no one else was there. I would speak to the empty chairs fervently the things that were arising in my Spirit and then I would pray over the chairs for the congregation, asking God to raise up a people in the Earth who would be a praise unto Him. I asked Him to raise up a people that would walk in the confidence and faith before Him that He deserved. I asked Him to raise up a people who would be one and who would be known by their passion for Him and their love for one another. I was excited by this. It was the cry of my heart.</div> <bR> <div> I am convinced that this change came about in my life because I had learned to be honest and frank with the Father and to avoid religious words and prayers. The scriptures say we have not because we ask not, so I asked for God to change my heart and He did.</div> <bR> <div> I must admit that I never saw my prayers for the body of Christ answered. When I prayed for them to be passionate about God, it seemed that they just didn’t care. But I know these were things the Spirit was placing in my heart to pray. I know that not a one of these prayers dropped to the ground, but they all ascended before the Father and He will bring them to pass.</div> <bR> <div> I believe we are in the first stages now of seeing this accomplished. God is bringing a separation of those who are fervent after Him from those who are not. Like yourself, many are finding that they cannot remain in churches anymore that quench the Spirit and that rob them of passion and zeal. I am hearing from many people who are walking where you are walking.</div> <bR> <div> After the Father separates out those who are passionate for Him He will bring judgment to a church that is lukewarm and He will raise up a beautified Bride that will have desire only for Him. He will begin to assemble those who have been isolated and cast out and rejected and who have found no place in the traditional church system.</div> <bR> <div> I don’t know if you have heard of a prophet named Bob Jones, but he is a prophet of some renown, and I believe him to be a true prophet of Yahweh. Every year over the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Tabernacles Yahweh gives him a word about the significance of the upcoming year. You can read his complete word entitled "Shepherd’s Rod 2002" on his website at <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Georgia" ><A HREF="http://www.bobjones.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bobjones.org/"><U><U>http://www.bobjones.org</U></U></A></FONT> . [As with all prophetic words, we are told to judge them, so I do not encourage the blanket acceptance of any prophetic word, even by a respected prophet. Weigh all things in your spirit and take them before the Father.]</div> <bR> <div> This word just came out this past week and in it he speaks much about God calling those who have been in places of exile back into places of great anointing and ministry. I don’t believe the Father will leave us in our exile much longer, but He will bring us to our places of ministry and a fresh and powerful anointing will be given to minister.</div> <bR> <div> [Sister], I would encourage you with these words. Don’t think too little of your desire for the Father. There are billions of people on this planet, but it is a mere handful who share a concern as you do to be found pleasing to the Father and to be increased in passion and love toward Him. This is evidence of your heart after Him. Continue on with the path you are on. Continue to seek Him. Those who seek will find. </div> <bR> <div> The Father does not bestow His greatest gifts indiscriminately. He will not grant entrance to His presence to those who really don’t care if they have access or not. He reserves it for those who seek Him diligently. As you continue to seek His face He will bring you to greater and greater levels of intimacy. Cry out for such intimacy and He will hear and answer.</div> <bR> <div> May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,</div> <div> Joseph Herrin</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>