SHAKE THYSELF FROM UNGODLINESS, SORROWS AND STRIFE!

God would not have the nation of Israel sim­ply sit there and bring the blessings to them, but the nation as a whole had to listen, trust, obey and labor to get over. Brothers and sisters, it will also take a concerted effort on our part—all of us inclining our ear to the voice of God, trusting and obeying the leading of His Spirit, laboring together, and encouraging one another to get over. Church of God, this command still rings true today: SHAKE THYSELF! ARISE and put on thy strength…thy beautiful garments (cf. Isa. 52:1), GET ACROSS THIS JORDAN, and SIT DOWN in your rightful place in the full blessings of God!

 

I suppose from time to time we individually have a Jordan to cross when we face our trials, adversities and tests. At times it seems there is no way around or through the problems, but as we trust and wait on God in prayer, supplication and thanksgiving, we have seen that He always makes a way where there seems to be none.

 

I see where God was testing Joshua’s faith in Him, and I know God will also test our faith in Him. Here was God saying, “Joshua, get up and get to the other side of this Jordan.” I’m sure that Joshua didn’t know at that very moment how he and all the people would “go over this Jordan.” It seemed impossible, I’m sure. Certainly he didn’t have the answers to all his own questions regard­ing how they should get over.

 

The Bible informs us that Jordan had over­flown its banks at this time. One man who vis­ited Israel at the time of the harvest said it was fourteen feet above the normal level. He also mentioned that it’s turbid streams rushed along like a mill-race. I read somewhere that its over­flown condition was due to the melting snow of Mount Hermon.

 

Isn’t it like that for us today as well? We are standing here, and between us and some of the greatest blessings that God wants to pour out upon us is this spiritual overflown Jordan River. When I say us, I mean the entire Church of God. This isn’t just about me, this isn’t just about you, but this is about the entire Holy Nation of God and the pouring out of His Spirit and power upon the whole. Don’t get me wrong—it’s good when I get blessed and good when you get blessed, but we need His blessing that starts at the Head to run down the beard and then down to the skirt of the beautiful garments of The Church of God!

 

I look at this Jordan, and its currents and force represent strife and contentions, disap­pointments and misunderstandings, discour­agements and sorrows, distrust and unbelief. But God says, “ARISE CHURCH OF GOD, AND GO OVER THIS JORDAN!”

 

At times we feel threatened. At times the devil wants to cause us to panic and tremble and say, “There is no way across!” This flesh will try to convince us that it is easier to stay here where we find ourselves than to face this chal­lenge. But we should not fear, dear saints, for it is precisely at the river’s edge where God has brought us to, and the Lord is able to ward off and hold off the forces of its violent stream. It has overflown its boundaries and limits and come over its banks threatening to destroy, drown and carry away anything that tries to cross it. It is representative of the ungodliness that abounds in our world today. There was a time where it at least seemed that ungodli­ness had its limits and boundaries, but slowly the moralities and principles of this world, both in the secular and religious world, have melted away like the snow melting on Mount Her­mon until this world has been overflown with ungodliness like never before.

 

Paul’s words are true—“in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Tim. 3:1). They are here. It’s not just perilous times but a perilous spirit. The spirit of the times we live in influences people in one way or another. The ungodly and wicked become even more wicked. The honest and moral man is challenged to slacken his stand that he might be able to cope with the present corruption in the world. We cannot afford to be swept away by its currents!

 

There is a mighty challenge before The Church of God, but we serve a Mighty God, and He is a match for mighty needs! It’s going to take men and women of God today, young and old and everyone in between, of undaunted cour­age and strength to stand up to this world and the devil and say, “WE WILL CROSS YOU! WE WILL ENTER INTO THE FULL BLESSINGS OF GOD! NO MATTER HOW LOUD YOU ROAR, NO MATTER HOW FAST YOUR CURRENT RUSHES ALONG, NO MATTER HOW DEEP YOUR WATERS ARE—WE WILL CROSS YOU!” This Jordan shall give ground to God’s Word, God’s Spirit and command!

 

There was no visible passage to Joshua—no bridges or ferry boats to get them across—and certainly with the banks of the Jordan over­flown, there was no easy access to the other side. To the human eye and mind, it was impossible to get beyond this place as God had commanded. And it may seem that way to some today. It may seem impossible to cross over all the dis­appointments, sorrows, adversities, unbelief, worldliness, strife, division, ungodliness, and a whole lot of others things that have become this Jordan. But with God, the possibilities are limit­less! There are no spiritual floodwaters too high, no river too wide, no spiritual giants too tall, no walls of the enemy that will not come down and no fortified city impenetrable for God and His people. We must do all that is within our pos­sibilities and not worry about the impossible— God will take care of the impossible!

