It is Time to Cross Over

It is Time to Cross Over

The very word Cross can mean a variety of things depending on how it is used. For pedestrians there are CROSS walks where it is marked safe to cross the street. A grumpy person may be said to be cross with their attitude. Jesus told us to take up our CROSS and follow him. We know Jesus actually died on a cross. We realize that when a person becomes a believer in Jesus that they cross over from death into eternal life.

As we pray over our cities and world and its citizens, we pray that they will invite Jesus into their lives and cross over from spiritual death into a new and living way.

Reading from - John 5:24 New International Version (NIV). 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

1 John 3:14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who does not love remains in death.

Today I want us to consider crossing over, and we will consider the Children of Israel, who Crossed Over two bodies of water. First according to Exodus chapter 14, as the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they crossed over the Red Sea, as God miraculously divided the waters, causing them to pile up leaving dry ground for them to walk across. Then God destroyed their enemies who decided they also could cross over, but the waters swallowed up the foe, and there remained not one of their enemies. We remember because of their murmuring and complaining, fear and disobedience, the Israelites were destined to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness where the older ones died in the desert. As Joshua took up the leadership, the people who were ready to enter the promised land, were not actual witnesses to the Red Sea miracle, but God was going to reveal himself mighty again to them. This time it was the River Jordan that needed crossing, and God caused the water to stop flowing and a large pathway of dry land was available for the crossing of approximately two and a half million persons.

In the gospels we have the account of Jesus telling his disciples: “Let us cross over to the other side.”
Luke 8:22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.

Reverend, Benny Perez had some excellent thoughts on crossing over to the other side: Jesus wanted to take his disciples through a transition. The Holy Spirit wants us to make the same transition.   The "other side" represents our God-given destinies, the plans and purposes of God for our lives. God wants to take us over to the other side.

In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus gives us the pattern for transitioning into our God-given destinies. When Jesus said, "Let us cross over," He was implying that the disciples must follow Him to the next place. Jesus always led and the disciples always followed.

The pattern is the same for us. We must learn to follow Jesus. He is the only one who knows where you are going and how to get you there. Leave the multitude behind. The disciples left the multitude behind and followed Jesus (verse 36). They left the safety of the crowds because they wanted to be part of something bigger.

The multitude mentality is one of mediocrity and negativity. The multitude is more concerned about conformity than commitment. It is not easy to be different and go after something better than the norm, but God is calling us to step out and leave the multitude mentality behind. Get into the boat. A boat is a vessel that enables you to do something you could not do in your own ability.

The disciples had a physical boat, but our boat is the local church. The local church is the vessel God has constructed to help us reach our God-given destinies. It is the vehicle that provides protection, direction, encouragement and accountability. The church is a place where people's gifts can be released to expand God's kingdom. Attend a church that has Jesus right in the middle of it. Go to a place where they preach Jesus, worship Jesus, follow Jesus and live according to the teachings of Jesus. It is time to get into the boat.

Watch your mouth and your confession. The disciples got right in the middle of a fierce storm and began to declare they were going to die. Yet Jesus said they were going to cross over, not go under. The disciples were contradicting the words of Jesus Himself! We must be careful about what we declare, especially during the storms of life. Remember to say what God says about a situation; don't allow the situations tell you what to believe. Find a promise in the Word to stand on and believe that it will be fulfilled, no matter what you are going through. Learn to handle the storm.

The Bible tells us the boat was filling up with water during the storm. The situation was getting worse, and Jesus was asleep! What do you do when the Savior is seemingly silent in the midst of your storm? Let us remember the last thing God spoke to you and hang on by faith until you hear something different from Him. God is not shaken when your storm hits. Notice what Jesus finally did. He got up and rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea.

The wind represents the unseen forces, and the waves represent the seen forces. Not everything is caused by the devil. However, some situations do require spiritual warfare, and we are called to take authority over the forces of darkness that are at war with us.

Allow your faith to grow. Jesus looked at His disciples and said, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Matt. 8:26). Make it a priority to know Jesus during the quiet times of life so that you can trust Him in the storms. Open up your spiritual understanding for a greater revelation of who Jesus is and where He wants to take you, and follow Him when He says, "Let us cross over to the other side." 

It is time to follow Jesus and it is time to be brave and courageous and to Cross Over to your destiny.