John K. Jenkins Sr - Magnifying the Awesomeness of God (01/24/2026)
Introduction to Joshua Chapter 1
I want you to turn to chapter one of the Book of Joshua. I love the Book of Joshua. If I had a favorite book, it would be it, but I don’t have a favorite book. But I love the Book of Joshua. Joshua takes the reins of leadership after Moses has passed off the scene and leads the children of Israel into the Promised Land.
I want to read two verses. I’m not going to preach on these two verses. I’m going to start off with—I just want to read a couple verses to you first because they speak powerfully. I love them—two of my favorite verses. And then I’m going to give you the two verses I am going to preach from.
Verses 16-18: Commitment to Leadership
I’m going to just read verses 16, 17, and 18. So they answered Joshua, saying, «All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.» I like those kind of people who are willing to follow the leader. «Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.»
Verse 18—I love this verse: «Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death.» That’s an anointed voice verse right there. Do y’all get that? I like leaders who, when people don’t follow the leader, the leaders will say, «We’re going to take you out.»
Main Text: Joshua 1:10–11
All right, I want to read verses 10 and 11. That’s what I’m going to preach from. I just thought I’d throw those three verses in there for free. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, «Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess it.'»
I want to talk аbout: it’s time for a transition. Look at your neighbor and say, «It’s time for a transition.» Look on the other side—tell the person on the other side, «It’s time for a transition.»
Season of Transition
My assignment is to tell you tonight that we’re entering into a season and time of transition. Transition is defined as the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another. Yeah, my job is to tell you that for somebody in here tonight, this is your season of and your time to make a transition. Hallelujah.
Peppered throughout the Scripture are people who we see transitioning from one place to another. The Jews transitioned from slavery to freedom. Joseph transitioned from the pit to the palace. Paul transitioned from being a persecutor to a preacher, a murderer to merciful, an unbeliever to a believer, from a follower to a leader, from a reader to a writer, from a student to an author.
Elisha transitioned from being a student to being a prophet. Jesus had multiple transitions: He transitioned from Heaven to Earth, from God to man, from Creator to creature, from the cross to the right hand of the Father. That’s right. And He will transition again and come back to the Earth to rule and to reign.
Life Full of Transitions
And whether you know it or not, life for all of us is full of transitions. You go from childhood to adulthood, from student to worker. One of my six children—my youngest daughter—told me the other day, now that she’s graduated from college and has to work, she said, «Why do I have to grow up?»
But life is full of transitions. You got to go from youth to adulthood, from young adult to older adult, from immature to seasoned. And if I could advise young people anything, I would share with them that you better learn to enjoy every season of your life. You’re not going to stay young forever.
You better learn to build relationships because some of those relationships will and can last you a lifetime. I would tell young people: make decisions with 5 to 10 years in mind and not just make decisions to satisfy the immediate moment. I said something there.
Whether y’all realize it or not—and I suspect that all of us, everybody in here, has had some levels of transition in their life—some of you have had multiple transitions. Some of you have gone from one transition successfully to another place. But unfortunately, some of you have not been able to make the transitions in life right.
That’s why so many people go through the same things over and over again because they haven’t learned how to transition from where they were to where God wants them to be.
Preparing for the Next Transition
The goal of this message—for the few moments I have till 10:30 tonight—is to prepare you. Y’all said amen when I said 10:30. The goal of this message is to prepare you for the next transition that God has for you as an individual and collectively. Yes, sir.
I believe God is transitioning this church into a new dynamic season of your existence and life. I thought I ought to talk about it because God has moved you from where you were to a new place of where you’re going. And if the truth be told, you are in the middle of going from one place—where you were—to a destiny that it does not yet appear what God has for you, but it’s going to come.
In reality, everything prior to this point in history in your life has been preparation. Wow. God has been preparing you for your destiny. We need to all get prepared for where we’re going. Some of us haven’t been ready to handle where God’s trying to take us.
But here’s what I learned about God: everything that goes on in my life, He’s preparing me for where He’s going to take me. I look back over my life, and I see that so many things that I was going through—even as a young person—God was using it to prepare me for the assignment I have for my life today.
Preparation Through Challenges
I did not know when I was going through the drama and the pain of my yesterdays that it would equip me to handle what I’m doing right now and today. I didn’t understand when I was down preaching to five or ten people in King George, Virginia—55 miles one way. I didn’t know when I was going 55 miles one way to preach to 30 people for three years.