Bishop Stephen E. Smith’s final words of his 2008 Annual Address were: “We’re on the verge, right now, of making the greatest crossing any generation of people has ever made—to cross this spiritual Jordan into the full blessings of God’s Spirit and power. I don’t want to turn back to the wilderness. I don’t want to do any wandering. I want to say, ‘God, I’m ready! I’ll put my foot in the water and trust you to divide the waters and I’m gonna go across to the other side!’ Are you ready for the milk and honey?”

 

A. J. Tomlinson posed this question to the Church: “Will we go on, or will we falter and draw back as we approach the final climax that will forever draw a line of distinction between the Church of God and every other system that claims the Christian religion? This is for you to answer. What will you do?...” (6th Annual Address 1915, 11th Annual Assembly.)

 

Joshua didn’t have to worry about how they were going to get across; the thing he had to concern himself with was believing in God and giving the orders to make preparations.

 

We don’t have to be concerned with how we will get over on the other side of this Jordan! Don’t look around for bridges, don’t look around for pontoon boats, don’t look around for some man-made scheme. God has already made a way to get us beyond worldliness, strife, conten­tions, divisions, unbelief, ungodliness, sorrows, and disappointments—and that way is Jesus Christ! We can’t stay here, Church! Let us look to Jesus! God just wants to know if we will believe Him and if we will give the orders to make prep­arations to go over! A part of those preparations are to first and foremost realize God is leading the way, not man! Secondly, realize our depen­dency is in God alone. Thirdly, God commands, “Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5).

If He leads the way He will also make a way where there seems to be none. Even if it seems impossible! We may have the tendency to give up when something seems impossible. We may be overcome with discouragement. That’s when the devil takes advantage and begins to work in our minds and hearts and begins to convince us we will never reach God’s intended goal for His Church—perfection. But who would dare count impossible that which our MASTER commands that we accomplish? Joshua wouldn’t, and nei­ther shall we! God told the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 6:16-19 (paraphrasing), “Don’t tempt Me; diligently keep My commandments, testimonies and statutes. Do what is right and good in My sight and it will be well with thee. You will go in and possess the good land which I sware unto you.” God, help us to be completely abandoned over to Your will and follow the leading of the Holy Ghost. It’s not about what we are capable of doing, but about depending on Him and what He can do through us.

 

Lastly, it’s going to take a sanctified people to get over. Bishop Stephen Smith reminded us, “Sanctification before the wonders. Sanctifica­tion—before the full demonstration of power and spirit. That’s why it is important to get caught up in this beauty of holiness, the desire to be sanctified, to be pure in everything that we do in our lives, that we are consecrated and obey every commandment that the Lord has given to us because as we purify ourselves as He is pure, there will come power! ...it will carry us across to the Promised Land. We will drink the milk and eat the honey” (Annual Address, 2008).

 

This was required by God in Joshua’s day in order for the wonders of God to be manifested and for them to cross over into the Promised Land to inherit all the blessings of that land, and so it is for us today—we must be a sanctified and consecrated people.

 

Robert J. Pruitt once said, “God will have a sanctified, set apart people. If we are not will­ing to be different from the world and separated from the world, we will not make it in this glori­ous move of God among His chosen people.”

ADHERING TO THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS

Just because there was a change in leader­ship, as in the case with Moses to Joshua, it did not mean that God would change His Word. God instructed Joshua, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whither­soever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:7, 8).

 

Church of God, if we want to prosper “whith­ersoever” we go, we must stick to the faith once delivered unto the saints—don’t turn from it, not to the right hand nor the left! The Church of God did not create the Bible. The Church of God did not formulate or invent the “Teachings Made Prominent,” but our Church forefathers searched the Scriptures and sought God on their hands and knees. God blessed those men and women and they received revelation of these Bible Truths and agreed upon them as revealed in the Scriptures by the Holy Ghost. The Bible says, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psa. 119:89). God ordained these in the far-back ages of eternity! They originated in the mind of God way before He created man.

We accept the whole Bible rightly divided as our rule of faith, and it is out of the Bible that the Church teachings that are so vital to our salvation have been derived. These are not the Church’s “declaration of faith.” They are not the only doctrines that The Church of God teaches, practices, and adheres to, but they are the “first principles of the oracles of God.” On these we must stand!

 

Today there is a constant change and shift of faith the so-called mainstream Christian and religious world has been pressured into by those within their ranks who advocate the need to change the Christian stand on Bible teach­ings in order to be able to meet the challenge of a continually changing world. But my King James Bible 1611 and my Antigua Versión de Casiodoro de Reina 1602, still say that in the “Father of lights” there “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17)! It still reads, “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb. 13:8).

