Gospel House Ministries

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Our title for this sermon is "Crossing Over From the World." I can recall when I was 35 years old. I was going to work, getting on the A train at Liberty Avenue Station, and something hit me that you have to get your life together. I said to myself, "I'm 35." It was my birthday that day. I said, "I'm 35. I'm getting old now. I need to get my life right with God." At that moment, I determined to cross over from the world. It didn't happen overnight, but I kept on that path. I still was doing some things that I had no business doing, but I still knew that I couldn't stay the same. I knew I had to cross over from the world.

When we investigate the plight of Israel as they went through the wilderness, the wilderness was a series of tests that God brought them through before they entered the Promised Land. Israel had been in bondage for over 400 years, and their wilderness journey was designed to purge them from their past. Yet they encountered many grievances because of the hardness of their hearts. Ezekiel 3:7 says, "But those of the house of Israel will not listen to you because they will not listen to me, for all the house of Israel is impudent and hard-hearted." In Matthew 19:8, Jesus said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning, it was not so."

Moses was talking to the men who, throughout the wilderness journey, were giving Moses hell through rebellion. You remember the rebellion of Korah? Let's turn there: Numbers 16:1. Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. These were no small-time people; these were people who were prominent. But they came up against Moses.

They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" What nerve. Here they are saying, "Who made you God? You're taking too much upon yourself. We're here, but we're holy too." When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. He spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, "Tomorrow morning, the Lord will show who is His and who is holy and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses, He will cause to come near to Him."

The only reason you can come near to God is because God chose you and you accepted His call. You can't come near God if you're not holy. God will not hear a sinner's prayer. So he says, "Do this: take censers, Korah and all your company." Censers were metal boxes that they would put coals in and incense and send up a fragrance. "Put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. It shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi."

Don't tell me I'm taking too much upon myself. I was called by God. You wasn't there at the burning bush. Anytime you get out of your lane and into someone else's lane, you take too much on yourself. Then Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel?" Remember, He separated Levi; they didn't get an inheritance. They were set apart for the work of God. Moses is telling them, "You're taking your job lightly. You have a great office that you hold, and now you want to cross over into my office and tell me who I am and what I'm not?"

"Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself?" That's why He called you: to do the work of the Tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to serve them. Moses is telling them, "You take your position lightly when you ought not. He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi with you. Are you seeking the priesthood also? Isn't it enough that you have this position, and now you want to take my position?"

"Therefore, you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. You're not against me. You think you're fighting me, but you're fighting God. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?" Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up." You see that? We're not coming there. "Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of the land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us?" They've been deceived. Satan is in their minds. They've become deceived by looking at where they're at.

You were in a world of sin, but you're telling me the world of sin is flowing with milk and honey? Where God is leading you is flowing with milk and honey. You were complaining about condiments. You didn't even have a grave to put your people in, and you want to go back there? Moreover, you have not brought us into the land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up." The problem here is the lack of patience. You're not ready for what God is going to give you. Some people want it now. Wasn't that the prodigal son? He wanted it now.

They had no patience to wait. Wait on the Lord, and He'll supply. Then Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, "Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them." Moses said to Korah, "Tomorrow, you and all your company be present before the Lord, you and they, as well as Aaron. Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers, both you and Aaron, each with his censer."

The censer was used in the purification ritual on the Day of Atonement. So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting with Moses and Aaron. Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." How many of you know He can do it?

They fell on their faces and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and You be angry with all the congregation?" That's what I'm thinking about in our world today. Shall one man sin and You be angry with all the congregation? The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'" I would not get in the tent of anyone who is trying to subvert anything. I wouldn't get in the tent of anyone who is evil, anyone who's a narcissist. I wouldn't get in their tent because you're going to pay their price. You're going to pay it with them.

Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart now from the tents of these wicked men." That's what needs to happen in this country. "Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sin." You get in the bed with a dog, you're going to get up with fleas. They got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little children. What you do wrong can affect your whole family.

Moses said, "By this, you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. I'm only listening to Him. That's why you're not fighting against me; you're fighting against Him. If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord." Moses spoke it. God needs somebody in the earth to speak what He says. Once they speak it, God brings it to pass.

It came to pass as he finished speaking all these words that the ground split apart under them. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households and all the men with Korah with all their goods. If I'm going to hell, I'm going to hell on account of me; I'm not going to hell on account of somebody else. The people who do not cross over are the people who reject God. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. Imagine what this looked like to everybody else. Everybody else saw that, and that put fear in them. That makes them respect God more. That makes them listen more to the leader.

