Crossing Over
I’ve had numerous requests to review my teaching on “Crossing Over,” that was given at the VFM
Conference during Word Explosion. Below is an article that reflects that message.
Crossing Over
As I began praying about 2014, I heard God say, “This is the year. It’s time for the church to cross
over.” I felt impressed this was to be a time to “re•fresh” the church. Look at the meaning of many “re”
words:
1. Re•new - “Re” is a prefix that means again. The word “new” means, like the first time again or
to restore to an original state.
2. Re•fresh – to again have vigor
3. Re•vive – to again have vitality or life
4. Re•focus – to fix one’s attention again
5. Re•pent – to think higher again
It’s time for the church to find life again! In many corridors of culture the church has lost its relevancy.
Something that is relevant is something that is pertinent. You become irrelevant when what is on the
outside grows faster than what is on the inside. In other words, if the need for what you produce shifts
faster than your ability to adapt to its value, you become irrelevant. The latest research indicates that 15
to 20 years ago 40% to 70% of America were evangelicals. Today, the low side estimates lean toward
that number being around 7% to 8%. It’s an indication of a lack of relevancy. The message is good, but
we’re not communicating in a way that is keeping up with the shift in culture…especially youth culture.
Thus, it’s time to cross over to the other side to tapping into a viable kingdom that is fully impactful
today. Joshua 3 gives 10 keys to the church crossing over.
Look at Joshua 3:1 – “Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out…to Jordan, where they
were camped before crossing over.” 2014 is a time for the church to cross over…into our Promised
Land. You might think that is ok for Israel in the Old Covenant, but unless I don’t understand Hebrews
(and I do), there is a promise (land) of entering His rest (the finished work of Christ in the Kingdom of
God) that remains for us today (Heb. 4:1-11).
In this incredible passage in Joshua, he gives us 10 key principles to “cross over.”
1. Anticipation – Joshua 3:1, “…camped before crossing over…”
• This is what I call the biblical principle of “The Law of Expectation.” The Law of Expectation
states, what you expect in your heart with confidence becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.
Psychologists suggest that 80% of our actions are the result of our expectations. In other words, what
we do or don’t do is the result of what we expect the results to be. Perhaps, in another writing I will
focus on what it takes to create expectation in your heart. However, suffice it to say leaders “see”
ahead of time what others miss.
• Let me show this to you in scripture. Eph. 1:17ff states, “I, Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that
1 the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, in order that you may know the hope to which He
has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance (or the riches of His glory)…”
• God gives us a spirit of revelation… revelation reveals what already exists (see Eph. 1:3).
Wisdom is the application of revelation.
• Spiritual leaders see ahead of time (the Principle of Prequel) and help followers to apply it.
See Joshua 6:1,2; Numbers 13: 26-33; Hebrews 11:1; 2 Kings 6:17,18; Isaiah 43:19; Genesis
15:5; Joshua 1:2-8; Isaiah 42:7.
• Expectation creates actions (Heb. 11:1). If you’re expecting a baby, you may create a
nursery. If you are expecting money, you may look at catalogs or outlooks for ministry
opportunities. If you are expecting a healing, you may respond with certain actions.
• My miraculous healing from a car accident that sought to leave me paralyzed was averted by
my learning “to expect a miracle.”
2. Preparation – Joshua 3:2, 3 – “…giving orders to the people.” This is the principle of
preparation: preparation of how to cross over to our promised land (Kingdom of God).
• The leading educator in the world is Howard Gardner at Harvard University. He did a 20
year study on “genius.” Here is what he found:
o At 4 years old, 100% tested out at genius.
o The same group at 20 years old, 10% tested out at genius.
o At 24 years old, the same group, 2% tested out as genius.
• They say about 2% are genius in our world today. I don’t know what it tells you, but it
suggests to me that God created all of us with a sense of genius, but we’ve allowed life to
stamp it out of us. It’s time to help people rediscover their genius again.
3. Participation – Joshua 3:3b, “…you are to move out…” This is the principle of participation.
This principle means we’re better together. Synergy means the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts. This principle is about finding your part and taking ownership of your part of the vision.
It is gleaning the understanding that every believer has authority to operate in the Spirit.
• Genesis1:26 has what I call the 4 Law of Genesis 1:26 (authority).
(1) Legal authority to dominate and rule the earth has been given to mankind (Ps.
115:16).
(2) God did not include Himself in the legal authority structure over the earth.
(3) Any influence or interference from the supernatural realm on earth is only legal
through mankind.
(4) God made Himself subjugated to His laws and will not violate them.
• Therefore, I define kingdom laws (principles), the authorization and initiation for heaven to
interfere and influence earth’s affairs. That’s what prayer does, that’s what giving does, etc.
• 1 John 4:9 helps put this in perspective: “This is how I know God showed His love among
us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.”
• That’s my role, because we’re better and more powerful together.
4. Reposition – Joshua 3:3c, 4 – “…move out from your positions and follow it (the ark, or the
representation of the Glory of God), then you will know which way to go, since you’ve
never been this way before…” This is the Principle of Reposition. God is calling us to a new
wave of His spirit; to a place we’ve never been before.
2 The old move of God is often the biggest threat to the new move of God.
Every new move of the Spirit is a re-emphasis of an old kingdom law that we’ve lost focus
on. For instance in the early 1920’s it was the Baptism with the Holy Spirit; in the 1940’s it
was Healing; in the 1960’s it was the Charismatic Movement and the Gifts of the Spirit; in
the 1980’s it was Faith; today it is Grace. To be sure there are abuses and heresy attached to
this principle such as ultimate reconciliation or universalism. There are also over-reactions to
God’s freedom that weak believers turn into a license to sin. What the reemphasis of Grace
brings is a new freedom and qualification to be used and blessed from God that is lost under
the guilt of relating to God based on your performance.
