PREGNANT IN SHITTIM:
Pastor Scott Olin, SW Washington
For a lot of years, it seemed that the Body of
Christ wandered around in a wilderness.
It does appear that we are no longer in that place. It seems as though we've crossed over into
something wonderful.
Know this: Even as the children of Israel faced war
on the west side of the Jordan river - in a way that they never tasted on the
east side - also the call to war, in this hour, is obvious and directly from
the throne of God. And… it's coming in
a way we've never seen before.
Joshua 3:1 "And Joshua rose early in the
morning; and they moved from Shittim, and came to Jordan; he and all the
children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over."
In the Hebrew, the words PASSED OVER simply means:
"Transition;" from the root aw-bar.
"To cross, pass or go over. To go through or go
beyond where you are. To go forward." It means any kind of transition!
Webster says: Transition is defined as: "A
passage from one state of place to another. Change. A movement, development of
evolution from one stage or style to another."
The point is we're in a huge season of transition
and change and have been for the last several years!
Note: The last place God took Israel, BEFORE THEY
TRANSITIONED TO THE OTHER SIDE - was Shittim. It was the last place The
Father directed Israel, before He took them to the banks of Jordan.
In the Septuagint, "shittim wood" is
always translated INCORRUPTIBLE WOOD.
Now, This is the place they were at. Let me stretch this a bit, but not to far:
You'll get the picture.
In Exodus 25:10, God says, "And they shall
make an ark of shittim wood..." It is translated incorruptible wood. Point? Glad you asked!
Same Hebrew word and root: Shittim in Exodus 25:10
and in Joshua 3:1. Same!
Exodus 25 speaks of the wood; Joshua 1, the place. But, the place
gets it's name from the wood, and speaks of the wood.
I just wanted to cover all my bases. The last place the Lord brought Israel
before they came to the banks of the Jordan was Shittim; or, an incorruptible
place.
HE HAS US IN SHITTIM TODAY!
He's got us at a place that is incorruptible; He'll
keep us there until He's worked-out a truth in us. What Truth? …
HE'S CALLED US TO LIVE ABOVE CORRUPTION IN THIS
HOUR.
Webster: INCORRUPTIBLE: “Incapable of corruption;
not subject to decay or dissolution; incapable of being bribed or morally
corrupted."
Webster: INCORRUPT: “Not defiled of
depraved;" Here we go... "FREE
FROM ERROR!"
That's the point we needed to get to. Why? Cause'…
This was Israel's biggest problem in the past, and Gods biggest heartache.
Ps. 95:10, "Forty years long was I grieved
with this generation, and said, it is a people that do ERR in their heart, and
they have not known my ways."
To be incorruptible means to be free from
error. This generation we're talking
about, the generation in the wilderness, the generation that died off, their
hearts were full of error.
TO ERR: "To vacillate;
to stray, or go astray; to deceive, seduce, wander; to be out of the way."
WE MUST GET IN THE WAY!
To be "IN THE WAY" is a polite and
proper way to speak of pregnancy! Yup!
Pregnant!
What did God say to the children of Israel about
this land that flows with milk and honey?
What seed of hope and promise did the Lord deposit into the lives and
hearts of this people?
We need to be a generation that becomes pregnant with
the promises of Almighty God.
p What promise did He give you?
p What vision have you been carrying all these years?
ARE YOU PREGNANT WITH DESTINY?
God spoke a word to His people, and for a while they
were able to see it. But after a few
problems, they began to murmur and complain and question.
IS THAT US BELOVED?
Has the King given promises, revealed your destiny,
shown you why he's made you and brought you into this world for this time?
ASK YOURSELF:
Ř Have I vacillated, become wishy-washy, strayed from
what He has said to me?
Ř Have I murmured when life has gotten tough and
thrown us an inside curve?
THIS IS THE HOUR TO HOLD ON TO EVERY PROMISE OF GOD!
I would dare to say that the God of heaven is
looking for some folks to begin to hold Him to His Word and begin to put some
demands upon His potential! That's not presumptuous or vain, it's walking out
faith. And faith pleases our Father. Hebrews 11:6.
The thing that grieved the heart of God was that His
chosen people were unwilling, or unable to embrace and believe the awesome
promises He'd given, relating to the land of promise. When things got bad, they
found it easy to murmur and quickly forget the promise. He's growing us past this thinking!
There is another reason why they erred, maybe just
as important as the first.
Vs. 8 "Harden
not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the
wilderness:"
All these challenges not only caused them to murmur
and vacillate and stray, it birthed a hard heart as well. One word to define
"HARDEN" is to be "stiff-necked!"
Sir, madam, when the neck is stiff, it makes it
difficult for the head to move; JESUS IS THE HEAD OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. Their
hearts were hard, and they did err.
There was one other thing that grieved the Father
that is found in verse 10 "...THEY
HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS." This
is a very important point that we will pick up next month. Let's finish up.
Beloved, God has a plan for your life. A huge purpose and calling for you. He is unwavering, unchanging and able to get
you to your destiny in this life. We must hold on to the promises of God no
matter what the circumstances of this life dictate to us.
GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
AND THE SITUATION YOU MAY PRESENTLY BE IN.
We must guard ourselves from allowing our heart to err;
from allowing our heart to become corrupt and stray from what He's said to us.
God has not changed His plan, His purpose, or His promise concerning you!
If you are one who feels like you are REALLY
CLOSE to destiny, but just can't quite reach it… Perhaps you are one that
He has drawn into the place of Shittim - that incorruptible place. The
incorruptible place, where He teaches us to hold fast to all He has said. We
learn to guard our heart and watch our tongue; and keep from straying from the
promise.
He loves you enough that He is unwilling to loose
you to a murmuring spirit that would keep you from going over to the other
side, to walk in destiny.
In His service,
Pastor Scott