Well, I didn’t understand when I went down on Thursday nights for Bible study to teach Bible study to seven people that God was using that to prepare me. Because God was saying, «If I can teach you to be faithful to seven, I know I can trust you with 7,000.»
Some of you, God will never be able to take you to where He wants you because you haven’t learned to handle the seasons that you’re in right now. Lean over to your neighbor and say, «He preaching better than you saying amen.»
It was preparation when I was in King George, and I was teaching and preaching and trying to teach these people at this church how to do things God’s way. And when Miss Edna came up to me and said to me—I’m going to call Edna Johnson’s full name because I don’t want y’all to know who she is—if I said the sky was blue, Miss Johnson said the sky was green. If I said we’re going left, she said, «No, we’re going right.» Whatever I said, she had an alternative plan. She didn’t like it.
Matter of fact, on one occasion, I used to spend hours talking to her on the phone—hours—trying to get her to see, hours trying to show it to her in the Word, hours trying to see we can’t do it the way tradition says. We got to learn to do things the way God says. I spent hours trying to get her to understand.
Lessons from Miss Edna
I should have known, Pastor Watley, that there was something… I’m trying to be careful—it might be some of her descendants in here. But we had some flowers, Pastor, on the pulpit that had faded. I mean, they had faded—the green was gone, the pink had taken a trip.
And I told the flower club to change the flowers. What I didn’t know is that Edna’s great-great-grandmama had put those flowers… That was the worst thing I could have done—was to change out her great-great—I think it was three or four great-grandmas ago—that I changed those. They had sentimental value to her, and she wasn’t ready to transition them off the scene. Wow.
She told me if I couldn’t get on board with her plan, then I needed to just take my little self on back up there. But I realize now that God was using Miss Edna to prepare me for Glenarden.
I’m trying to make a point here: that whatever you’re going through right now, whatever the drama is in your life right now, God’s using it to prepare you for where it is He’s trying to take you. Somebody high-five your neighbor and say, «He must be really preparing me—all the hell I’m going through, all the stress I’m under, all the challenges I’ve got. God must be preparing me for a great place.»
And that’s my assignment: to tell you He is preparing you to take you someplace.
Positioning for Purpose
As a matter of fact, the tougher the challenge, the higher the anointing God has for your life. Not only is He preparing you, but He’s also—number two—positioning you. Sir, yes, sir. I hear you.
Here’s what I learned: I learned that God has to orchestrate some things in your life so He can position you so that when the connection occurs that needs to come, you can be in the right place to get to where God wants you to go.
The truth of the matter is: the previous season of your life is used by God to set you up for your purpose and your destiny. I’m trying to get people to understand: stop complaining and crying about where you are and start thanking God that He’s using it to position you.
I know some of y’all don’t know a whole lot about football, but in football, sometimes when a team is trying to win the game, they might make a choice to do something that the fans don’t understand. Why they punting the ball? They only got a yard to go. Why did they pass the ball? Why did they hand it off? Why did they do this?
Sometimes you make decisions not with the immediate moment in mind but to put yourself in a better position later in the game. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay, y’all didn’t get that illustration. Where the single sisters at? All the single ladies. All the single ladies. Okay, I better leave that alone. Let me roll on. I feel tension in the room.
Because I’m trying to tell you: sometimes you got to pass by a joker that’s not the best for you so you can be positioned for who God has for you. Don’t be content and satisfied with anybody who’s just showing up because they might not be the one that God has for you.
Where the single ladies at? Raise your hands. Let me see where you is. Hold them up. I want the single brothers to see who they need to run from real quick. Go ahead, hold up your hands.
You got to learn to tell yourself, «I’m positioning myself.» See, some of y’all in a bad position. God—oh Lord—God can’t send the right person in your life because you still hanging out with the wrong person in your life. Go on and preach, Pastor Jacobs. I’m doing the best that I can.
Purging for Growth
Well, I might as well go ahead and transition into the third thing I want to say. Not only is God preparing you and positioning you, He’s also trying to purge you. He got to purge you from some stuff in your life that ain’t quite right.
I learned that God had to deal with my attitudes before He could take me to the place He wanted me to go. I had to learn how to deal with people in a way the opposite of the way my flesh wants to deal with them.
Kingdom Fellowship, y’all don’t know this about me, but I have a cursing anointing. I love Jesus, but I cuss sometimes. Matter of fact, I feel a cussing spirit rising up right now. Y’all can’t handle the truth, can you?
And God had to purge me and prepare me and position me and clean me up. So here’s what I learned: I learned when to cuss and when not to cuss. I’m so glad I got a witness up here with me.