 

Some religious institutions may alter their teachings to appeal to the multitudes. Others may abandon the faith once delivered unto the saints, but The Church of God says, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven”

 

Someone said, “They say it’s old fashioned, it needs to change, and indeed it is old fashioned. And yet it is so old fashioned it cannot change!” The witness of the Holy Ghost to these great doctrines of the Church in the days of our Church forefathers this side of the Dark Ages is just as valid today as it was then! This Word, just as it has been delivered to us, still gets the job done. If we hide it in our hearts we will not sin against God. It will still prosper us with newly converted souls if we are faithful to preach, guard and maintain it!

 

ONE VOICE

A sanctified people is what God wants. Something I see from the Scripture is that it begins with the leaders and the ministry. According to the Bible, hasn’t the ministry been given “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12)? And this will be “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowl­edge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). It is a daunting task. There is a great responsibility that rests upon the ministers of The Church of God. They have been given by GOD for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying or “building up” of the Body of Christ. Therefore, first and fore­most, they are to be an example unto the flock of God—they must lead the way being wholly sanctified, pure and consecrated to God!

 

In the book of Joshua it was the officers of the people—the leaders and men of renown— who passed through the host and commanded the people to get ready. And let’s not forget that it was the priests who WENT BEFORE the people leading the way.

 

One man wrote, “Brave Levites! Who can help admiring them, to carry the ark right into the stream; for the waters were not divided till their feet dipped in the water. God had not promised aught else. God honors FAITH. ‘Obsti­nate faith,’ that the PROMISE sees and ‘looks to that alone.’ You can fancy how the people would watch these holy men march on, and some of the bystanders would be saying, ‘You would not catch me running that risk! Why, man, the ark will be carried away!’ Not so; the priests ‘stood firm on dry ground.’ We must not overlook the fact that faith on our part helps God to carry out His plans.

 

“The ark had staves for the shoulders. Even the ark did not move of itself; it was carried. When God is the Architect, men are the masons and laborers. Faith assists God. It can stop the mouths of lions and quench the violence of fire. It honors God, and God honors it. Oh, for this faith that will go on, leaving God to fulfill His promise when He sees fit! Fellow Levites, let us shoulder our load, and do not let us look as if we were carrying God’s coffin. It is the Ark of the Living God! Sing as you march toward the flood!” (Thomas Champness).

 

The Bible says those who bore the ark of the covenant “stood firm on dry ground IN THE MIDST of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan” (Joshua 3:17). Surely this encour­aged the faith and confidence of God’s holy nation as they saw these men RISE UP trusting in the Word of God and determined to do what seemed impossible, and move forward together in spite of the threat of the overflown banks and violent waters that were just before them.

 

What do you think would happen today in The Church of God if every minister deter­mined in his or her heart and dared to tread upon these waters like the chief men of that time and ultimately STAND FIRM IN THE MIDST OF THIS JORDAN—FIRM AGAINST STRIFE, FIRM AGAINST WORLDLINESS, FIRM AGAINST DIS­COURAGEMENT, FIRM AGAINST CONTENTIONS, FIRM AGAINST UNGODLINESS, FIRM AGAINST DIVISIONS—under the power of Almighty God in perfect unity?

 

Doesn’t the Bible say that “all the Israelites passed over,…all the people were passed clean over Jordan”? This means not a single one of them was left behind, and not one of them was left in the midst of the Jordan to be lost to the flow of its currents. That is the heart of the Church today, to not leave behind any of our people but to help them to make preparations, neither shall we lose them in the midst of the river of disappointments, discouragements, worldliness, adversities, unbelief, sorrows that this Jordan represents.

 

I honestly believe that every one of us here today desires the full blessings of God’s prom­ises, some of which are: 1) the laying on of the hands on the sick that they recover, 2) casting out devils, 3) speaking His Word with boldness, 4) signs and wonders being done in the name of His holy Son Jesus, 5) all of God’s sheep being gathered into one, 6) the perfection of the saints that the Church would have no spots, blemishes, wrinkles or any such thing. Oh, the benefits of having ONE PURPOSE, ONE MIND AND ONE VOICE! The Bible encourages us this way, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

 

Forty years prior to Jordan’s crossing, God had brought Israel to the mountain of the Amorites in Kadesh-barnea after God had spo­ken to them in Horeb saying, “Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount” (Deut. 1:6), and when they arrived there God told them to move for­ward. “I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them” (Deut. 1:8). It was the promise of God that they WOULD pos­sess the land. “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged” (Deut. 1:21). But instead of trusting in God to get them in, they relied on their own ways and said unto Moses, “We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come” (Deut. 1:22). They did it their way instead of God’s way. God had already spied out the land, and He knew how to get them in and where He wanted to take them, but they would not follow nor believe Him. They thought they had a better plan!

