TRANSITION
NOVEMBER 21ST, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
At an intercessory meeting on the evening of Tuesday the 21st of November 2006, the Lord put this prophetic message on my heart;
"He also brought me out into a broad (spacious) place; He delivered me because He delighted in me." Ps 18:19 (NKJV) (Parenthesis added).
The Lord is taking us out of a confined, compressed place into a spacious place, a better place in the spirit and the natural. The Lord took the Israelites out of Egypt into the desert then into the Promised Land.
The word "Egypt" in the Hebrew is maw-tsore which means; a confined place, a small place (like a cell or prison), to be hemmed or closed in, limited.
Many at the present time are feeling hemmed in, closed in, restricted and limited.
David wrote; "You have hedged (hemmed) me in from behind and before, and laid your hand upon me." Ps 139:5 (NKJV) (Parenthesis added).
But the Lord is about to deliver you. He is about to take you to a higher and better place in the spirit and in the natural.
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." Ps 91:14 & 15 (NKJV).
The word "deliver (ance)" means; to take out of or to translate from one place into a better or higher place.
We see that the Lord took Moses - then Joshua after him - and the Israelites on a journey that involved a five level process of transition;
Egypt: the place of bondage, weakness and defeat (Exo 2:23-25)
The Desert: the place of purification, preparation and transformation (Exo 20:20)
The Jordan: the place of empowerment (2 Kin 2:6-14, Mt 3:13-17)
The Giants: the place of opposition (Deut 9:1-3)
The Promised Land: the place of warfare and victory (Num 33:50-53)
Of these, the three key levels are;
1. Egypt
2. The Desert (Wilderness)
3. The Promised Land
The Promised Land was also known as Canaan. The word Canaan (kaw-nahn) is a Hebrew word which means; to bend the knee, humiliate, vanquish, to humble or be humbled, subdue, bring low, subjection, to conquer, it speaks of victory in battle. This is referring to the Israelites conquering their enemies to possess the land and settle in it but before the Israelites could conquer their enemies, they first had to be conquered by God. Before the Israelites could expect their enemies to bend the knee before them, they first had to bend the knee or humble themselves before the Lord.
This process began in Egypt. Israel was subject to Egyptian bondage for the most part of four hundred and thirty years (Exo 12:40, 41). It was here where a desperation for God was developed in them and as a result they realized their need for Him. When they cried out to Him for deliverance, He raised up a deliverer in Moses and led them out of or delivered them from bondage. Notice, God was not responsible for Israel's bondage, Pharaoh was, but God did not move until Israel cried out for deliverance. However, before they could cry out to Him, they had to be in the situation long enough to become so fed up with or restive in it that they wanted out.
"Now it came to pass in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God becuase of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them." Exo 2:23-25 (NKJV).
Notice it says; "Now it came to pass in the process of time that the king of Egypt died." (vs. 23).
This not only means that in time the king of Egypt died but suggests that the Israelites were in bondage for a period of time for it continues;
"Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage..." (vs.23).
The Israelites were in bondage for so long that they "groaned". As a result of their groaning, they cried out to God for deliverance. This groaning resulted from a deep desire for freedom which came from the depths of their souls.
Have you ever been in a situation where the difficulty, hardship or bondage was so heavy and lasted for so long that you began to groan in your spirit? Where you desired so desperately to be free that you turned to God and cried out for deliverance in prayer? Everyone has been in this place at one point or another. This is how the Israelites felt.
The wonderful thing about this is when you get to this point, your groaning goes up to God; "Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage" (vs. 23), He hears it; "So God heard their groaning" (vs. 24), remembers the covenant relationship He has with you in the blood of Jesus Christ; "and remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob" (vs. 24), and acknowledges you; "and God acknowledged them" (vs. 25).
It is amazing that when you cry out to God in desperation from the depth of your soul He does not ignore you but hears and acknowledges you. "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21 (NKJV). What an awe-full God!
The Lord will hear, acknowledge and answer you for He is moved by the feelings of our infirmities. He takes no pleasure in seeing us suffer but at times, deliverance will not come until we are at a point where we are groaning for it. why? Because we will not be in a position (able) to receive it unless we truly desire it. If you are content to walk in sin and enjoy the bondage you are in, this means that you desire the sin more than the deliverance. This will prevent you from receiving deliverance until you come to a point where you realize how damaging the sin and bondage is that you want nothing to do with it any longer.
