Steven Furtick - Hello From the Other Side (03/28/2017)
On New Year's Eve from Joshua 4, the pastor preaches "Hello from the Other Side," urging a faith that looks forward, stands firm in transition, carries lessons from past trials, overcomes obstacles, and points back to God's faithfulness. As Israel crosses the Jordan on dry ground, leaving stones as memorials, believers are called to transition into the new year not just surviving but thriving—shouting hello to the future from the other side of trials.
Opening Greetings and Atmosphere
Happy New Year everybody. Happy New Year everybody. We got some work to do tonight. God has been speaking to me on the kind of level where you don't even walk into church. You float into church. I felt like I had wings just propelling me. Oh man, I've been waiting for us to get together. I've been waiting for us to get together.
Now I want to take all my time for preaching. Do you have any plans between now and the end of the year? Cool. Let's hang out. Let's hang out. Hey, can we one more time welcome all of our locations and our online audience and our television audience? Hey. Come on, say hey.
We are going on a journey tonight. And, you know, the best place to go on a biblical journey is in the book of Joshua. Yeshua! Joshua means the Lord saves. How many got snatched out of some stuff this year? How many God saved you from something? How many of you God saved you from yourself this year? That's what you really needed saving from. God knows the truth.
But I want to go to this one specific spot and work around it in Joshua chapter 4. We welcome all of our guests. We welcome all of our family. We welcome all of our friends. We welcome all of our enemies. Whoever you may be.
Introducing the Title with Audience Interaction
Look at this in Joshua chapter 4 verse 10. Joshua chapter 4 verse 10. I'm going to get right to it tonight. Right to it. I'm going to get right to it. Now the priest who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people just as Moses had directed Joshua. Joshua. The people hurried over. Touch somebody and say hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up. Won't have too long.
The people hurried over. And as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priest came to the other side while the people watched. Let me read that again in 11. I want to get something from that that will help me tonight. Build my case for why God is taking you to new levels in this coming year.
And as soon as all of them had crossed. Everybody say crossed. As soon as all of them had crossed. The ark of the Lord and the priest came to the other side. To the other side. While the people watched.
You ready for my title? You can't handle my title. This title is so sick that I need you to announce my title to your neighbor. Alright, so get a neighbor that looks friendly. And put your hand on their shoulder. And look in their eyes. And announce my title to your neighbor. Say neighbor. Neighbor. Hello. Hello. From the other side.
Check your other neighbor out. See if they can get with you. Say neighbor. Number two. Second choice. Tell them hello. Hello. From the other side. Come on, I need you to high five 15. No, let's do 16. We are already in the new year. Tell them hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. How you like me now? On the other side. Hello. Hello. Somebody holler at the preacher. Say hello. Hello. From the other side.
God told me to tell you it's coming your way. Yes. Yes. Coming your way. And all you have to do to receive it is say hello. Hello. From the... Lord. Bless your word. Hello. Anoint my lips. Anoint my lips. Open their hearts. Open their hearts. Do your thing. Have your way. Yes. Come in power. Come in splendor. Reign in glory. Take your seat. Take your place. Have your way. Do your will. We welcome you with praise. In Jesus' name. Shout it one more time. Say hello. Amen.
The Nature of Transitions – Often Anticlimactic
You may be seated. Thank you worship team. Goodbye. Goodbye. For now. Let's go walking with Joshua. He's at a significant moment. A transitional moment. It takes a certain type of person to transition well. Some people are just not built for it. It takes a certain type of person to move forward into something unfamiliar and strange.
And I wonder do I have any of those types of people here tonight who are willing to embrace some uncertainty in your future to find freedom in God's presence. I have a really vivid memory. I don't know if my mom will remember this. My mom is here. She's proudly sporting her Clemson Tigers sweatshirt. Orange Bowl. Hello. Champions. Hello. Undefeated. Hello. From the other side.
