The Windmill

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>The Windmill</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Windmill</B></div> <div> Joseph Herrin (02-02-2008)</div> <bR> <div> Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,</div> <bR> <div> The Spirit has been giving many indications that it is a season for the fulfillment of dreams and visions that He has placed in the heart of many of His sons and daughters. I recently wrote about being released from employment at a Rescue Mission that the Spirit of Yahshua directed me to live and work at for the past three years. Since then He has been declaring that it is a time for some long awaited visions to be fulfilled. I want to share with you about a very specific vision that Yahweh gave me, and the witness I am receiving from the Spirit at this time.</div> <bR> <div> Back in the late 1990's I was serving as a minister at a church in Perry, Georgia. I was one of four ministers at a congregation of believers called “Living Faith Family Worship Center.” For many years prior to joining this body, and while I was associated with them, the Father had directed me to pray that He would raise up in the earth a people who would be to the praise of His glory. There were specific attributes of this people that the Spirit would place upon my heart, for which I was to pray.</div> <bR> <div> For a period exceeding ten years I frequently prayed that Yahweh would raise up a people of faith who would manifest a strong confidence in their God. I envisioned a people of great courage who would do exploits in the earth for the glory of God. I was led to pray for a people to arise who would be known for their love for God and their love for one another. I prayed that Yahweh would raise up a Spirit led and Spirit empowered people who would have a deep knowledge of the ways of Yahweh. These would be a people who were zealous for Yahweh, and who would lift up the name of Yahshua that all men who heard their testimony would be drawn unto Him.</div> <bR> <div> I thought Yahweh would begin this work with the saints I was in fellowship with when I first received this vision. Yet after praying for ten years at one church, I found them turning away from faith and obedience and the promise passed to another body. The Spirit directed me to Living Faith church in the late nineties, and I began to hope once more that this might be the people Yahweh would use to establish a body of believers who would be to the praise of His glory. Even the name of this church seemed full of promise.</div> <bR> <div> While at Living Faith the Spirit began to speak to the ministers through visions and prophetic words. He indicated that a physical move was coming where He would take His people north of their current location, and establish a greater work. Prayer and anticipation regarding this promise was very present for a season, and the ministers even felt that they understood where the location of this new work would be centered. It was to be at a location approximately ten miles north of Perry right along I-75, one of the busiest Interstate highways in the nation.</div> <bR> <div> The Spirit directed one of the ministers to a vacant metal building that was built originally to house an antique mall and a flea market. The business failed to prove profitable, and was closed after a brief period of time. It was then put on the market, being listed with a local realtor. The name of this business was “The Windmill.” In large letters, this name adorned the front of the building. Below is a picture of The Windmill that I took quite a few years ago.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="ca8be0f0.jpg" border=0 width="702" height="527" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> After receiving the report of one of the ministers who felt this was the property Yahweh was prophesying of, where He would raise up a new work, I went and drove by it. I parked in front of the property and got out of my car. Facing the building I could see the image portrayed above. Turning around I looked directly at I-75, filled with traffic. I was reminded of the Scripture:</div> <bR> <div> Luke 14:23</div> <div> And the lord said unto the servant, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”</div> <bR> <div> I prayed and asked the Lord for confirmation of His intention to raise up a work at this place. I then drove a little further north up the Interstate and got off at another exit. There was a church right off the Interstate called New Elim Baptist Church. They had a marquee in front of the church with the message posted, “My way is the high way.” This message was quickened to me by the Spirit as I read it. I believed it was confirmation that the Lord would use this property to raise up a people who would be to the praise of His glory.</div> <bR> <div> In the next months there was a growing excitement at Living Faith church concerning the things the Spirit had been testifying. Some prophets came by the church and they indicated that the Lord desired to perform this work. One of them, however, indicated that the Lord was waiting for a response from the people. The promise was given, but Yahweh was waiting for the church to make itself ready.