This is the sermon I preached at the Center Place Branch of the Church of Christ, Restored 2 weeks ago.
Although it is directed at the Church of Christ, Restored, being the result of what God shared with me when I asked what to share with them, there is, I think, food for thought for others as well.
This is an article that was written and modified a bit from the original transcription of the sermon in order to make it more readable.
Where there IS a vision, the people do NOT perish. [See Proverbs 29:18]
The Hebrew word for vision here is “chazon.” It means: sight via a vision, revelation, or an oracle. So it may be just as accurate to translate this verse to say: “Without revelation the people perish,” or “Without direction from on High the people perish.”
Businesses and corporations often have a mission statement, and sometimes each department within a business has a mission statement. A mission statement is designed to help keep them on track, reminding them of their priorities. In order to accomplish that goal, they formulate plans and act upon them.
Even if we could all agree on our mission, as a church organization, there are many ideas about how to achieve those goals. The ending of the Church Age and the beginning of the Kingdom Age means the END of man’s ideas and the beginning of seeking out God’s will. We not only need a mission statement from God, we also need to hear from Him on how to achieve it. Our books of Scripture supply us with part of that, but we also need to hear directly from God in very specific ways on HOW our part of the Body of Christ can move forward.
Life is a journey. First we need to understand where we are on God’s road map, and then, where we are going as individuals and corporately. This revelatory knowledge would, of course, include specific correction and repentance so we can change our direction and move toward God’s goal for us.
We need to revisit a prophetic word given to us a few years back, which was verified by a number of witnesses. The message was that, spiritually speaking, we are at the bank of the River of Jordan. At the heart of the message is God’s desire for us to cross over so we can receive our inheritance and enter into the “REST” of the Lord. It was on the other side of the Jordan that Israel was given its inheritance.
Crossing over the Jordan would be a transition. The dictionary defines “transition” as: passing from one condition, place, or activity into another. It is only natural for us to dislike change or transition with its fear of the unknown, and the uncertainty of entering uncharted territory. The land the Israelites had to pass into, Canaan, represents the struggle of faith, the reality of spiritual warfare, as well as, the promise of victory.
First, let’s read Numbers 32:1-6: “When they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying…Even the country which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, is land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle; Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?”
The land on that side of the Jordan River seemed like a good place. They had already won a few victories there, and certainly there would be fewer struggles on that side. They wanted to be at ease and rest on the laurels of what they had already accomplished. In contrast to this, on the other side of the Jordan, there would be additional struggles—including having to face those GIANTS they had not yet been tested against. Certainly it would have been more comfortable; it seemed to be the safer choice to stay where they were. However, there were some obvious differences between the two lands on either side of the Jordan River. There was some fruit in the land where the children of Reuben and Gad wanted to stay, but the fruit on the other side of the Jordan (in the Promised Land) was more abundant and much larger than they had previously seen in any other land they had passed through.
I have noticed that if someone complains of the lack of spiritual gifts and miracles in the church today, invariably, someone else will (in essence) defend the status quo by pointing out that we do indeed see some miracles, healings, and gifts—and I would have to agree. We do see them, but are the gifts, signs, and miracles that are promised to us in the Scriptures as abundant and as astonishing as we are led to believe they should be? Are they as abundant as they have been in the past? Why should the past contain greater miracles, signs, and wonders? According to the Word of God, the greatest outpouring (the endowment) will occur in the last days, and it shall exceed everything that has been seen before. Are we waiting on the endowment? Or is it waiting on us?
Getting back to the point I am trying to make. There was some fruit in the land that Reuben and Gad wanted to settle in, but not anything like what was seen in the Promised Land. The land on both sides of the Jordan was good land. So what was wrong with the land that Reuben and Gad desired? As far as I can determine, aside from less fruit and smaller fruit, there was only ONE thing wrong with staying there instead of crossing over the Jordan: BY DOING SO, THEY WOULD UTTERLY FAIL TO FULFILL THEIR CALLING, OR THE PRIMARY PURPOSE FOR THEIR EXISTENCE, AND IN DOING SO, IT WOULD WEAKEN THE REST OF ISRAEL.
We have our traditions. Reuben and Gad knew cattle. It’s what they did. The land on that side of the Jordan appeared to be good ground for doing what they knew. If they crossed over, they might have to learn how to do other things. Certainly they would have to learn how to become fearless warriors willing to face giants. They would have to experience change, and change is scary. In change there is risk, but without risk, nothing of any value can be won! Reuben’s and Gad’s desire to stay, rather than cross over, is perhaps not unlike how people tend to cling to traditions today (doing things the way it has been done in the past). It can feel safer and more comfortable. Or perhaps, for some of us, remaining on the fringes of the Promised Land may be symbolic of trying to keep one foot in the Kingdom and one foot in the world and putting off a fuller commitment to God.
Do we suffer from anxiety or fear about crossing over? Are we a little like Reuben and Gad? Is it perhaps a subconscious decision, revealed only in our inaction? Is there not a lesson for us in what the tribes of Reuben and Gad did? You decide. I am not here to convince you either way. I only present you with another opportunity to ponder these things and go to God with them. Each of us must answer for ourselves why we have yet to cross over the Jordan. For some, I think the problem may partly be that we aren’t even sure HOW to cross over. If so, is it a lack of clear leadership or a lack of unmistakable revelation from God on how to proceed? If so, then do we need to make it a priority to seek that direction from God with ALL our heart, mind, and strength?