Put it like this. As a boy, I was fascinated. I was fascinated with things that, well, from a very superficial standpoint, probably weren't that important. But you know you just remember things, like things that you shouldn't remember. You should have cleared some space to remember more important things. But you remember stupid little things.
Like I remember one time, probably I was about Graham's age. Our middle son Graham is eight. So I was probably about eight. And I was fascinated with what happened when the clock hit between 11 59 PM and 12 AM. I'm going to check with my mom. Do you remember this? The first time that I begged, and I had to beg for weeks, maybe months, to just stay up just one time, just so I could watch the clock change.
I don't know what I expected to happen when the clock changed other than the dot goes away, but that's basically all that happened. And I remember very vividly as about an eight-year-old boy waiting for the clock to change and being. somewhat disappointed because it was anticlimactic. Again, I don't know if I thought that a carriage was going to come. I don't know what I thought was going to happen with a glass slipper, but none of it happened. It was just boop.
I'm bringing that up, and it's just a little memory that I had because we're going to watch the dot go away on the clock together tonight. And I just wanted to start my sermon a little realistically saying that most transitions are anticlimactic. So there's more excitement and expectation leading up to a lot of events than there is when it happens, and then you kind of look at something in your life and you're like, Oh. Hmm. All right. Stayed up all night for that. Okay.
I don't mean to talk about your wedding, but some transitions are anticlimactic. Not your wedding. Somebody else's wedding. But we need to teach people that a wedding doesn't make you a wife. I mean, technically, legally it does, but you're not going to be a good wife or a good husband just because somebody stood up and said some words.
And a lot of times the anticipation of an event is far greater than the actuality of the event. That's what I'm trying to say. If you graduated from high school, I mean, I don't know how it was for you. For me, it was like, you know, you know, cool. I mean, I'm just saying it. Nothing changed. I woke up the next morning and still had the same... You know, I would even say this in some ways about when I became a Christian. Don't get me wrong. I mean, I believe in the moment that I put my faith in Christ, everything changed, but. it didn't necessarily feel like everything changed.
Joshua's Generational Transition – From Loss to Promise
And we're here tonight at a transitional moment. I mean, it's just a time on the calendar and we picked this moment and we decided to make a big deal out of it. Why? Because it's a new page, it's a new thing, it's a new year, but so what? On one level, right? Because there's nothing that you're going to do tomorrow that you couldn't have done today. Just because the dot, you know, just because... I've been thinking about that a lot lately. The anticlimactic nature of certain changes in our lives.
The fact that you can cross over, everybody shout, cross over. From day to night. From single to married. From poor to rich. And not even notice that you transition. And not feel it in the way that you looked forward to feeling it. Because the experience is much different than the expectation. Do you know what I'm saying?
There are certain things in your life where you get there, you cross over into them, and the experience of being there isn't nearly as grand as the anticipation of going there was. Joshua is a part of a generational transition. I want to teach a little bit before we shout, because I think it would be important to lay a foundation that we can build something on.
And so I want to teach a little bit. We've got to go back with Joshua a little bit to find out why this moment was so significant to him. If you don't understand how somebody has wandered in the wilderness, you'll never understand their excitement about their deliverance. So if you just come up to this verse that I read, and they step through from one place to another, you have no idea the symbolism of this moment, the significance of this moment.
And I would say that there are many here who don't understand the significance of just making it to 2016. Somebody in the room contemplated ending their life this year. Somebody in this room contemplated leaving their wife this year, but they stayed, and they stuck it out. So don't mind them if they shout, or if they clap, or if they act kind of wild, because they're just happy, because there's something behind the barrier that they crossed.
The Stages Leading to Crossing Over
And so I thought I would preach about that tonight, and back up to Joshua chapter 1, which is the chapter of inspiration, where God spoke to Joshua, and he said, Be strong and courageous, and do not be terrified, for I'll be with you wherever you go. Everybody say inspiration. That's pretty important.