</div> <bR> <div> Over the course of the next months various tests relating to faith and trust in God were given to the ministers of this church. I have written about these tests in the book “Evidence of Things Unseen.” I discerned that Yahweh was looking for faith among His children, but time and again the test was given and trust in God was absent. Yahweh used me to encourage my fellow ministers to step forth in faith. I told them that Yahweh would not fulfill His promises until He found that we would walk in faith. Due to the presence of unbelief and fear, my brothers in Christ turned on me and ended up casting me out from their presence.</div> <bR> <div> This was a very low time for me. I had been praying that Yahweh would raise up a people for His praise for over ten years, and I had now seen two different churches fail to enter into the desire of God for them. How very much I was to learn the truth of the words:</div> <bR> <div> Hebrews 6:11-12</div> <div> And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those <U>who through faith and patience inherit the promises</U>.</div> <bR> <div> Not all promises that God sets before the saints are realized. The promise must be united with faith and patience in the hearts of those to whom it is spoken. The absence of these things will result in a delay of the promise, and even a forfeiture of it.</div> <bR> <div> I had been struck with the symbolism surrounding the name The Windmill. A windmill is a device that derives power from the wind. In Scriptures the Holy Spirit is depicted as the wind. Yahshua said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).</div> <bR> <div> A windmill serves as an image of a people who derive their power from the Spirit. They do not offer works of the flesh to God and ask Him to bless them. They only offer to God what is performed by the Spirit of Christ. A windmill also has a rudder on it which serves to keep it always facing directly into the wind. This also is symbolic. It speaks of a people who are intent upon the face of God. They are alert to the presence of the Spirit, and they move as He moves. They are a Spirit directed people.</div> <bR> <div> After a very difficult meeting in late 1999 where I was put out of the church by my fellow ministers at Living Faith, I thought much about the promises Yahweh had given to us. One day I was sitting on the sofa in my living room and I began praying earnestly to the Father about this matter. I remember asking Him specifically about what would become of the promises that He had made to us, and the dream He had placed in my heart concerning the people that He would raise up, and the work He would accomplish at The Windmill. It was an unusually heartfelt prayer, and tears streamed down my face as I asked God what would happen to the dream He had given us.</div> <bR> <div> Right beside the sofa, on an end table, I had a book I had been reading. It was titled “A Dream Come True,” and was written by James Ryle. I felt led by the Spirit to pick up the book, and open to where I had left off. I turned to the chapter that was next and I was struck by its name. The chapter was called “The Dream Lives On.” I began to feel an excitement as I observed this. It was when I turned the page, however, when I burst out in tears. This is what I saw:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="caadc930.jpg" border=0 width="476" height="659" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> This is page 177 of the book. The only words on the page are the chapter title at the top. It reads, “The Dream Lives On.” Below is a picture of a windmill. I knew the Spirit had directed me to pray specifically as I had at that moment. My very words were “What will become of the dream that You have spoken to us?” I was moved deeply at the clarity of the Father’s answer, and by the profound witness of the Spirit. I knew that the Father was indicating that the promise yet remained, and if I had faith and patience I would yet see it accomplished.</div> <bR> <div> It was in the year 2000 that the Father spoke to me these things. I had no idea at that time that in 2008 I would still be looking to the coming fulfillment. There have been many, many times in the years since 2000 that I would go and park in front of the building and pray concerning the promise that the Lord had spoken to me. I would remind Him of His promise, and I would pray that He would fulfill His word and raise up a very unusual people, a people who would belong to Him rather than having hearts after the world.</div> <bR> <div> After four years of not attending church, the Lord directed our family in the year 2004 to join once more in fellowship with a group of believers. This was a body that had split off from a Mennonite church, and they were now non-denominational. I was impressed with the piety of these people, and their sincere desire to please God. The young people especially impressed me. They would often share during services, at times leading in devotions or in prayer, and I found them remarkably different from many of the youth I had observed in churches previously. There was a seriousness, and a maturity about them, that is rare in this day.</div> <bR> <div> We attended this church for a few months, and the Father led me to begin sharing with them concerning a life of faith, and a walk of intimacy with Him where we hear His voice and follow in obedience. They were truly challenged by this, and I could observe the wooing of the Spirit in their lives. This church had been meeting in a warehouse attached to a roofing company, and had been contemplating moving to another location. They had even had an architect draw up a picture of a building that they had envisioned. When I saw the picture I was immediately struck by its great similarity to The Windmill. It too was a flat roofed, metal framed building, and from the architect’s rendering, they could have been the same building.