All Israel who were around them fled at their cry. They heard them people crying. You can imagine the sounds of the women, the children, and the animals making all kinds of sounds. That bothered them. Everybody has heard somebody cry and it was an eerie cry that bothered you. Even a cat crying in the backyard bothers me. He said all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up too." Let's get out of here before we go down there too. A fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense. In other words, they really had hell on earth.

The Bible says in Proverbs 17:11, "An evil man seeks only rebellion. Therefore, a cruel messenger will be sent against him." 1 Samuel 15:23 says, "For rebellion is the sin of witchcraft." Now, there are many times when Israel rebelled against God, and if I went over all of them, you would become impatient with this sermon. Right here, I want all of you to get the gist of what God is saying right off the bat this morning: that the rebellious people of the church today will never cross over and see the Promised Land unless they repent and give their whole hearts unto the Lord.

How can we win if there's a fight within? Within your hearts against God and His leaders. God never mandated that you should like your leader, but you should love his or her teaching because they point you to the way. What is the way of God? Jesus is the way. They point you to Jesus, the one who can help you overcome yourself and the world so that you may cross over and enter your Promised Land of blessing.

Earlier, I said that the wilderness was a place of testing. Whether you know it or not, if you are saved right now, you are in the wilderness living in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:1-4 says, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh." Didn't you do it?

Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, we were by nature children of wrath, just as others. Naturally, you are far from being saved, but thank God you are now saved spiritually from His wrath, which is soon to come. It's coming sooner than many people think because you are holy and set apart. "But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved, and raised up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

To those of you who may not know, the earth is your spiritual wilderness. How you live now determines whether you will live with Jesus later throughout eternity or burn in hell with Satan and his fallen angels. A rebellious heart will never see heaven. For those of you who are listening on YouTube, a rebellious heart is an unrepentant heart. People don't come to church today because they do not feel they need to repent. They do not feel they need forgiveness from God. Some of you may say, "I can repent right in my house. I don't have to come to church to repent." Let me remind some of you and inform the others that God specifically said, "Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together." You find that in the New Testament: Hebrews 10:25.

There is a saying: birds of a feather flock together. If you're not assembling with the saints, who are you assembling with? What is it that you do in your house that you know good and well you can't do at church? You sure can't pour no liquor in a glass in the church. The Word of God says as iron sharpens iron, so does the countenance of man. Look at the text: iron is sharpening iron. That means they are both made of the same substance, like all of us. We have been made righteous; we're made of the same substance, have we not? Birds of a feather are birds of the same feather. God will say to you this day if you refuse to assemble with the saints that you are not a saint. You ain't what you're called to be because you are living in rebellion against the Word of God.

Listen again to what Korah said in rebellion to God and Moses: "You take too much upon yourselves." Who are you to tell anybody they take too much? When God gives you something, if God gives you a vision, He'll give you the provisions. "For all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them." If you're someone who does not truthfully obey the Word of God, you're not holy. You may be set apart to yourself in your house, but you're not set apart to God in His house. If you were, you would heed His Word without question because you believe. Unbelievers will never cross over this Jordan into the Promised Land of blessing.

Listen to what Moses' sister Miriam and brother Aaron said to Moses out of rebellion. Numbers 12:1. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?" You see how people get uppity? This is his brother and sister. "Has He not spoken through us also?" You see how some people get like that? "I've got God speaks to me, too. You're just a man with pants. You put on your pants like I put on my pants."

The Lord heard it. Uh-oh. Trouble. Now the man Moses was very humble, and that's why he was blessed: because he was humble. If you want to cross over out of the world, you have to humble yourself before the Lord. Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth, and here you all are talking about him. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the Tabernacle of Meeting." So the three came out.

The Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the Tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both went forward. Then He said, "Hear now my words: if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house." If you want to cross over this Jordan, you have to be faithful to God in season and out of season. "I speak with him face to face. No one else has spoken to God face to face but Jesus. Even plainly, and not in dark sayings. I tell him straight up; I'm not giving him no proverbs. I'm not giving him no riddles to figure out. I tell him straight up. And he sees the form of the Lord."

In other words, he knows Me. You all don't know Me like he knows Me. Who are you to question his ability? Who are you to question whom I've called? We have to watch how we deal with the man and woman of God, even with one another, because we're supposed to show love one to another. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? What came over you? What's happening with you? So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. One thing I like about God: He says what He's going to say, and that's it. You better accept what He says. Once He said that's it, don't question Me. Don't give Me no backtalk. God said what He had to say, and He left the scene. How many of you know His Word comes forth? All He has to do is speak a word and it shall come to pass.