Some of you are going through a season right now where God’s trying to purge you—trying to get selfishness out of you, arrogance out of you, narcissistic selfishness out of you. Y’all know the word I’m trying to say—I can’t say it.
Never before have we lived in such a selfish, self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic culture. We live in bigger houses, but we won’t open our doors. We have drive-through cars—we won’t give nobody a ride. We claim to have more time and claim to have more money and more energy. We got microwaves and washing machines, but we ain’t got no more time.
We got savings accounts and CDs, but we ain’t never got no money. We have aerobics and spa memberships, but we ain’t never got no energy—except for the things we want to have energy for. That’s right. And things we want to make time for. Right. That’s good preaching.
Our forefathers did so much more with much less. And my assignment is to tell you that we got to go through a purging process.
Performing When Ready
Here’s the fourth thing I want to talk about before I get through my introduction. I was looking for somebody to say, «Take your time,» but ain’t nobody said it. Notice I did all these Ps. I need y’all to show me some appreciation that I got all these Ps.
God prepares you and positions you and purges you so when it comes time to perform—that’s good—you’ll be capable of performing. God wants you to be able to get on the stage for which He created you and be able to do what it is He’s anointed you to do.
Nothing is more devastating than to have the opportunity to perform but not be prepared or ready to perform. Sir. Truth of the matter is: I pray to God, «Don’t put me on the platform till I’m ready.» That’s right. That’s good.
We got a generation of young people who want to get on the platform, but they ain’t ready. They’re not prepared. Uh-huh. They haven’t been purged. They haven’t prepared themselves. They haven’t gone through the process of what it takes to be able to get on the platform and to perform. Wow.
One of the most glorious days I celebrate happened several years ago. It was a wild card football game where the Dallas Cowboys were playing the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys were down by one point—21 to 20. The Cowboys had achieved excellent position on the field. Yeah.
But they couldn’t perform what they needed to perform. They were on the one-yard line with just seconds to go in the game. The field goal team came on the field. When the center hiked the ball to the holder—Tony Romo—he could not hold the ball and put it down for the kicker. And praise God, the Cowboys lost. Can I get a shout right there from anybody? Glory to His name.
You don’t want to get to the position and to the platform when it’s time for you to do your thing and you’re not ready to do your thing.
Time for Your Transition
My assignment tonight—I’m almost finished. I’m trying to get to my points here. I’m trying to hurry up. This is my assignment: to tell you that this is time for your transition. Sir. Tell your neighbor, «It’s time for your transition.»
God’s going to move you from depression to joy, from brokenness to wholeness, from unemployment to owning your own business, from dysfunction to functionality, from erectile dysfunction to rock steady. Come on, talk to me for a second. Y’all can’t handle the truth up in here. Do I have any witnesses up in the camp anywhere?
From menopause to stability, from apathy to engagement and involvement, from defeat to victory. God is preparing to transition you from wherever you are to where He’s trying to take you. All right, sir.
Somebody high-five your neighbor: say, «I’m getting ready for my transition.» I’m sorry if I shocked you. I thought I was at First Baptist Church of Glenarden. I thought I could say whatever it is I felt like saying. I felt like—I thought I was at a place that y’all could handle the truth.
Somebody high-five your neighbor: say, «I’m ready for a transition.» Sit down. I’m just getting started.
Instructions from Joshua
I want to take the last few moments and share what it is we need to do. And I think we ought to take our cues from Joshua. All right? Who transitioned the children of Israel from where they were—of wandering around the wilderness for 40 years—and led them to the Promised Land.
There’s three key points that Joshua tells us that I just want to take these last few moments and tell you about them. He gives us some specific instructions that I feel are applicable to your life today. All right.
In verse 10: Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying—verse 10, that’s right—verse 10: «Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying…» Verse 11: here’s the first thing: «Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves…'»
That’s the first thing. Somebody tell your neighbor, «You got to learn to prepare your provisions.» Prepare your provisions. Get your supplies ready. What you need to do is figure out what you need to go to where God’s trying to take you and get ready.
The problem with church people is we wait till the last minute—then we try to get the resources, and it’s too late now.
Prepare Provisions Ahead
I love my wife, but when we come to church, she carries with her two pairs of shoes. She has the pair that looks good, then she has the pair that feels comfortable to wear. I ain’t got no problem with that. I know that’s not good English, but it’s good preaching. I ain’t got no problem with that.
