"FROM WOOD
TO GOLD"
MF Blume
February
31, 1999 pm
Joshua 3:1 And Joshua rose early
in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and
all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
Joshua and Israel left Shittim
and came to lodge at Jordan, ready to cross.
- They were about to enter
the land of Canaan.
They were leaving one realm to
enter into another.
People are starting to realize
that there is far more to "church" than attending a service each week and
going home again.
- They are seeing that there
is a place in Christ where they can be a lot further along spiritually than
where they are now.
- There is a place of spiritual
maturity.
The name of this place of departure
was called Shittim.
- This name is the same word
used to describe the kind of wood that was used to construct the ark of the
covenant and other objects in the tabernacle.
- Ex. 25 notes that shittim
wood and gold were both used.
Exod 25:10-11 And they shall make an ark [of] shittim
wood: two cubits and a half [shall be] the length thereof, and a cubit and
a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And
thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay
it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
Wood is organic.
- It is subject to decay and
corruption.
- Gold is different.
- Wood represents flesh and
carnality.
- Gold is referred to by
Peter in 1 Pet 1 as being similar to faith tried in the fire.
1Pet 1:6-7 Wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through
manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found
unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1 Cor 3 speaks of building on
our foundation something better than wood, hay and stubble.
- We must build gold, silver
and precious stones.
- There is a fire coming
called the judgment seat of Christ.
- Jesus is said to have eyes
of fire in Rev. 1
- The way He sees things
is how we will be judged.
- Any structure built of
wood, hay or stubble will be burned up at judgment.
- Only gold, silver and precious
stones will endure the fire.
We need to understand that the
fiery trials we go through today are meant to burn away the wood, hay and
stubble of our lives and cause the gold within us to be purified.
- If the gold could scream
it surely would.
- But the fire and the heat
purifies the gold.
- And after the trial, there
will be that much more gold and that much less wood.
- Let God work!
From Shittim to Canaan.
- In Canaan they would come
to Jebusi and rename it Jerusalem.
- This is a picture of New
Jerusalem.
- New Jerusalem is the city
of pure gold.
- From Wood to pure gold.
- From Shittim to gold.
Reve 21:18 And the building of the wall of it was
[of] jasper: and the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear glass.
There are a few structures God
had men build in the Bible.
- The first was Noah's ark.
- Solid wood.
- Then was the Tabernacle.
- Shittim wood and gold.
- Then was David's Tabernacle
-- only a tent and the ark.
- Less wood.
- Then Solomon's Temple --
Shittim wood and more gold.
- Gold on the ceiling.
- Gold on the walls.
- Gold on the floors.
- Some things that were brazen
in the tabernacle were now gold in the temple.
The last structure that we see
in the Bible is New Jerusalem.
From solid wood, to gold and
wood, to solid gold.
This is a picture of God's people.
- From pure fleshliness to
pure faith.
Let the fiery trials purify the
gold faith in you.
- Have little faith?
- Great!
- Faith is like a grain of
mustard seed.
- Smallest of all seeds.
- But it grows into one of
the greatest trees.
- The faith you have will
grow and the wood of fleshliness will fade.
I could preach wood and hay and
stubble to you.
- But I must preach the Word!
- I must preach gold.
- Prosperity preaching, where
people tell you that you should be rich if you have faith is nonsense.
- Tell that to Job.
- Job was perfect and upright,
and went through the fire.
- He lost all possessions.
- But he said, "Though God
slay me, yet will I trust him. I will then come forth as pure gold."
- And Job was refined as
the fiery trial burned away the remaining wood, and his golden faith was
purified.
- I declare the picture of
twice as many possessions at the latter end represents double the faith he
had at the start.
- More gold.
Primarily we are wood at the
start.
- But golden faith will grow
and become more predominant.
- And you must understand
that this requires fiery trials.
- Satan will throw this before
you and that, to distract you from what God is doing.
- As soon as we get on the
move with deeper commitment to God, things go wrong.
- Satan is trying to distract
you from your determination.
- But ignore those distractions.
- Seek first the Kingdom
of God -- even when things go wrong -- keep your eyes on the work of God
and God will take care of the other things.
- All these other things
will be added to you in proper help.
- Paul lit a fire on the
island in the book of Acts, and a viper came out.
- As soon as the fires of
revival start, the snakes come out.
- Distractions.
- But take up the serpents
and throw them back in the fire and keep on having revival!
- Do not get distracted from
God's will.
Some people quit when they hear
a bad word against them.
- Satan succeeded in distracting
them so easily from the will of God.
- They will never see their
abundance of wood and fleshliness burned away for they will not take the fire.
- Their gold will be hidden.
- It will not grow.
- Keep in mind what the hard
times are for.
This is a no-lose situation once
you learn what is needed to see your gold purified and your wood burned away.
- Trials.
- If Paul told us to put
on the armour that we may stand in the evil day, then we must be going to
be in this world when the evil day comes.
- So many are saying we will
escape any trouble, but Paul said we will need armour to stand in the evil
day.
- We are going through the
fire.
- Hold on, saints!
- Take this gold-preaching
and ready yourself with armour.
- Do not listen to the wood-preaching
of the pretribulation rapture doctrine.
- Preaching that gives in
to the flesh.
Move from Shittim to Canaan.
- Pass over!
- Grow in faith.
- Take the heat.
I told one brother who complained
about not being able to serve God due to hypocrites in church that I would
be backslidden, too, if I looked at people!
- Keep your eyes on Jesus.
- Don't let the distractions
of the devil and others sidetrack you.
- God said Israel would see
the salvation of the Lord, only after they first fear not and stand still.
- Do not fear trouble but
understand it will only purify your golden faith.
- You will be more strong
after the trial is over.
- Rejoice not against me,
enemy, for when I fall, I will rise again and be more golden than ever!
- Devil will wish he never
sent a trial our way!!
When the church preached throughout
Jerusalem, Satan sent persecution.
- But it only drove them out
to other regions and they preached everywhere they were driven!
- Satan's trial backfired
on him and the church grew.
When Israel crossed the Red Sea,
Moses held aloft the rod.
- Solid wood.
- But at Jordan it was a
shittim wood ark overlaid with gold that was held over the waters to divide
it.
- And on the ark was a solid
gold mercy seat with no shittim wood at all.
- Cherubims looked at that
mercy seat.
- The message is that we
must get out attention on the golden faith and seeing more gold come forth.
- Know that the wood must
be burned away!
We all have wood.
- We all must pass through
trials.
- We must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