When the cloud departed from above the Tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly." Aaron was scared that leprosy was going to jump on him. "And in which we have sinned. Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb." Moses cried out. When I read that part, I said, "What does he mean when it's half dead?" But you remember they used to smack the babies when they come out to wake them up and put life into them. So that's what he's talking about.

The Lord said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward, she may be received again." How many of you know God is a God of a second chance? And another chance. Don't you ever forget that. I don't care what you've done wrong, how bad you've messed up, God is a God of another chance. He doesn't want to see you come to naught, but He wants you to repent and be godly sorry for what you done. So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days.

What I love about this is that Moses had compassion. That's a leader. He could have said, "Good for her, let her get it." But he didn't do that. Even for him to say that is evil. Afterward, the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness. How many of you know that a house divided cannot stand? The number one reason churches today are powerless is because of the spirit of rebellion. We have churches today where the board runs the church, not the pastor. Right off the bat, that church is out of order. Some may say, "But that church has thousands of members," and I'll say numbers don't make a church; God makes a church. Two or three gathered in His name, so He'll be in the midst. Numbers don't make a church.

Let me help somebody out: there's a difference in growing and swelling. Have you ever sprained your ankle? A sprained ankle is a damaged ankle. Just because it looks bigger than normal does not mean that your ankle has grown. No, it became puffed up, full of pus. Pus is abscess. Pus is in a boil because it is infected with something unwanted to the body. Pus is carbuncle, which is a group of pus-filled bumps forming a connected area of the infection under the skin. That's how I see a board running a church: infecting the church with ungodly ideas coming from more than one head. Last I heard, anything with more than one head is a freak; it's a monster.

God speaks through one head in the church, and that's the pastor. My wife and I are one in Christ through marriage. Just before the devil tries to slip up in here and say we've got two here, Genesis 2:21-24 says, "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept, and He took one of the ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.' Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

So my wife and I are one with God. We are not two heads; we're one head in Christ, and He is the head of our marriage. Two is the number of agreement. We live in agreement with our head, who is the God of our salvation. God gave the church some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity. We have to be together on everything. We can't be divided, and we can't let anyone slip in and divide us. We have to be in unity together with God.

Come together in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man. That's what God is working on: us. We're perfect in Christ, but He's bringing us to perfection. To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men in cunning craftiness of the deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth in love and may grow up in all things unto Him, who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body joined, not divided, and knit together by what every joint supplies.

Just like today is our anniversary: somebody's bringing song, somebody's bringing food, somebody's bringing dance, but it's all coming together for the glory of God. According to the effective working by which every part does its share. Everybody say that: every part does its share. That causes growth, not swelling. Not swelling of the body. Edifying of itself in love. Love is the glue that makes it all true. A board running a church is not a part of this equation. It's making that church out of order. Look at what it says: "by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting." A board running a church is deceitful plotting. Some boards tell the pastor what he can do and what he can't do, what he can preach and not preach, taking the place of God. Boards do have a place, but that certainly is not it: to be running the pastor.

So let's look at our plight. Our plight is to raise up the church in the fear and admonition of the Lord and witness to the world of His goodness, so that He can lead us across the Jordan into the Promised Land. And not without a fight coming from us, His followers, to get there. God will do His part, but we must do our part and fight. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty for pulling down strongholds. Good things don't come easy. You have to fight whatever is hindering you from pushing forward with God. Satan is going to give you some resistance, but you give him some resistance back. Resist the devil and he'll flee. How do you resist somebody? When you're fighting somebody, you're resisting them.

So you have to fight. Don't expect the pastor to do all the fighting. You have to fight too; we need your help. So you must fight, not amongst ourselves, but against our adversary the devil, who goes about seeking whom he may destroy or devour. You want to know whom he's most able to defeat? It's those who are blatantly disobedient to God. There's no shame in their game; they love living in the mud. Why must we cross the Jordan? Well, as a Christian, you should receive two baptisms. Let me say it again: as a Christian, you should receive two baptisms. Some of you need to wake up and hear it.

The first baptism is in Christ. The second baptism is in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire!" Let me break it down so you may better understand. John the Baptist is saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." John was by this time informed by the Holy Spirit that the Messiah was here. That's why he said the kingdom of God is at hand, meaning reachable for you to obtain at this time through repentance. Come and let me baptize you if you believe. The people did so because the one to whom you repent is at hand.