My problem is: she waits until we pull up on the church parking lot to change her shoe. I’m trying to figure out: when you see we take the same route to church every time we come, when you see that we are about 5 minutes out, can you go ahead and put everything together that needs to be put together and put your makeup on and put your shoes on? Why you got to wait till we pull up in the church parking lot?
Come on, brothers—the sisters ain’t going to say nothing. Brothers, can y’all help me out? Yeah, help me out. Because I’m saying: if I jump out the car and go in the church because we already late now, all of a sudden I’m insensitive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell the truth.
I’m trying to tell the truth. And all I’m saying is: get ready ahead of time. Stop waiting until you get to your destination to try to get ready. That’s what’s wrong with you. Y’all can’t handle the truth up in here.
Get ready, get prepared ahead of time—5 minutes out, 10 minutes out, 20 minutes out. And it’s going to mess up some of you for your future. You’re going to miss out. And my job is to tell you: get ready now.
Our church just built this $62 million facility—paid half of it off before we had our first service in the building. We just built this $25 million Family Life Center and paid cash for it. Yeah. We’re about to go into building another $30 million or so children’s building.
I’m not going to wait until the building is built or it’s time to build a building to put money away. I’ve been putting money away for years. Right. Good, sir.
Some of y’all, God wants to move you forward. You want a house. You trying to get out of the efficiency. Yeah, you’re trying to get out the apartment. But you’re not making preparations for your provisions. You got to be putting money away ahead of time.
Okay, y’all can’t—amen. I’m just trying to tell you: get ready. Somebody say, «Prepare your provisions.» Prepare your provisions. Tell them on the other side: «Put something away. Put something away.» Start figuring out what you need. Get the supplies ready.
Wherever God’s taking you, it’s going to require you to do something about it. So he said, «Prepare provisions for yourself.»
Within Three Days: Cross Over
But he doesn’t stop there. He says, «For within three days you will cross over this Jordan.» I’m almost finished. I bought y’all to sing and say amen when they don’t say amen. Okay, I’mma need y’all to get on y’all’s job. When you see them getting quiet on a brother, y’all say, «Preach on, Pastor Jenkins.» Y’all supposed to have my back.
I know y’all done heard this sermon before, but I done heard y’all sing the same song many times, and I still stood up and shouted and rocked—even though I have heard it about 50 times already. I’m sorry, y’all—I didn’t take my medicine today.
Here’s my second point: he says, «For within three days…» Somebody say, «For within three days.» «Within three days you will cross this Jordan—not only do you prepare your provisions, but you also prepare for the period.» Prepare for the time frame.
Now, this is why this is important: because God works in seasons, and you don’t want to miss the season. When He opens the door, you want to be able to walk through the door. You don’t want to miss the opportunity that God makes available to you.
And my assignment to tell you is: the door is about to open. He says you got about three days. And here’s what he says: in that three-day period, you’re going to cross over this Jordan. That’s right. Oh, I like that right there. Somebody say, «This Jordan.»
This Jordan—don’t miss the time frame that God has established for your transition.
Crossing the Jordan
And here’s the deal: he says you’re going to cross over this Jordan. What is it about this Jordan? Jordan represents something special. Jordan is a river that spans 200 miles. That’s right. It starts 1,000 feet above sea level, and by the time it comes to its conclusion, it’s 1,300 feet below sea level.
It’s wide—it’s long, 200 miles—and it’s high, and it has lows. And what I like about this is: not only does it go 200 miles, and not only does it start 1,000 feet above and ends up 1,300 feet below sea level—it goes through a variety of time zones and different terrain. It goes to cold and hot and rough and rocky and smooth and up and down—down through curves and straight portions.
And that’s the way life is. But God said you’re going to go through some rough and some cold and some hot and some rocky and some smooth and some up and some down. You’re going to have some highs and some lows.
But you know what He said? You will cross over this thing. It’s not going to take you out. It won’t defeat you. It will not frustrate you. You will cross over.
Somebody high-five your neighbor: say, «I’m about to cross over this.» I’ve been crying, but I’m a cross over. I was frustrated, but I see I’m going to have to cross over. I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but the Word is I’m going to cross over.
So many people—Jordan has rich history. Many people made it across the Jordan. Abraham and Lot got separated in Jordan. That’s right. Jacob wrestled with his adversary at Jordan. Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times and got healed of the leprosy. Miracles of Elijah and Elisha happened at Jordan. John the Baptist came preaching at the Jordan. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan. And miracles—there’s some special thing that happens at the Jordan.