</div> <bR> <div> A few weeks later I told the men in leadership about The Windmill, and what the Father had been speaking to me. They said they would like to look at the building, so we arranged a time to meet with the realtor and tour the property. As we got out to look at the property I could sense the unbelief in the hearts of some of the men. Although the building looked remarkably similar to the drawing they had shown me, the scale was different. The Windmill was considerably larger than what they had envisioned.</div> <bR> <div> As we were shown around the building, I heard the excitement in the voices of the men. One man in particular was effusive in stating that it was exactly what he had envisioned. He had imagined a place where a great ministry to the community could take place. He saw the potential for a clothing ministry, a food ministry, and other outreaches where the love of Christ could be manifested in a practical way, leading to an opening for the gospel to be proclaimed. This man was the only one among the group who had not been raised as a Mennonite. He had joined the church as an adult. He was therefore more open to association with those outside of their own tight knit community than most. Although many Mennonite and Amish people are very generous and compassionate, they tend to cloister themselves away from the rest of the world. As a result there is very little evangelism outside of their own community, and most of these groups only grow through the expansion of their own families.</div> <bR> <div> One of the ministers who had gone with us had just preached a message on Gideon as he went with a very few men to accomplish a ridiculously large task. He had spoken of the faith of Gideon, and the obstacles to his faith. It was evident that this man was struggling to believe that God could have such a large plan in mind for their group. He began calculating what they could accomplish with their own resources and in their own strength, and he was daunted by what he saw. I asked him, “Do you feel a bit like Gideon today?”</div> <bR> <div> When the Spirit first indicated we were to join with this people in fellowship, I had very high expectations for what the Father would do among them. I have also written of these things in the book “Evidence of Things Unseen.” My hope was even higher than it had been at the previous two churches, and for a moment it looked as if promises were about to be fulfilled. Things suddenly changed, however, and I once more found myself being given the left foot of fellowship by my brothers in Christ. The challenges of faith were too great for them, and what had looked promising suddenly came to a halt.</div> <bR> <div> The Father used a very profound image to speak to me concerning the sudden halt to my hopes. One other brother and his wife had gone with us to join with this body in fellowship. His name is Randy Barnes, and his wife’s name is Barbara. It was a few weeks after I had gone with the ministers to view The Windmill, when my wife received a call from Barbara in the morning. Barbara said she had driven to a nearby town and gone into a store. When she came out her car would not start. She asked if we could pick her up. We immediately agreed to do so.</div> <bR> <div> I got into our car and turned the key in the ignition, and our car would not start either. It turned out that the starters on both of our cars had gone out at the very same moment. As I was standing next to the car pondering the problem the phone rang. It was one of the ministers from this congregation. He asked me if he and another minister could meet with me that night. I told them that I would be glad to do so.</div> <bR> <div> I had no idea what to expect at the meeting. I did not even know why they wanted to meet with me. It turned out that they had read one of the books the Spirit had led me to write, (God’s Plan of the Ages), and they could not accept the teachings set forth in the book. We spoke about it for approximately three hours that night. In the end they told me that because I believed the things declared in the book that I would not be able to teach in their church, and I would not even be able to take communion with them. Before I left I hugged both men, and told them that I loved them. I felt, however, like I had just observed a great tragedy, and I could not even speak to my family about it that night. My heart was so heavy, and I felt so emotionally and spiritually weary, that I went directly to bed.</div> <bR> <div> In dreams, visions, and prophetic experiences, vehicles often stand as a symbol for ministry. Vehicles are a tool to get us to a destination. In having both of our cars’ starters fail that moment, the Spirit was indicating that those things we had hoped would occur among this people would not happen at that time. However, unlike the previous two churches, I have never given up hope that Yahweh might yet bring this people into alignment with His will, and use them to accomplish His purposes. </div> <bR> <div> Although the Spirit led me to move away from the area where this church is located a short time after these events, God has allowed me to keep an association with them. My daughter Kristin has lived with two different families in this church for the past few years. She attends church with them, and works in the community. Through her, I have been able to stay in contact with some of the members there, and members of the church have even come to the Rescue Mission where I have worked and lived, and they have conducted chapel services for the men and women on several occasions. I believe this is significant, and it allows me to retain the hope that even though things did not go forward back in 2004, that the Lord is yet extending the promise of these things to this people.