And then chapter 2 is investigation. Investigation. Everybody say investigation. Investigation. Where Joshua sends out the spies into the land to see exactly what they're getting themselves into, but he's learned a few lessons from history. He's carried over a few tips from the last time, because when Moses sent spies into the land over 40 years before this, he sent 12 spies, and only two came back with a good report, and the 10 that came back with a bad report confined the people to wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
So when it came time for Joshua to send spies, he didn't send 12, he sent two, because in this season of transition, you have to shrink your circle to only the people who are going to see this season through the eyes of faith so you can seize this season for all it's worth. Choose wisely who you camp with this year. Because if you camp with the wrong crowd, you'll never cross over to the right place. I said if you camp with the wrong crowd, you'll never cross over to the right place.
And in Joshua chapter 3, they're camping out. We've gone now past inspiration in chapter 1 and investigation in chapter 2, and then comes Instruction. Everybody shout instruction. Instruction in chapter 3, where God is telling Joshua, get ready. Get ready. Make preparation and get ready. Consecrate yourself, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.
You didn't hear me. You would have shouted, because the Bible says this is the day the Lord has made. So the good thing about where we stand is that we don't have to wait for tomorrow for God to do amazing things. The moment I set myself apart and make space for God in my heart, I can expect amazing things right here, right now, today.
Instruction, investigation, inspiration, and you can get stuck in any of these stages and still not cross over. Because just to be inspired by being in church tonight will not bring you over. Just to investigate what God wants to do in your life will not bring you over. Even to receive instruction for what God wants to do in your life and what's going to be required of you in this next season will not bring you over until you get to chapter four.
And this is called initiative, initiative, shout the word initiative. This is your season to initiate change, not to wait for it. I might say it like this. If I'm preaching at university city campus, don't wait, initiate. So in other words, I don't want to end up on this side of the Jordan for 40 more years. So I think before I talk myself out of it, I don't want to end up in the same cycles of sin that kept me in prison in 2015. So I got to step out into something new. I love it.
Faith That Looks Forward – Eyes on the Future
And while the transition is happening, everybody shout transition. There's a geographical picture and I wish I would have paid more attention in school to learn how to read maps because in the back of your Bible, if you carry a Bible, it probably has some maps back there. I have a hard time following maps. I'm not a very geographically inclined person, which I didn't think is important if you're preaching because, you know, you'd use the words to preach, not the pictures, but the stuff in the back is important too, where it shows you how they went around.
And for the generation under Moses, they went around and around and around and around. This is hidden close to home for some of you because you've been going around and around. And Joshua was the one to take them not out, but to take them in. And, uh, and it takes faith to do that. It takes faith to transition.
The geographical description that we read about in Joshua four also illustrates a psychological progression that creates change in our lives. Geographical, psychological, the terrain and the text represents the, the truth and the lives we must navigate in our hearts to get to the other side.
And that was my word for 2016 that God gave me as we closed our year in 2015. You may be watching this at a later time. Just insert your year. You know, this thing's going to be online forever. I'm watching this in 2043. I wonder what they'll be watching me on in 2043, but it, it hit me. God gave me this word crossover.
And then he took me to the text where about 10 times in Joshua three and four, you'll see an iteration. of cross or crossover or past tense crossed over or in progress crossing over because we're all in various stages of transition for the Israelites who started out as slaves. You have to understand that it was a big deal for them to go from slaves to survivors.
And that's the first transition. I mean, it's one thing just to come out of your slavery to your sin and to be saved by the grace of God. Yet that's not all. Touch somebody say, that's not all. That's not even all. Because now they're going from survivors to settlers. Now we're moving in. Now we're taking over. Now we're crossing. Now we're not just coming out. Now it's not just about the bad things we're not going to do anymore because we know Jesus. It's about the kingdom that we're called to establish and build and the land that we're called to possess and the curses that we're called to break and the light that we're called to shine.