• Every move of the Spirit goes through what I call the 4 R’s of the Move of the Spirit
Rejection, the old rejects the new Reconciliation, the old realizes the new is not as bad as
they thought and the new reels back some over-statements Revival, the fresh revelation
launches a move of life and vitality Reformation, the result if fully impacting changes the
way we see God and changes the way we see ourselves.
5. Reformation – Josh. 3:4, “…You’ve never been this way before (2)…” This is the principle
of Reformation. It reforms your perspective of God and yourself.
• Historically there have been 3 Reformations:
(1) Jesus – See John 1:16, 17. It was a new and better covenant that caused us to see God
differently (Heb. 8:6).
(2) Paul – Taught us what the New Covenant really is and not to be caught
up in what is not organic to the gospel.
(3) Martin Luther (1517 Reformation), broke from Catholicism and launched
Protestantism. The historical reformation was made up of 5 major components:
*sola Christus – Christ alone
*sola scriptura – scripture alone
*Sola gratia – grace alone
*Sola fide – faith alone
*Sole de Gloria – the Glory of God alone.
• At some level all 5 tenets are under challenge today.
6. Sanctification – Joshua 3: 5- “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do
amazing things.” This is the Principle of Sanctification. Holiness has been made into a
complicated issue. It simply means “set apart.” Set apart to God (and His system) and set apart
from the world (the world’s system).
• How does that happen? 1 Cor. 1:30 says, “It is because of Him (God) that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, ---that is our righteousness, holiness and
redemption. We are holy in Him. It’s not just a changed life, but an exchanged life.
• Heb. 10:10, 14 records, “And by that will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus Christ once and for all…because He has been made perfect forever those
who are being made holy.” So which is it? We are holy in Him once and for all, or are we
being made holy? We’re holy in Him and the more we understand it, the more we act like it.
• The key application here is not to be distracted by foolish sin issues that leave us insensitive
and impotent to what God is saying and doing. Sometime later in another posting I will
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3 release some disturbing facts of issues that have left us on the brink of being near-sighted,
blind and having amnesia toward God’s will (2 Pet. 1:9).
7. Revolution – Joshua 3:8, “When you reach the edge of Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the
river.” This is the Principle of Revolution (of faith).
•
God is authorizing a new installment of faith. This is not faith in your faith, but faith in
his grace. The former focuses on you and the latter focuses on Him (and what He has done).
• Look at Eph. 1:3, “Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” This verse is all written in
the past tense. This is already what has been done through the finished work of Jesus Christ,
by grace (see Eph. 1:2). This verse answers 4 critical questions:
(1) When? It is past tense. One Greek scholar calls it the eternal past.
(2) Where? In the heavenly realms. It’s just Paul speaking for the Kingdom of God.
(3) With What? Every spiritual blessing! The word “spiritual” here is the Greek word for
supernatural.
(4) How? In Christ! Through his finished work at Calvary (John 19:30).
• Now I must access what He did by grace through faith.
• Rom. 10:17 says it like this: “…faith comes by hearing (The Message) and hearing through
the Word of Christ.” The word “hear(ing)” doesn’t simply mean listening, but understanding
or revelation.
• As I understand what He has done by grace, I act accordingly in faith and manifest His
kingdom.
8. Revelation – Joshua 3:9, “Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘Come here and listen to the words
of the Lord our God.’” This is the Principle of Revelation. The word revelation means to
disclose what already exists.
• Eph. 1:17 tells us, “I Jesus Christ…give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so you may
know Him better. I pray…that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, in order that you
may know…the riches of His glory.” We receive revelation (of what He has already done) and
wisdom to know how to apply it.
• This is how David operated against Goliath, He declared, “…who is this uncircumcised
Philistine…” He wasn’t saying, I’m going to kill this guy because he hasn’t seen his
urologist, but circumcision was a sign of covenant. He was saying, I have a covenant and he
doesn’t. If God be for me, who can be against me (Rom. 8:10)? I have a revelation of who I
am and I can’t be defeated.
• Our biggest issue in the world is Rom. 4:21, “Being fully persuaded that God has the power to
do what He promised.” It is a revelation issue.
9. Opposition – Joshua 3:10, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and
that He will drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites,
Amorites…Jebusites,” the uptight, out of sight and mosquito bites. This is the Principle of
Opposition. God has commissioned us, but don’t mistake that for not having opposition that has
to be resisted. The devil will always oppose God’s plan. Some Christian leaders have mistakenly
felt that if God is in it, it would be clear sailing.
4 • So the priests (leaders) obey God, follow the Ark of the Covenant and put their foot in the
Jordan in faith. The Bible says the Jordan was at flood stage. Most scholars feel that added
about 14 feet of new dimension. As they put their foot in the Jordan it says, God cut off the
Jordan River from Adam to Zaretan. Most scholars feel these cities were about 12 to 19 miles
apart. This was no small miracle. God parted the Jordan River upwards to 19 miles apart.
Thus, Israel stepped into the Promised Land.
10. Celebration – Joshua 4:1—3, Israel built a memorial to commemorate and thank God.
• Thanking God guards our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:6, 7) to God’s miraculous provision.
• It’s time to cross over and solidify God’s kingdom in this hour.
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