barley sprout

In recent articles on the barley firstfruits company, I shared how I saw a little flock of sheep rapidly descend to a valley, high up in the mountains. This valley was bright green and revealed to be a field of planted barley seed. (You can read these articles on my website, if you do a search on the word ‘barley’).

This morning (17th Jan 2019), as I was waiting on the Lord, I saw a single green shoot or blade coming out of dark brown soil. Nothing else was visible. I immediately thought of two scripture passages; the first being in Isaiah 11:

Isa 11:1  AND THERE shall come forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse [David's father], and a Branch out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit.

The name Jesse is an interesting one. It is written in Hebrew as vav, shin, vav. The letter shin is often used as an abbreviation for the Name of God and means ‘consuming fire’ and the two vav’s indicate the connection of Heaven with earth. So the stock from which this shoot springs carries the ability to connect the heavenly revelation of our God who is a consuming fire with earth (or an earthen vessel). So this little shoot which I saw is springing forth to be a connector between the realm of Heaven and that of earth. Much fruit will be brought forth as a result of growth connected to the root or the stock within the earthen vessel. The barley firstfruits are stock of Him Who was the pattern firstfruits offering on 17th Aviv and as they draw forth nourishment from within all the treasures of wisdom hidden in this Heavenly Seed, the blade appears above ground.

Up until this point, it looked like nothing much was happening with you; all growth had been hidden, unnoticed. Roots have been quietly put down in this new spiritual position. This is where God has appointed you to stand and it is not the same place you were in last year. His hand has moved and sown you in a higher spiritual location. Anchoring and stretching out to the right hand and the left has been accomplished. The lengthening and strengthening of the root system has been silently accomplished and a solid foundation is in place. And the blade has appeared for all to see.

The second scripture that was brought to mind when I saw the green blade which had pushed through the soil was this one in the gospel of Mark:

Mar 4:26  And He said, The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground, Mar 4:27  And then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases--he knows not how. Mar 4:28 The earth produces [acting] by itself--first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Mar 4:29  ut when the grain is ripe and permits, immediately he sends forth [the reapers] and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready.

This is a lesson pertaining to the Kingdom. Out of the earthen vessel, a blade appears. Then two more stages are noted before readiness. I heard the Lord say, “The first stage is complete. Now comes the ear,” and I suddenly saw before me blades with actual human ears formed on top. It was clear He is speaking to me about hearing. He continued, “The seed has taken root and is growing up in its place of planting and now is the season of the ear”. I believe the barley firstfruits company has rooted well in their new spiritual environment and now comes a season of actively listening rather than speaking; a season of really hearing what the Lord is speaking forth. If you are anything like me, you listen to the first half of the sentence and then rush off excitedly, thinking you have the whole picture! But now, Beloved, a season of deep impartation has begun and it is imperative that we who have ears must really hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The blade grows into the ear and then the ear becomes full of grain, which matures until full ripeness for feeding others.

The Greek word for ‘full’ corn in the ear means ‘covered over, complete’. I see before me a human ear stuffed full of glistening glowing pearly-colored grain. So we understand from this picture and the word meaning that when the season of hearing is complete, the covering over or being clothed over is fully accomplished and the grain is ready for harvesting. Do we not all yearn to be clothed over with our ‘heavenly tent’ or the spiritual place which we are appointed to stand in the day of the Lord?

Noah and family came forth from the ark as the remnant righteous seed which God had preserved to be fruitful and multiply in the earth after the judgment by water. Noah prophesied over his son Japeth that he would be enlarged and dwell in the tents of Shem. In other words, he was moving location once he was enlarged. Paul also refers to our bodies as being our earthly tents and that we are going to be changed or clothed over or moved from an earthly tent to a heavenly tent. We have borne the image of the earthly. It is time to bear the image of the heavenly. The reason for lengthening and strengthening your stakes or root system is because you are going to spread out to the right and to the left.  The Lord wants to share heavenly things with you.

Isa 54:2  Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, Isa 54:3  For you will spread abroad to the right hand and to the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

The reason Japeth had to be enlarged was because he was moving into a larger and more spacious tent. Beloved, the boundaries of your spiritual understanding need to be stretched out in preparation for the spiritual impartation you are going to receive during the time of hearing. The ear I saw on the stalk grew bigger and bigger and then filled with grains or nuggets of spiritual knowledge and understanding. Noah actually prayed for God to enlarge Japeth, so begin to ask for the boundaries of your spiritual treasury to be enlarged. Not coincidentally, Japeth means ‘expansion’! Pray for expanded understanding; that your treasury would have extensions built onto it which are capable of holding all the gems that Wisdom wants to fill you with.

Shem means ‘the Name, or character, authority’ and also starts with shin, the consuming fire and the second letter is a closed mem. This depicts the concealed secrets of God. Beloved, there is a time of hearing and storing the secrets God shares with you deep within. The time of hearing is not the time of speaking. Be trustworthy with the spiritual knowledge God is imparting to you. Hear fully and deeply. Listen well and let the Spirit of Truth imbue you with spiritual wealth. There is a difference between ‘imbue’ and ‘endue’. The first means ‘to fill up with substance within’ and the second refers to something being put onto the outside; ‘poured out upon’, if you will. Become imbued with the spiritual nuggets; let them become a part of your spiritual makeup; your ‘shem’, your character and then in the next season you will walk in the authority you carry within you because of who you have become, not because of what you say.

When the time of the full corn in the ear comes, the grain you have stored up with your sensitive listening ear is food for the eater. Many believe that Shem was Melchizedek, who met with Abraham and served bread and wine to him. At the season of the full corn in the ear, you will discover you are ‘covered over, complete’; dwelling in your heavenly dwelling, clothed over as a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and equipped to bring forth bread and spiced wine from Wisdom’s table.

Returning to the passage about the shoot in Isaiah 11, the stage of the full corn in the ear is depicted by the seven spirits of God ‘resting’ or ‘dwelling’ upon this Branch which has grown and borne fruit. Priests after the order of Melchizedek operate in the seven spirits of God. So wait until the instruction is complete; until the imbuing is fulfilled and then the enduing will be manifest. White light contains seven colors hidden within its depths. A clothing over with white light or white garments indicates the presence of the seven spirits within.

I asked the Lord How long the listening stage of growth would be and He answered, “Until the grain is full in the ear; until Passover when the barley grain is aviv. Then I send My angels to harvest the harvesters, My bondslave company who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” This seems to indicate that the period between now and Passover will be a time of significant impartation; of instruction and release of spiritual blueprints and understanding. Passover is on 19th April this year. That is about 3 months away but of course, spiritually speaking, the season of reaping the full corn in the ear depends on the ripeness or completeness of the grain. Complete your preparations by beholding Him, listening carefully, absorbing all He shares and being changed within from glory to glory. Be quick to hear and slow to speak at this time.

(pt 2 to follow)