Egypt represents the place of bondage to Satan, demons, sin and certain circumstances. Pharaoh is a type of Satan, and Egypt, a type of the kingdom of darkness and the corrupt world system. At times, God waits until we become so fed up with our sin, bondage and circumstances that we cry out to Him in desperation for deliverance before He moves. This is because the Lord has given us a free will that He will not violate. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman when it comes to our free will. He waits until we desire deliverance to the point where we cry out to Him for it before He will move to deliver us. We cannot receive what we do not desire so this has more to do with our capacity to receive than with God's willingness to deliver us. God desires to deliver you more than you desire the deliverance, has already made provision for it and has provided the means by which we can receive it but if we are not in a position to receive it, we will have difficulty doing so. We receive by faith.
Most people will not turn to God unless they have a good reason to. Tests, trials, tribulations and difficult situations have a way of directing our attention to God and developing a desire in us to seek God for deliverance. When we turn to Him in desperation we put ourselves in a position to receive deliverance by releasing faith and as a result, God is given an opportunity to deliver us. But first we need to come to a place where we are so restive that we desire deliverance and are taking the necessary steps to receive it.
"By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless (restive), that you shall break his yoke from your neck." Gen 27:40 (NKJV) (Parenthesis added).
Prior to this, Esau, who was Isaac's first born son, sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of meal. The consequences were that;
He would have difficulty and unrest in his life; "By your sword you shall live."
He would be in bondage to his brother; "and you shall serve your brother."
But that he would eventually break his brother's yoke from off his neck; "that you shall break his yoke from off your neck."
When would Esau become free? When he became restless or restive; "and it shall come to pass, when you become restless that you shall break his yoke from off your neck." The word "restless" here is also "restive". The word restive means; hard to control; unruly, balky, nervous or impatient under restraint, restless. The word restless means; unable to rest or relax, giving no rest or relaxation; disturbed (restless sleep), never or seldom still; always moving, seeking change; discontented (Collins Concise English Dictionary).
At times God allows you to remain in a situation until you become so restive that you begin crying out to Him for deliverance. This, on some occasions, is a sign in itself that God is preparing you for the next level. Rustling the nest, so to speak, so that you will become dissatisfied with where you are and begin to seek the Lord for change.
Notice, God was not responsible for Esau's trouble. The blessing was waiting for him. Esau found himself in this situation after rejecting his God given birthright for a measly bowl of meal (Gen 25:29-34). Many people have found themselves in difficult situations because they did not wait on God to confirm what He wanted them to do next then get in the flesh and move when God really wanted them to wait. We cannot blame God for this, only ourselves but if we would humble ourselves before God, turn back to Him and repent, He will work the situation together for our good.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:28 NKJV).
"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time... (1 Pet 5:6 NKJV).
God continued this process in the desert which was the next level in this progression. The Lord had to lead His people into and through the desert before He led them into the Promised Land because the desert was the place where God revealed Himself to, purified and prepared His people. It was there that they had to learn to trust the Lord and it was there that the Lord prepared them for the giants they had to face on entering the Promised Land. If the Israelites could not learn how to trust the Lord in the desert when they had nothing, then there was no way they were going to be able to trust the Lord to give them victory over their enemies.
The Israelites were in a better place with God in the desert than they were with Pharaoh in Egypt. The Lord took the Israelites, led by Moses, out of Egypt (a confined place), into the desert (a spacious place, better than Egypt), then led by Joshua, into the Promised Land (an even better and more spacious place than both Egypt and the desert).
But the Lord did not allow the Israelites to go into the Promised Land until He first took them into the desert and was satisfied that they were ready to go into the Promised Land. The reason being was because it was in the desert that they had to learn how to trust the Lord to give them the victory and to take them to the next level.
Egypt is where you realize your need for Jesus
The desert is where you have a greater revelation of Jesus
The Jordan is where you receive the power of Jesus (the Anointing)
The Giants are those whom you war against with Jesus and
The Promised Land is where you win the victory with Jesus and see the manifestation of the promises of God.