Now when John had baptized Jesus, where did he baptize him? He baptized him in the Jordan. Connection! He baptized him in the Jordan River, but not unto repentance, for He was the Son of God. God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Jesus was doing it as an example to all of us. When the children of Israel had come to the Jordan River, Joshua baptized them in the water, symbolizing the baptism of Jesus who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Now let me prove this out for you. When Moses baptized Israel in the Red Sea, that was symbolic of the baptism of John.

How is that? Because Moses was the great deliverer who came to deliver or save Israel out of bondage, to bring them to Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai is the mountain range of God; Mount Horeb is the specific mountain of God in the range where Moses encountered the burning bush. Moses brought them to God for repentance because they were down in Egypt in sin. He brought them to God for purification from their past life of what? Sin! That was the first baptism pointing to repentance.

Now when we get to the Jordan River, many had died in the wilderness. It is estimated two million or so left out of Egypt, not counting women and children, which would bring it to approximately five million people. Five is the number of grace. But only two people out of them all made it to the Promised Land. You mean to tell me out of five million people, only two made it? Many are called but few are chosen. You've got to make it through your wilderness. This earth is your wilderness, and God is watching you. He's testing you in the earth. There used to be a song we used to sing: "This is just a rehearsal." We've got to do our work here to make it up there.

So it was only two that made it to the Promised Land, which was Joshua and Caleb. Because of their disobedience, which we call today unbelief, they died in the earth, never reaching the Promised Land, which we call today heaven. The Promised Land was just pointing to heaven. Their souls never made it to heaven; from the earth they came, where their bodies remained. Just like you will if you don't straighten up and fly right and get right with Jesus. But their children who were 20 years and under were baptized in the Jordan. Not unto repentance, because they were saved. They made it through the wilderness, and now they're going to their Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, which symbolizes victory.

We sing the song, "I've got the victory." Jesus is our victory, and you can't have Him unless you've already repented. Because we have accepted Him and come into His marvelous light, we are in heavenly places spiritually right now. Yet we must finish this race for the fulfillment of it all. When Joshua stood in the Jordan, it was symbolic of Jesus standing in the Jordan when he was baptized. Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus. And when the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, this was their second baptism, which you must also receive. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. My question to all of you is, how many times have you been baptized? Once or twice?

You should be seeking to be filled with God's Spirit. You don't just want the baptism of repentance saying, "I believe in Jesus." You want the fulfillment of it all; you want to be endowed with the Holy Spirit. That gives you the power to overcome the world. That gives you the power to resist the devil. It gives you the power to not quit, but it gives you the power to run, for this race is not for the swift nor for the strong, but for he who endures to the end. How many you going to make it to the end? Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will not see God. You will not enter in, and you ought to be putting that in your prayers: "Lord, fill me with your Spirit." If you know you're not filled with the Holy Spirit, you ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit, and you've got to humble yourself like Moses.

Turn in your Bibles to Joshua, the third chapter. And Joshua, what did he do? He circumcised them, didn't he? The ones that were left, he circumcised them. And then when he circumcised them, they was ready for that second baptism because circumcision is rolling away the flesh. So he had to roll away the flesh first before the Spirit—we're speaking in the futuristic—but before the Spirit can come in. If you're full of your flesh, the Spirit ain't coming in you. So there was an order to that: they had to be circumcised, and then baptized in the Spirit. Spirit water equals Spirit.

Then Joshua rose in the morning, and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was after three days that the officers went through the camp, and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it." They were lifting up Jesus spiritually because the Ark represents the presence of God. You can't go anywhere unless you lift up Jesus with your life.

"Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about 2,000 cubits by measure." You know what 2,000 cubits is? 3,000 feet. That's a lot of space. I remember when I was in the Air Force and we had to put cargo on a plane, I had to stand 50 feet back. 50 feet back is like where I'm standing across the street. So imagine 3,000 feet. They had to stand a long ways because they wasn't that perfect to get that close to God. So it says, "Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before."

When you become saved, you do not pass the way before. When you become saved, you just got saved. You need the Spirit to help you with your salvation because you never passed this way. You don't know what you're going to encounter. You can't walk this walk on your own; you need the power of God to go before you. Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves." That means set yourselves apart. Don't be like the people of the world. Don't be walking around doing everything you see everybody do, copying what everybody copies, listening to what everybody listens to on YouTube, and watching all these stupid, fruitless videos. Sanctify yourselves. Your conversation should be more of Christ than what's on YouTube.

Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people. Remember the song? "I wonder who will help me lift Jesus." They lifted the Ark up. They're getting ready to step in the water. They're lifting up Jesus because without lifting up Jesus, you can't go no further. I don't care how smart you are, I don't care how much wisdom you think you have, you can't go no further without Jesus. You've got to lift Him up in your life. You've got to lift Him up in your home. Your children have got to see you lifting Him up so that when they get older, they lift Him up.

Verse 7: And the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you." I'm here to tell you, as God is with me, so He'll be with you too. "You shall command the priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, 'When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.'" So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here."

So many people want to stay home, but God is saying, "Come here." You ain't going to get it in that bedroom. You ain't going to get it sleeping in that bed, eating that ice cream. You ain't going to get it eating your breakfast in the morning. You're going to get it when you come here. Yes, God will visit you in your house, but there's a meeting place that He designed for you to be. And if He says that's where you ought to be, then that's where you ought to be. "Come here and hear the words of the Lord your God." I didn't say for you to stay home; come here. They all had to come out of their tents, didn't they?

Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you." Isn't that beautiful? How many you know the living God is amongst you? He did it before, and He'll do it again. God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. In other words, I'm going to bring you to the Promised Land, but you're going to have to fight. I'm going to bring you to where I want you to be, but you've got to fight. How do we fight? Through fasting and prayer. How do we fight? Through reading the Word. How do we fight? By staying in the presence of the Lord so that He can prepare us for our day. You don't get up without the Lord no tellin' what your day going to be like. Then you scratch your head, "What happened?" You didn't get up with the Lord this morning.

Verse 11: "Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap."

So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross the Jordan, with the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people, and as those who bore the Ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the Ark dipped in the edge of the water—for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest. It's time to reap. This water is gushing water. It's very strong, powerful. Boats have been torn up trying to get in that Jordan because the Jordan is a winding, like this, and it's very fast, and it goes downward. So no man can cross it. No man. But I'm here to tell you, God can allow you to cross the most dangerous places in life because He's with you.

He'll stop the noise. He'll stop the waters from overflooding you because He's God and you're His child, and He will see you through. But you've got to keep the faith. You can't give up; you've got to stay in the race. Don't give up because something little happened, something small happened and you figured it's so big. No, God is bigger than anything that happened to you. So when they set their feet, dipped in the edge of the water, all the banks during the whole time of harvest, the waters which came down from upstream stood still, just like the Red Sea. And rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed. There was no more gushing water; God stopped the waters. Whatever is troubling you, God can stop it. Whatever is hindering you, God can stop it. You've got to believe it!

And the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground. See, no mud. Dry ground. No mud getting on their shoes or anything. Dry, no mud. If it's dry, can't no mud harden, can it? Mud can be very hard. Until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. We all got to be in this together, don't we?

Someone may ask, how do I become baptized of the Holy Spirit? The Word of God is spirit and life, and if you're someone who is ignorant of the Word of God, you are not in the light and you certainly have not the Spirit of God. You must study the Word of God, study to show yourself approved. So you must study the Word of God consistently through prayer and fasting. You've got to get in it. When you get in the water to swim, you've got to get your whole body in it. You ain't swimming by just putting your toes in there and think you're swimming; you ain't swimming nowhere. You've got to get in the whole thing. Get all in.

To be filled with the Spirit, the Word of God is what transforms your mind and prospers your life. Without the spiritual education of the Lord, your living is in vain and on earth you will remain. The Jordan crossing is the same crossing all of us must make. There are two sides to the Jordan River. The first side is the side of testing—that's the side of the wilderness—and of testing and defeat where you were living according to the customs of the world. You know, like when you were living in sin, you were in fornication on that side, you were in adultery on that side, you were full of lies and deceit on that side.

You were selfish and prideful on that side, and you were stuck in the mud on that side. But on the other side, you came to yourself, like the prodigal son, and said to yourself before you got there, "I will arise and go to my father, my father's house, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants,'" which symbolizes angels. This was an example of prayer. By him saying it, it was an example of prayer. So you've got to talk to Jesus to get there.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:30, when asked by the Sadducees, "Teacher, Moses said if a man dies having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for him." There were seven brothers all together. So they said, "Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the power of God, for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels of God in heaven." That's what we all will be like when we reach heaven: we'll be like angels, His hired servants. Some quit the job and fell with Satan, didn't they? They quit the job. I don't know about you, but I'm going to get my wings because I'm crossing over! Crossing over this Jordan!