Would you high five somebody say, I'm crossing over. And it takes faith. It takes faith to cross over. It takes faith to break out of the circumference of certainty and to Wade into the waters of uncertainty. I'm ready to preach to somebody who has that kind of faith. It's a certain kind of faith. It's a special kind of faith. It's a kind of faith that's reserved when you've circled a mountain long enough and you're ready to see it come down and jump straight in.
It's a kind of faith when you've had your heart broken because you've trusted in people and now you're ready to put your hope in God. Where is your claim? What kind of faith? The kind of faith that only makes sense on the other side. The kind of faith that won't make sense right now. I mean, this is a map, but it's also a tapestry. It's a tapestry.
If it were a quilt, I could show you on one side where the stitches were. And it would look chaotic and it would look crazy. And it might look like your life looked this year. It might go this way and that way and this way and that way. Ah, but if I flip the quilt over to the. the other side, the other side, you would see that there was a design. There was a destiny. There was a reason. There was a purpose. There was a plan.
I am a masterpiece. God's doing something in my life that'll make sense. On the other side, it takes faith. Now that takes faith. That takes faith. Moses didn't have that kind of faith. He had the kind of faith to make it out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. But Joshua is going to take us across the Jordan tonight. How many want to go to the other side? Come on, we got to go quickly. We don't have but 41 minutes.
Blakeney, are you with me? Matthews, are you with me? I don't know if you can keep up with this crowd GTA, but are you with me? Lake Norman, are you with me? University City is kind of setting a different pace tonight, but we're going to do this together. Everybody shout, advance! All right, we're going forward. We're going forward.
So it takes faith. What kind of faith? It takes faith. It takes a special kind of faith, and for you to cross over, it can't be a complacent faith. It can't be a comfortable faith. It takes a faith that looks forward. There are five of these. You might want to write them down. If you don't write them down, don't even bother to pray when you get in trouble and ask God what you should do, because he's going to say you should have taken notes at the praise party. That's what you should have done. That's how. you should have done.
Faith That Stands Between – Remaining Firm in Transition
The central point of the text that I will not be able to do justice to tonight and this time… We can do a whole series on the Ark of the Covenant, which is what the priest had to carry into the waters. I don't really care if you get all of the little nuances of this, all the little Bible study stuff. It's all cool. I like it. I geek out on this stuff all the time. But you don't have to really get all of it just to understand that the Ark of The third of the covenant represented the presence of God, and they had to take that into the Jordan for the waters to part.
All right, so look at chapter 3. We'll do just verse 3. Chapter 3, verse 3. When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Watch this. I like this verse. Then you will know which way to go since you have never been this way before.
But keep a distance of about 2,000 cubits. That's like 10 football fields. That's 1,000 yards. Keep a distance between you and the ark. Don't go near it, which is kind of strange because I thought God wanted me to be close to him. But he says, I don't want you to get too comfortable with how I do things or think that I'm stationary in your life because I'm always pointing to your future.
So I need a faith that looks forward. It would be helpful for me to point out that Moses has just been... I don't really know if you can imagine the magnitude of this. The man of God, Moses... I want to break it down. I don't want to shout it because they wouldn't have had a celebratory attitude toward this. Moses, Moses, the one that spoke with God face to face and told the people how to know God, is gone.
And one of the reasons that transition is so hard in your life is because everybody lost something in this last year. It could be a friendship. Many people lost a job this year. Everybody with money in the stock market lost some of that this year. Hello. Hello. Some of you lost a dream this year. And it is in that context... This is crazy. It is in the context of loss that God calls Joshua to cross over to what's next.
I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. So, the presence of God had to go before the people so that their eyes would not be fixed on what they lost this year, but so their eyes would be fixed on where God was leading them in the days ahead. God said, I don't know who this is for, but God said, you can't get Moses back, but if you'll fix your eyes. Forward. That's the word. Forward. Shout it. Forward. Shout it again. Forward.