</div> <bR> <div> I must state, that although I was desirous of entering into the things God had promised back in 2004, on the day that we toured The Windmill I had a tremendous sense of my own inadequacy and lack of preparation. As the brother I mentioned spoke of various ministries to the poor and despised members of society, even to the drug addicts and alcoholics and those enslaved to various sins, I had a sense of fear come over my mind. I had never before ministered to these parts of society, and had never even rubbed shoulders with them. I had no idea where to begin, or how to proceed. It was as if the Lord had told me that He wanted me to fly to the moon when I had no experience in the knowledge and practical outworking of such an endeavor. Like Moses, I could only think, “Lord, surely You have chosen the wrong man.”</div> <bR> <div> I know now that all things have been working together according to Yahweh’s great wisdom. Since that time in 2004 the Lord has done a profound work in my life. He has led me with perfect guidance to gain the knowledge and experience I lacked. I have found myself in places I never thought I would be, ministering to people in ways I had not foreseen. Yahweh directed me to live and work with the very people of whom I was formerly afraid. I have come to know them intimately, and I have understood that we often fear the things we do not understand. When Yahweh brings understanding of a people, their problems, and His provision for every spiritual and physical need, then fear no longer torments us.</div> <bR> <div> I have come to see Yahshua’s heart for the downtrodden and rejected members of society. These are the same ones He ministered unto in the days of His sojourning upon the earth. He was comfortable among them, and we will be too when we begin to walk as He walked under the direction of the Spirit. As the Scriptures state:</div> <bR> <div> I Corinthians 1:26-29</div> <div> For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.</div> <bR> <div> And again we read of our Lord saying:</div> <bR> <div> Matthew 9:12-13</div> <div>  "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. .. for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."</div> <div> During my time at the Rescue Mission, the Spirit has testified to me that I was there to learn, and to be prepared for the ministry He has appointed to me. The Great Physician longs to heal those who are sick. The Redeemer is looking to reconcile sinners to His Father. He wants us to enter into this work, and He is willing to invest much in our training and preparation. He will qualify those whom He calls. We need only be willing to follow where He leads, and He will take care of all of our training needs. What a relief it is to know that we don’t have to figure things out for ourselves. We do not have to come up with a plan to accomplish the desires of God. He knows perfectly well how He will accomplish all things. We must simply yield to the direction of His Spirit and He will bring all things to pass.</div> <bR> <div> The Father has been speaking to me today of the importance of both faith and patience. I have met with many setbacks and many delays to the promises given to me. At times I have almost forgotten the promise of God. In 2002 the Lord used my daughter Kristin, who was fourteen at the time, to prophesy to me of the need to hold onto His promises. She wrote down the following word, and brought it to me.</div> <bR> <div> <I>August 27, 2002</I></div> <div> <I>Because you’ve shown great confidence in Me you will not be disappointed. My majesty and splendor you cannot fathom. Just as you are looking to Me, I will not turn away from you. I am in control. Who can understand My ways? Certainly not man! But through My eyes you will see. Just as I have opened your eyes to physical things, so shall I open your eyes to spiritual things. Never before have you witnessed My power as you are about to. Look to Me in all things. As you continue to show confidence in Me I will not disappoint you. Greater things are coming than as of now you have dared to dream. Do not dismiss the dreams I have and will, place in your heart, for that would be to dismiss the blessing of the dreams in their fulfillment. The time is coming for dreams to be fulfilled. An hour is coming in which My power will be demonstrated in magnificent ways. Watch and be amazed, for all with eyes to see will see these things. My sovereignty is beyond question. Watch and see.</I></div> <bR> <div> Last week I sent out a writing titled “A Time of Release.” I shared how the Father has indicated to me that my time of training at the Rescue Mission is now over, and a time of release into a greater realm of ministry is opening before me. I have not presumed to know what God would do. I have simply been waiting on Him, and listening for the voice of the Spirit. If we are to be involved in raising up a Spirit led and Spirit empowered people, we must be that kind of people.