But you got to cross over. Don’t let frustration make you quit. Y’all quit too soon. You walk away too fast. You leave the job too early. You walk out of your marriage too quickly. Cross over the Jordan.
All that you’ve been wrestling with in life—all your ups and downs, all your adversities and victories, rough and smooth, curved and straight, dry and wet—this is the season that God is going to carry you through.
Possess the Land
I don’t know who I’m preaching to—you may—everybody else sit through this message, and it’s just for you. Stop getting frustrated. God’s going to cross you over because you are transitioning.
Somebody high-five your neighbor and say, «You’re in transition.» Tell them on the other side, «I’m about to make a transition.» Tell them on the other side, «I know you’re tired of me hitting you and talking to you, but I ain’t going to be here next time. I ain’t going to be sitting next to you next time. I’m going to sit next to somebody who’s going like me—who’s trying to get out of where they are.»
I am not going to be the same person this time next year that I was this time this year. A change is about to occur. Deliverance is about to come. God is about to take me to another place in another dimension. And I can’t wait to get there. I’m ready, ready to go. Oh, I feel a shout coming on me right now.
I got one last thing to tell you: not only do you prepare your provisions, not only do you prepare for the period, but Joshua said, «Go in to possess the land.» My job is to tell you to possess your property—possess what it is God has told you to get a hold of.
It’s time for you to take control of it. You’ve been prepared. You’ve been purged. You’ve been positioned. You’re ready to perform. God is telling me to tell you: get ready to take possession of the property.
I don’t know who I’m preaching to, but I know somebody—one body—but somebody I’m talking to. I’m talking to Kingdom Fellowship to tell y’all: get ready to take possession of the property that God has for you.
Eyes have not seen nor ears heard what God has prepared for Kingdom Fellowship Church. Oh, y’all don’t hear what I’m saying to you today.
I’m praying that God gives you a double portion of what God has put on our life—that God gives you a double anointing, a double portion, a double power to do great and mighty things. Hallelujah.
I feel like shouting now because when I look back over my life, I thank God that I’m not where I used to be. Hallelujah. God has brought me from a mighty long way.
I never dreamed that I would pastor the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. I never dreamed it’d be where it is today. I never imagined it’d be one of the largest churches in the state of Maryland, in the country. I never dreamed all the things that have occurred has occurred. And yet it has. And I is the pastor. Somebody say, «He is the pastor.» And he’s a mighty good pastor.
I got an anointing from God to do what I’m doing and be who I am. I’ve had some tough days, and I’ve been through some windy moments, and I’ve had some storm clouds. But oh, I thank God for everything I’ve been through. It prepared me for where I am now.
If you got this word, take three or four people’s hands: say, «I’m getting ready to take a transition. I’m getting ready to do a transition.» Don’t say it softly. You got to have an attitude. Say it boldly. Say it loudly. Hallelujah.
I’m transitioning. Ain’t going to be here—not going to be here long. I’m not going to be where I am right now. Lord, I ain’t going to be driving the car that I’m driving this time next year. I ain’t going to be living where I live by this time next year. I ain’t going to have the same attitude by this time this year.
By the time you see me next time—Hallelujah—I am transitioning. I’m in the middle of a transition.
Jesus' Ultimate Transition
That old devil thought he had Jesus when they hung Him on the cross—nailed Him in His hands. Yes, sir. Pierced Him in His side. The blood came and water came out. And put a crown of thorns on His head. And He hung His head and died. Yes, sir.
The devil say, «We have finally killed God.» And the devil and all of his demons went down into hell and started partying. They were celebrating that they done killed God. They had defeated the Father.
But somewhere at the height of the party—somewhere between midnight on Saturday night and early Sunday—they heard a knock at the door. So they sent the demon of curiosity to go and find out who was knocking at the door.
And a voice came out from the other side and said, «I am the resurrection and the life. Lift up your heads, oh ye gates, because the King of Glory is coming in.» He says, «I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can get to the Father except by me.»
I wish I had a praying crowd with me here tonight. I’m trying to close, but it’s getting kind of good to me right now. Hallelujah.
And Jesus went in and took the keys of death, hell, and the grave away from the devil. And early Sunday morning, He got up out of the grave with all power in His hands.
It was a transition. He went to hell, but it wasn’t for long. You might go through some hell, but it won’t be long. You’re going to transition out of that hell to another place.
I don’t know who I’m preaching to. I’m tired now. I don’t know who I’m preaching to. But my assignment is to tell you: yes, sir—it’s transition time. It’s time to get ready for a new place.