Even if I have to push you forward, you can't stay stuck here. You can't cry over this anymore. Forward. The way of faith looks forward. In fact, I want you to say something about this year and just say it by faith. Just say it even if you don't know what this year holds. Just say it. And if you don't say it, you don't have to. But for all the faith-filled people who want God to do amazing things in your life starting tomorrow, shout this. I'm looking forward to it.
How can you say that? You don't even know what it is yet. But my promise doesn't concern what it is. He said, don't be terrified. Don't be discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever, whatever, whoever. I'm looking forward to it. You know, I might have a challenge this year, but I'm looking forward to it. My challenge is going to give my God an opportunity to show off on my behalf.
Come on, high-five somebody and say, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it. For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Oh, I got it now. It takes a certain kind of faith. Faith is the substance of things. Hope for what I hope for is out ahead of me. And whatever is behind me wasn't meant to go with me into this next season.
I'm looking forward to it. I want to see how this turns out. I want to see how this turns out. The author and finisher of our faith. And you know how Jesus crossed? It says in Hebrews that he endured the cross for the joy set before him. Before him. Before him. Before him. Before him. Before him. Don't let what's behind you make you miss what's before you. Not this year. Not this year. Not this year. Not this year.
Man... I wish I could get those 40 years back that we wasted, but I can't look back at those 40 years. Give your faith something to look forward to this year, and don't let it just be heaven when you die. You know, Jesus taught me how to pray. He said, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. My faith is looking forward, not to one day when I get out of here, but what he's going to do before I leave I'm looking forward to.
I know it's going to be some unexpected challenges this year. I know it's going to be some things this year that I wouldn't choose to cross over. And you know, here's the thing. I can't choose every river I'm going to have to cross this year, but I do get to choose what I carry while I'm crossing it. And I mean to tell you that there are some things that you can't carry into this next year if you want to cross into the new one.
You can't carry what happened. You can't carry. My faith looks forward. So I said the ark has to go before them. And if they'll keep their eyes on this ark that's out in the distance and not get stuck right here and be satisfied to know God on this level, but to look out beyond and say, we're next, God. I will do amazing things. So I need a faith that looks forward.
And watch this. I need a faith that stands between. Again, the geographical context of this narrative is creating a brilliant psychological map for us to attack all of the mental barriers that we're up against in the coming year. And it said that the priest had to go out into the middle of the Jordan and stand there.
Let me back up. You got to check this out. It said that. God told Joshua, commanded Joshua, and verse eight, chapter four, the Israelites did as Joshua commanded, took 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua, and they carried them over with them to their camp.
I got to read fast because I got to end this sermon at midnight. And if it gets real good, we might just switch to like, uh, you know, Pacific standard time. And, you know, that midnight, there's several midnights, you know, it just depends on which clock we're watching.
Watch this. It said, um, Joshua said, 12 stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priest who had carried the ark of the covenant had stood. Wow. It said that the priest stood there. Look at verse 10. What kind of faith does this take? Now the priest who carried the ark remained. standing.
Boy, I like that phrase, because that describes what some of us had to do this year. Just remain standing. Now look at the person next to you and be honest with them. Say, I didn't get everything right this year, but I remain standing. Come on, tell them real plain. Say, I'm still standing.
And if I don't have any other reason to be thankful, the fact that I'm still standing in the depths of all the danger that I faced, I'm still standing. That's why I came to church and not to the club, because I wanted to thank the one who gave me something. I did this. I'm still standing. I'm standing, and I'm still carrying what God put on my shoulders. I didn't drop the ark. I didn't neglect God. I didn't forsake him this year. I got it on my shoulders, and I'm still standing, carrying the ark.
Man, I studied about the ark so I could preach this right. Let's see if I could get a detail that'll help us. What were they carrying? The ark, it was made of acacia wood. I don't know if I can. .. It was 27 inches wide, 27 inches high, 45 inches long. I don't know. You know, I can make something up, but I don't really know the significance of those dimensions. I do know that God measures everything, and he makes things to a certain dimension, but I don't think that's the point.