 

Paul admonished, “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiri­tual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilder­ness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:1-11.) They are our example and it is for our admoni­tion. In Numbers 13:13, God spoke to Moses and commanded him to send a man of every tribe. Moses, in Deuteronomy chapter 1, said to the people of Israel, “ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us,” indi­cating that it was not God’s way for these spies to go before them but theirs, yet God gave them what they desired because it was in their hearts.

 

We know what the outcome was. The men who were sent were not just your common persons in the sight of the people, but accord­ing to the Bible these were rulers among them, “heads of the children of Israel,” men of renown, men of reputation in whom the people had con­fidence and trust. It’s no wonder their spirit and the report of their mouths had such an adverse effect upon the whole nation and caused them to fear. They went to the land of Canaan to spy it out, they saw the land and contemplated its fertility and even took and surely tasted of its fruit. When they returned, they reported to Moses and the congregation and “shewed them the fruit of the land”—they held it up before the people and said, as it were, “Take a look at this! Look at what is over there—that land does flow with milk and honey, and here is the proof! We saw it, we all saw it, even as God has prom­ised. The Promised Land in all its glory! But it is impossible for us to possess it.”

 

That’s like the minister, preacher or leader today who sees God’s purpose for His Church through the Scripture, and the glory that is set before her, having experienced God’s glory, power and strength, having enjoyed the won­derful services at the different Church events, but then ultimately involving himself in conver­sations with fellow ministers and members and saying, “We’ll never reach that place, we’ll never reach perfection—never perfect holiness in the fear of God. We’ll never perfect love amongst us, we’ll never have perfect faith amongst us—there are just too many things among us. The battle is too hard. The challenge is too big. These walls are impenetrable, these giants too tall.” But God is looking for men and women of another spirit upon whom the ends of the world have come—like Caleb, who said, “Let us go up at ONCE, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Num. 13:30).

 

Ministry, our word, our spirit, and our report when it falls upon the ears of our people in the Church of God will produce, depending on our spirit and report, either a good or bad effect in them. This is why I say let us place our hope and confidence in God, for He has no record of failure. In order for us to attain unto the perfect state we will have to continue walking by the same rule and minding the same things and speaking with one voice!

 

Let’s not compare ourselves to these giants, but let’s compare these giants to our great big God! Encourage yourselves, encourage the members, look to where we are going, not where we are. We are not perfect yet, but we are on our way to being the Church without spot, blemish, wrinkle or any such thing. People can­not catch the spirit of Caleb and Joshua from you unless you have it yourself.

 

Bishop A. J. Tomlinson said, “When Israel won the victory at Jericho they all marched together, then they all shouted together, then they all went up into the city every man straight before him, and they took the city. In giving a brief description of this wonderful event many years later the writer of Hebrews says, ‘By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.’ But this faith did not materialize until ALL Israel marched, marched, marched in perfect silence, as far as conversation was concerned, for seven days in perfect obedience to their commander.

“We are now on the march, march, march! The Jericho walls of opposition to our advance­ment must fall, fall, fall! And they will fall down flat before us in proportion to our faith, and our faith will materialize in proportion to our obedi­ence and unity of action. Perfect organization and concerted action will save souls and house them in the great Church of God by the thousands. No unity, no organization, no system, no obedience, no concerted action will damn souls in the abyss of everlasting punishment by the millions.

 

“Our work here in this [Assembly] must be harmonious, flavored with the essence of love. Then when we go to our different fields of labor, we must retain the same relation toward each other that we manifest here. We must always act in such a manner as will preserve the honor and prestige of the greatest institution that ever marked this earth—The Church of God. Upon us is conferred the honor of being her worthy rep­resentatives. We must rally to the standard and place it in every hamlet, village, town and city of this lost world, to shine forth the beautiful light and show forth the signs and wonders in excess of all other institutions. Although they may do great things, we must do greater. We must sur­pass them all in righteousness, order, power and glory. Will we do it? Yea, we must do it! There must be no retreat! No surrender! But by steadily marching forward we will reach the goal! By the help of the Lord we will hoist the standard to the very top of the mast and by faith in God smite every opposing force and cast all the mountains of difficulties into the sea and still march on and on and on. The Church of God shall win! Hallelu­jah! The Church of God shall win!”