Crossing over is the decision that you have to make. It's a decision, and you've got to make up your mind. God's house, God has prospered this ministry tremendously through these past 17 years, and it would be a shame after all the teaching and witnessing that we were involved in and not see you there. We are on the precipice of going into a new building of worship, and it behooves you to get your house in order so that as we go higher in the Lord, you will be fit for the Kingdom. And when Israel went into the Promised Land, it was there where the Kingdom of God was established, an everlasting Kingdom of righteousness and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Don't you want to come to the Kingdom? Well, come on, everybody, because we don't want anyone to be left behind spiritually. Don't you be the one who comes with us to our new building who comes with us physically but not spiritually because you're still dead in trespasses and sin. Hey, let's all cross over this Jordan. Crossing over the Jordan is crossing over from the world. A wilderness journey. How many of you are ready? Amen to God be the glory. Let's cross over this Jordan. Let's cross over from the world. Everyone is standing.

Guest (Male): Hallelujah. That was a Rhema word. Oh, Lord, we need You to help us. We're crossing over from the world, and we're crossing over our Jordan. Our pastor let us know that crossing over from the world doesn't happen overnight. For those of you that are looking for instant deliverance, for those of you who think that your prayers are not working because you're praying and praying and praying on an issue and it hasn't happened yet, crossing over from the world doesn't happen overnight. I know; it took me 20 years to get over. It took 20 years, so I know.

He spoke of the wilderness that we are all in. It's a wilderness journey, and God is using this wilderness journey to purge us from our past. And like I said before, it won't happen overnight. God is a God that can do things overnight; He can do things in an instant. But I just want you to know the journey of crossing over from the world does not always happen overnight. If it happened for you overnight, you were truly blessed. He told us about the rebellion of Korah to let us know that we have to be careful with whom we connect ourselves. We don't want the connections that we make in the world to end us up in hell.

He's given us two baptisms, or to let us know that as Christians, we are to receive two baptisms. Most of us have been baptized in Christ, but then there is also the Holy Spirit. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit gives you the power to overcome the world and to resist the enemy. And we need that power to resist the enemy because he is relentless. He's always seeking someone to attack; he's always trying to get us to fall. So yes, we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, we are to remember that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. As saints, we come together not to see what other people are wearing or to talk about each other, or even to tell about what's going on in our world. We do do our testimonies and everything, but as iron sharpens iron, so does the countenance of man. So we come together in God's church where He ordained for us to come together so that we can be built up. We can be edified. We can get the Word of God from the man of God, the woman of God, to build us up so that we can go out and help others.

The congregation is a holy place that God has destined for us to set ourselves apart from the world. Rebellion is not to be a reason in the church to separate us because, as our pastor lets us know with numbers, two is the number of agreement. Our agreement as coming together in the church is to be in agreement and unity with God so that we will be fortified and be able to do what it is that God has called us to do.

I also was taken aback by the disobedience of five million people, causing only two of them to make it into the Promised Land. Please do not be one of the rebellious ones that don't make it into the Promised Land with us. We know more than two of us are going to make it, but don't count yourself to be in with the ones that don't make it due to disobedience. God has given us the way to fight against rebellion, to fight against the enemy, and that is by fasting and praying. Fasting does different things for different people at different times, but the answer is for you to fast and to pray and to study God's Word, because that's what we can use to help us fight the enemy so that we get to cross over from the world and into our Jordan.

We know that God is there to help us. We thank Him for His help. All we have to do is ask Him. Don't be shy. God is always listening to our prayers. He wants to help us to cross over the Jordan, which has two sides: the side of testing and defeat of sin, and the other side is for you to come to yourself like King Nebuchadnezzar. Because of his disobedience, God turned him into a beast. We don't want to be beasts. We want to come to ourselves by asking God to help us to humble ourselves and come to Him in repentance with a repentant heart, turning away from the sins.

The pastor also talked about crossing over from the world to humbling ourselves before the Lord, being faithful to God in season and out of season. It's not hard, but it is something that you have to choose to do. It's a choice; it's a decision that you have to make. So decide to cross over. Decide to be obedient. Decide to fast and pray. Decide to call out to the Lord. Decide to do all that God has given us to do to come closer to Him because, with Him, we will make it to the Promised Land. Amen.