Let's see. What else? What else? It was overlaid with gold, so it's a picture. of the acacia wood, which is humanity, covered with gold, which is divinity, which symbolizes Jesus, who was wrapped in flesh but covered in glory and full of grace and truth, but I don't think that's. the thing.
It's something else. Okay. Hold on. Hold on. Give me a minute. It's kind of late. I don't usually stay up this late. It was 27. No, that's not it. Wood, gold. Oh, yeah. On one end. of that rectangular box that had the law inside of it was a cherubim, like an angel, and on the other end was a cherubim.
I think it says it in Exodus 25-22 when God was telling Moses how to build it in Exodus. It said that there would be a cherubim on one side, a cherubim on the other, and God said, there. Everybody shot there. Above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark, there above the cover between the two cherubim, there I will meet with you.
Touch somebody and say, God met me in the middle. That's what I need you to know is that God didn't wait for me to come out of my dysfunction to bless me and to touch me and to love me. God met me in the middle. I'm trying to say that you can't wait until you get everything you want to worship and glorify God who called you. He wants to meet you in the middle, in the middle, in the middle.
Now, let me do a check. Is there anybody who ever experienced a miracle in the middle? I'm going to come to this side because I feel it over here. Is there anybody who ever had God do a miracle in the middle? See, because my life is a testimony. It's not just about the start. It's not just about the finish. The blessing is in between. It's that I stood in the middle of the Jordan and what should have swallowed me up didn't sweep over me. That's the miracle.
He met me in the middle. I appreciate it because if you wait until you get there to praise him, you'll never get there because God will meet you when you praise him in the middle. Shout in the middle! In the middle. I stood in the middle of some stuff this year and I stood in the middle of dysfunction this year And I stood in the middle of some dark situations this year, and I remain standing in the middle.
So now I've got a faith that looks forward. I'm looking at the ark. I've got a faith that stands between, and I need a faith that carries out. Touch somebody and say, carry it out. Carry it out. Carry it out.
Faith That Carries Out – Memorializing Deliverance
God told Joshua something interesting. It says in chapter 4, verse 1, when the whole nation... Y'all doing all right? Y'all doing all right? If you're doing all right, y'all. Hello!
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan... That's important. When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up. twelve stones from the what? From the middle...
Now, remember, geography. Let's go to the map. They made it through, and God told them to go back to the... Okay. And I get frustrated when I watch New Year's Eve services. That's why I started having my own about three years ago, because I watch preachers, and they tell their church, you know, You've been through hell in 2015. I want you to just wave goodbye, wave goodbye, 2015. And the whole service is about how you made it through.
Yeah? Made it through. But I don't think it's a triumphant testimony, just to say, I made it through. I mean, so what? The drug dealer made it through. People with no faith, atheists, make it through. I mean, what's it... Is that what we came to church for? We made it through. What are you going to do next year? Make it through again. Yeah. I don't need to come to church just to make it through.
So he said, Go back and get something out of what you went through that's going to prepare your faith. for where you're going. I'm not coming out of 2015 empty-handed. I'm coming out with something. I'm coming out with wisdom. I'm coming out with perspective. I'm coming out with praise. I'm coming out with blessing. So, dig down... I love the Bible. Dig down to the bottom of the riverbed and pick up something that you could have died on.
Because if God didn't do what he did, they would have been lying there on those same rocks. So, God said, I want you to take the experiences. that could have taken you out this year but didn't. And I want you to get... I want you to get 12 of them. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
I didn't count those before I preached. I'm glad that worked out. I just went for it. I felt like maybe God was in it. Let's see. I need you to get 12. Because 12 tribes of Israel. Because it's 12. It's 12. It's the number of government. It's the number of order. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
According to the tribes. Get one man from each of the tribes and get him to get a stone. And I don't think God would mind if we modernize the text for New Year's Eve. Because we don't have 12 tribes of Israel necessarily. But we got January, February, March, April, May.
