The Crossover

Joshua 3:1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

The children of Israel had come to the end of a forty-year journey in the wilderness. They were camped by the river Jordan, and just on the other side of the river was Canaan, the land of milk and honey that God had promised them. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Exodus 3:8.

Only the Jordan River lay between them and the land they were to inherit. Canaan represents the Kingdom of God. It is the realm of spirit where the promises and provisions of God are stored. If the Israelites were going to receive the promises and provisions of the Lord, then they would have to cross Jordan. The same is true for us. The provisions God has stored up for us are found in the realm of spirit, and they will not be delivered to us while we are in the wilderness. We will have to cross Jordan and appropriate them. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you…that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go you know, and the way you know. John 14:3-4.

There is a place prepared for us, a place where we can experience the promises and provisions of God. But we have to go where Jesus is to receive them. Do you want that which the Lord has prepared for you? Then you will have to cross over into the realm of spirit. Much of Christianity is on the soul realm, and that is not the place of provision. The land of promise and provision is the spirit realm, not the soul realm. God is looking for a spirit-people, a people who worship Him in spirit and in truth. The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him. John 4:23.

Now some will say, “I am walking in the spirit.” We won’t deny that. However, God is opening up a new level of spirit, and we have to cross over to the next level. No matter where we are spiritually, there is a new level available for us. And at each new level there is a Jordan to cross over.

Joshua 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

In order to make the crossover into the land of promise, it was necessary for the people to sanctify themselves. Now the word “sanctification” means “to separate from and to separate unto.” It is not enough to just separate yourself from that which is not of God or from that which God is no longer in, but you must also separate yourself unto God. Israel was separated from Egypt by her exodus. But the first generation died in the wilderness because Egypt was still in their hearts. Their sanctification did not include a separation unto the Lord. They had not dedicated themselves to a submission to Him.

Many Christians today are very dedicated to their “don’t do’s” and “thou shalt not’s.” Yet they do not become a people of spirit because they are not separated unto God. Just getting rid of the uglies is not enough. We must appropriate His life. We are justified by His blood when we repent. But that is merely a state of being just or innocent. Jesus’ death brings justification; His life brings salvation. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:9-10.

So in order to cross over to the realm of provision we must sanctify ourselves – separate from and separate unto. Paul went even further than a separation from negatives. He said that even the things that were gain to him, things that were a blessing to him, he counted as loss for Christ (Philippians 3:7). We cannot move into a new level while hanging on to the things of the old.

We sanctify ourselves because the Lord is going to work wonders among us. Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you. On this new level the wonders will be among us. We will not just behold them from a distance. They will be the works of God through us. He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. Psalm 103:7. The children of Israel saw the acts of God, but Moses knew His ways; that is, Moses knew how He did them and was a co-worker with God. The children of Israel were on one level; Moses was on another. Now we get to choose what the phrase “wonders among you” will mean to us. The wonders can be among us, meaning we see them as the children of Israel did. Or, they can be among us because we are co-workers with God as Moses was. On which level of spirit do you want to be? Do you merely want to see what God is doing (which is really not so bad considering it is a realm above the majority of Christians today) or, do you want to be involved with God, working with Him as He brings forth His will in the earth? If you do, then you will have to make the crossover.

Joshua 3:14-16 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overflows all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap…and the people passed over right against Jericho.

There is also a Jordan between us and the realm of wonders where the promises and provisions of God await us. At first look, the Jordan not only looked impassable, it was impassable. It was the spring of the year, the time of barley harvest, when the snows on Mount Lebanon melted and flooded the Jordan River. The downward flow of rushing waters made the crossing of Jordan naturally impossible. It would take a miracle to get all those Israelites across that river. And a miracle is exactly what happened. As soon as the priests stepped into the waters, they began rolling back, uphill, and stood in a heap as the people crossed over.

Often the very thing that seems to be blocking our entrance will actually become the way into the provisions of God. Anytime you set your heart to move into more of God, it will take a miracle. Human ability cannot bring you into more of God. Neither your intelligence, your strength, nor anything else of your human nature is able to bring you into the place He has prepared for you. It is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 4:6).

The Jordan is the Crossover, and the Crossover is Christ. He is that which spans the gulf between God and man. When Jacob had his dream at Bethel, he saw a ladder that reached from heaven to earth. The angels (messengers of God) were ascending and descending on it (Genesis 28:12). Then in the Gospel of John, Jesus said that He was that ladder. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. John 1:51. Jesus spans the seemingly impassable gulf between God and man, and the messengers of God are those who are functioning in Christ as they minister the heavenly things of God. In this sense, Christ is the realm of ministry. He is the expanse, or firmament, between heaven and earth.

Genesis 1:7-8 says that God made a firmament that divided the waters above the firmament from the waters below the firmament. And God called the firmament Heaven. The 19th Psalm reveals that the firmament is the same as the Ladder of Jacob’s dream. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiworks. Psalm 19:1. The heavens and the firmament are the same, for in Genesis 1:8 God called the firmament Heaven. Here He says that the heavens declare the glory of God. That means it is the realm of a living Word ministry. Then He says that the firmament shows His handiwork. Thus, the firmament is the realm of the ministry of Christ. It is the same as the Ladder with the messengers of God ascending and descending as they minister the living Word and show forth the handiwork of God.

Now how is it that the Jordan speaks of the same thing as the Ladder and the firmament? Let’s look at Joshua 3:15 again. For Jordan overflows all his banks all the time of harvest. The first hint is when the banks of the Jordan are called “his” banks and not “its” banks. Next we find that the word “Jordan” means “descender.” Thus, the “Jordan” is the “Descender.” And we know who the Descender is. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who descended and became “the Way,” the only Way to the Father. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me. John 14:6. Christ is the Jordan. Thus, He is the Crossover, our way into the promises and provisions of God.

It is also interesting to note that in one of Isaiah’s prophesies that “the Descender” becomes “descenders.” Now we understand that Christ did not remain an individual, but became many. Christ is now a many-membered Body. The firmament, which God called “Heaven” (Genesis 1:8), also becomes plural. In the first verse of Genesis, where it says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” the word “heaven” in the original is actually “heavens.” In every place in the Gospel of Matthew where it says “Kingdom of heaven” the word “heaven” is plural in the Greek. It is actually the Kingdom of heavens. In Isaiah 44:3 the Lord says, I will pour floods upon the dry ground. The dry ground, of course, is all of those who are in need of the rain of the Spirit. The interesting thing is that the word “floods” in the original is “descenders.” Christ the Descender becomes Christ the Descenders. The descenders are the messengers of God who are ascending and descending upon the Ladder in John 1:51. They are also the saviors that come up on mount Zion in Obadiah 21. They are also those who made the crossover at Jordan into the realm of promise and provision, after which they became members of the Crossover, making it a many-membered Crossover.

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