</div> <bR> <div> Over the course of the past week, the Spirit has been speaking through Randy Simmons, my friend with whom the Lord has indicated I am to walk in days ahead, that He will establish His work at The Windmill. He will fulfill His promises. Randy needed to hear this from the Lord for himself. He believed the word I had shared with him concerning The Windmill. He has been visiting with me in my room for many months, and I have both pictures I have shown here hanging on my wall. He has seen the book the Lord used to affirm His promise to me. It was necessary, however, for the Lord to speak to him that he might know that this is also a work he wants Randy to be involved in.</div> <bR> <div> Both Randy and I have lived at the Rescue Mission. We both understand the struggles that men and women at such places are wrestling with. Although Randy moved away from the Mission many months ago, he has been led to maintain a presence there. He comes several times a week, sometimes almost daily, to spend time at the Mission, conversing with the men, sharing with them about the Lord, and lifting Yahshua up as the answer to all bondage to the flesh. He has had some truly remarkable conversations with many of the men, and no one has been more amazed than Randy. He has never envisioned himself as a minister. He has felt a profound inadequacy in his own strength to communicate the truths of God’s kingdom. But where we are weak, Yahweh proves Himself to be strong. </div> <bR> <div> This too is a sign of a windmill people. They do not look to their own strength and abilities to perform the work of God. They realize that apart from Christ we can do nothing. In our own strength we cannot lead a single person to truth. By our efforts we cannot set anyone free from the bondage of the flesh. It is Christ working through us who will set the captives free. We must become as Paul who declared, “I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me.”</div> <bR> <div> Christ alone is the bondage breaker. Men do not need to receive spiritual laws, or scholarly teachings on the addictions that rule them. They need an encounter with Christ. The purpose of all we share should be to point men to Christ. Yahshua’s blood provides forgiveness of sin. His Spirit brings spiritual life.</div> <bR> <div> In the past few days the Spirit has been speaking awesome things concerning the days ahead. He has been indicating that He will pour forth financial provision. When I toured The Windmill in 2004 the owner was seeking $650,000 for it. I don’t even have a thousandth of this amount in my possession. But God didn’t ask me to fulfill this promise. He has said He will do it. I am not daunted by the amount. I am no longer looking at the size of the task to be accomplished. I am looking at the power of God who has made the promise. Such a work will not cause Him to strain. He holds the universe in its course every day. What is such a thing to Him?</div> <bR> <div> The Spirit has also been indicating that an anointing will be granted to His ministers to perform every work. He will not leave us to our own wits and energy. I will share a passage of Scripture that the Spirit made very precious to me a few days ago. I was reading of the Queen of Sheba’s visit with Solomon. She heard Solomon’s wisdom. She observed his great wealth and the attire of his servants. She saw the wondrous works he had built. But she did not attribute these things to his own abilities. Instead she said:</div> <bR> <div> I Kings 10:6-9</div> <div> "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. <U>Blessed be Yahweh your God</U> who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; <U>because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness</U>."</div> <bR> <div> Because Yahweh loved His people, He gave them a wise ruler to shepherd them. As I read this my heart was filled with a deep longing to see Yahweh raise up such leaders once more to shepherd His people. Yahweh loves His people. The Spirit came strongly upon me as I read this passage. I began to weep as I considered the goodness of God in giving His people a wise ruler, filled with understanding of justice and righteousness. I got down on my knees and began imploring Yahweh to raise up shepherds who will fulfill His every desire. I prayed that He might raise up ministers who would lead His people in the way of truth. I prayed that He might choose me to be such a minister.</div> <bR> <div> I know it was the Spirit who directed me in this matter. How Yahweh longs to have a people who will be to the praise of His glory in the earth! He has been directing many of His children into places and situations that they have not always understood. He has through many events been training a people to be intent upon His voice, and to lean totally upon Him for every need. He has been training His sons and daughters to not lean upon their own understanding, not to trust in their abilities and talents to make things happen.</div> <bR> <div> There are many receiving this letter who have found that their efforts to provide for themselves financially have fallen flat, yet God has proven Himself strong. As they have shifted from leaning upon their own abilities, they have found that Yahweh is an awesome provider. He is ever watchful over us. He never slumbers nor sleeps. He is able to bring forth streams in the desert, and to make highways in the wilderness. All these experiences are to prepare a people for the great work of coming days. Yahweh will perform a work through His children who are yielded to Him. Those who manifest faith and patience will inherit the promises of God.</div> <bR> <div> May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,</div> <bR> <div> Joseph Herrin</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>