Now see, every month this year taught me something. June taught me something. July taught me something. August taught me something. September taught me something. Touch somebody and say, I'm coming out with something. I'm coming out with something. I learned something in October. I learned something in November. I learned something in December.
So I'm going back to January. And I'm going to remember how God blessed me. How God gave me joy in January. And faith in February. And mercy in May. And he worked on my attitude in April. And in March he... I don't know anything else. It starts with an M. But I'm not leaving this year without carrying something out of it.
So, and I love this part, that what could have been rock bottom became their stepping stone. Please help me preach that sermon. Please help me preach that sermon. I could have drowned in the waters, but God drove them back. And now I'm walking on what was sent. I got some on my shoulder I'm carrying out.
And see, everything taught me something this year. That's how you leave 2015 with no regrets. It's that the thing that appeared to be rock bottom actually becomes a stepping stone. So, it's not that I would have chosen it, but since I can't change it, I might as well step on it.
See, there's a whole lot of things that happened to me that I wouldn't have wanted to have to walk on. But I didn't accept Christ, and I didn't sign up to follow him just to get through. It wasn't that God brought them through the Jordan, it's that he brought them over the Jordan. Listen, there's a difference. There's a difference. There's a difference.
That ark had a cherubim on one side, a cherubim on the other side, and God said, I'll meet you between those cherubim above the ark, above it. So, I want to celebrate tonight, not just that I got through it, but that I got over it. I want God to help me with this, because he hit me there in worship to tell me that when I get to this specific point, there is something that you keep tripping over in your life, memory, addiction, and I would love to say that tonight, as you cross over into new land, that that thing is going to leave you alone forever.
I would love to say that, and don't clap, because I can't tell you that, but do you remember when Jesus, he healed this man that was lying on the mat, and after he healed him, he didn't let the man do away with his mat, he just let him pick it up and carry it over so that the thing that used to hold you is still here, but it doesn't hold you anymore, because you're not under it, you're over it.
Faith That Gets Over – Triumph Over Trials
If you have this kind of faith, if you have something in your life that you keep tripping over, I want you to stand up on your feet, stand up on your feet. Something you've been tripping over, something you've been tripping over. All right? Alright. Now, when I say three, what I want you to do is symbolic, it's symbolic, you don't have You don't have to do it.
But if you've got something that you've been tripping over, that God has called you to triumph over... You do it just like God told me. He told me to tell you that when I say three, pick your foot up and put it down. And when I say three and shout, I'm over it. On three. One, two, three. I'm over it.
I want to do it again. I want to do it again. Hold on. This time I want you to get that thing on your mind. You know the thing that you can't tell your neighbor about. The personal thing. The thing that almost became your deathbed this year. That thought pattern. That attraction. That proclivity. That thing, alright? You got it? You got it?
Now on three, pick your foot up and put it down and shout, I'm over it. One, two, three. I'm over it. I don't know. I don't know. I think we need a third time to do it. Good things happen in threes. Now this time, I want you to consider in Hebrews chapter 2, where it said that God took everything and put it under Jesus' feet.
I want you to remember how that ark of the covenant represents Jesus with divinity underneath gold. With humanity underneath gold. With humanity underneath divinity. And I want you to realize that he's raised you up to heavenly places with Christ on three. One, two, three. I'm over it.
Sorrow came into my life this year, but I got over it. Depression came in my life this year, but I got over it. Shame came in my life this year, but I got over it. Disappointment came in my life this year, but I got over it. I got over it. I got over it. I got over it. I got over it. I got over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. Doesn't hold me. Doesn't have me. Can't hold me. I'm over it. I'm over it. I'm over it. I had some insecurity, but I'm over it.
I had some fear that kept me from being the father that I wanted to be, but I'm over it. It's not that I'm expecting it to go away. It's just that I'm a carrier with me, and it can't tell me where to stop. I'm over it. I'm over it. That's the word. That's the word. I'm over it. I'm over it.