The Lord gave me a warning that I shared with some few brothers in the priesthood during our 2010 reunion. The warning was about a danger we face as the Church of Christ, Restored. I know of a surety that God had a reason for bringing us together, all those years ago, and setting us in order—being at least partially organized. Being that we are only ONE SMALL SEGMENT of the Body of Christ (as our “Rules and Resolutions” clearly state), we must have a specific function or role to play in the greater Body of Christ. Do we understand what that role is? Are we still on track? Or have we lost sight of the direction in which we need to go? Or is all well in Zion? The message I delivered to my brothers was a message given to me in a spiritual dream. The heart of the message was that we were in danger of losing out on the opportunity to fulfill the purpose for which God had established the Church of Christ, Restored. The flip side of that, of course, is that we could also be on the precipice of making a correction we need to make, and then, becoming the people the Lord has called us to be and doing the work He wants us to do. To embrace our calling will require action on our part. The status quo, or the path we have been on for awhile now, is a road to nowhere. Please don’t think I am implying that God has not directed us in many things or that everything we are doing is wrong. That is not what I am saying. Neither am I here to judge you as individuals. I’m not qualified. I am speaking to all of us as a church body. The status quo will not accomplish what the Lord has for us to do. We need vision. We need revelation. We need to hear VERY CLEARLY from the Lord God Almighty about the direction we should go. Time is running out. We don’t have time to put this off for a few more years, because the Lord has a lot to teach us so we can be prepared for what is coming. We, like the Israelites, will also have some battles to fight along the way to our places of inheritance so we can fulfill our calling in these last days.
In addition, I wish to share something else. In Chapter 7 of Joshua, we see that the Israelites who had recently crossed over the Jordan River ended up suffering a stunning defeat:
“And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!”
At first, they did not understand why they had suffered this defeat when they had been promised victory. However, in their cries to God, they discovered a sin among them. I’m not going to get into the particulars of the reason for their defeat. I shared this verse in order to bring a word of wisdom regarding failures we may suffer along the way. Brothers and sisters, God has promised us victory IF we obey Him, but because we are imperfect people, I can pretty much guarantee that mistakes will be made along the way. I don’t know ANY individuals or group of people in all of history who ever completely avoided making mistakes—except Jesus Himself. But let me tell you something. LISTEN TO ME. If you aren’t willing to take the chance of making a mistake, in the end, you will do nothing. Of course we should try our best to avoid mistakes, but when mistakes happen, we can learn and grow from them—IF we are humble and IF we have God’s love in our heart. Mistakes are a NORMAL part of the spiritual learning process. We would never have seen the kinds of apostles we find in the Book of Acts—ones who were empowered and confident in the Lord—if we hadn’t first seen:
1. Peter trying to walk on water and nearly drowning,
2. The apostles who were unable to cast the devil out of one man’s son, or
3. A dozen other mistakes we could list and chastisements they had to suffer.
Now in conclusion, I want to read something from the Doctrine and Covenants and make a comment or two. I have talked about this scripture before, but again, the Holy Spirit seems to press upon me that we need to consider its implications.
“The work of preparation and the perfection of my Saints go forward slowly, and Zionic conditions are no further away nor any closer than the spiritual condition of my people justifies…” [Section 140:5c]
I want to bring your attention to something that, quite honestly, has bothered me for some time. Generally speaking, whenever we get together as a people to talk about building up Zion, or making preparations for Zion, we tend to gravitate towards the “physical preparations,” like buildings, food storage, water, horses, farming, sewing, and other means to physically survive if the electricity gets cut off. I’m not saying there is no need of physical preparation, and I’m not saying there will never come a time when we will be without electricity. However, God has told us in one of the very last revelations He gave to us about Zion that the conditions for Zion were dependent upon our spiritual condition as a people. We better make that our PRIORITY! Otherwise, all the physical preparations in the world will be meaningless. So when speaking about preparations for Zion, instead of hearing about how we can grow our own food, etc., the first thing I want to hear is a question like: HOW CAN WE GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY GHOST IN SUCH ABUNDANCE AMONG US THAT WE SEE THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN GREATER MEASURE? Examples would be:
1. To hear someone sing or speak in tongues and someone else interpret it;
2. To have “Thus saith the Spirit…” being uttered again in GREAT power;
3. To see miracles in our midst to a greater degree;
4. To have more prophecy, dreams, visions, healings, and angels appearing;
5. To receive the spiritual gifts of Word of Knowledge and Word of Wisdom;
6. To have the dead being resurrected; and
7. To have the priesthood and all the members of the Body of Christ equipped and functioning in the gifts.
We love to talk of Zion….and talk, and talk, and talk.
There were four birds on a power line. Two of the birds said, “Let’s fly south!” How many birds were left on the line then? There were four birds still on the line because talk doesn’t count. Even agreeing on something doesn’t count. It all means nothing unless we take action.
In Thessalonians 1:5, Apostle Paul told the people that he had brought the gospel to them, not in word only, but also in power and the Holy Ghost so they would KNOW what manner of men they were. Likewise, we must be filled with power and the Holy Ghost for the sake of the world and for the sake of Zion. We cannot hope to accomplish anything without it.
Are you ready to move forward yet? If not, then what will it take to get you ready to move forward? Whatever that is, make it a priority. We are in a time that is (by its very nature) designed to test the heart of God’s people to see if they will not only remain faithful, but persevere in order to overcome ALL those things which do so easily beset us. Those of you who are willing to persevere and push forward, rather than sit idle or allow fears and doubts to bind your feet and hands, are making a living sacrifice unto the Lord. And I know you will be rewarded. It is my prayer that we will overcome the barriers within so we may take hold of the promises of God, without any fear for the giants we may see, and go on to full and complete victory in Jesus’ name. U