You got to get it in your heart. They hurt me, but I'm over it. What they said about me, I'm over it. I don't believe that anymore. What they did to me, I'm over it. In fact, they don't even have to apologize to me if they don't ever apologize. I'm over it. I'm over it.
Because everything that stood against me, Jesus put a cross over it. You didn't hear me. Everything that was pushing against me to try to get me back into darkness, Jesus put a cross over it. That's why my faith looks forward, because I got a cross over my past.
And whatever I've been through, He delivered me from the power of it and over it. I got a Joshua. His name is Jesus. And I'm not standing at the Jordan anymore. Because I got a faith that points back. Come on, you got to try this. You got to try this. This is fun.
So just point back one time. Just point. Now don't look back. Don't look back. But while your faith is looking forward, let your finger point back. And whatever you're pointing at, that God brought you through, is now the evidence of His faithfulness for where He's taking you. Come on, point back. How many got something you can point back on from this year?
When I look back over my life and see all the doors He's opened for me. When I look back over my life and see all the ways He kept me and all the ways He blessed me. The same God who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear. I got a faith that looks forward and points back.
I'm pointing back to remind the devil of why I'm confident moving forward. Now, you've been getting this backwards and that's why you're stuck. Look, you've been pointing forward. One day I'm in a hole for you. But tonight's the night that you're crossing over in your mind.
To know that God has brought me to this point. And I got twelve stones. And I got all these reasons. And all this foundation. Come up and help me, Ben. I'm closing. We got nine minutes till the new year comes in. We're going to do it right in the transition. Come on. I said we got nine minutes till we cross over. We only got nine minutes to point back.
Memorial Stones – Carrying Out Lessons from the Past
He said, here's the plan. Here's the plan. Joshua said, one day you're going to have some children. And they're going to see these stones. It says that Joshua took the stones up out of the middle of the Jordan and set them up at the place where they camped tonight. So they got to the other side. And they set up everything that they got out of the middle of the Jordan.
And they took it to the other side and he set it up. Now, it's interesting because he set it up, not in a heap, but in a circle. Because crossing over from doubt to belief isn't something you just do one time. So, I got to look forward, stand between, carry out, get over, and point back. Not just one time, but I got to do it again tomorrow.
I got to look forward, stand between, and carry out, and get over, and point back. Because Joshua said, one day you're going to have some children. And the children are going to see these stones. Can I share this with you? This really touched me for us going into a new year. I got three kids now, and I realized that in many ways my faith is their foundation.
And when they cross over into their adulthood, they're not even teenagers yet. But I'm already thinking about what they'll see when they get there. Now, Joshua said, when your children see these stones, they're going to ask you, what does it mean? What does it mean? And so Joshua said, look at Joshua 4, verse 22. Everybody shout, hello. Hello.
He said, when they ask you, what does this mean? Tell them, Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. And that's it. That's all you need to tell them. Why is this significant? Think of all the things that they could have told them about what they went through before they crossed over. All the things that they could have said about all of the years that they spent in the wilderness.
The problem with some of us is we're more familiar with the details of our wilderness than the details of our deliverance. So when I ask you about your year, what are you going to memorialize? Are you going to memorialize your misery or your miracles?
I'm going to come over here to the other side. How about on the other side? If you choose this year to memorialize all the pain you went through, you're not going to make it to the other side. You're going to stay on this side. But if you'll set up 12 stones and say, you know what? Everything I've been through this year, you don't even need to hear about it. Here's what you need to know. He didn't just bring me out. He didn't just bring me through. He brought me over. I got over. I got... I got over.
Any overcomers in the aisle? Come on, shout Blakely if you're an overcomer. Shout Matthews if you're an overcomer. Shout Toronto if you're an overcomer. Come on, Lake Norman. Any overcomers? Any overcomers at University City? And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Come on, shout it out. Say, I made it. I made it. I made it. I made it.
Faith That Gets Over – Triumph Over Trials
Tell them. Tell them! Tell your children. Tell your children. Tell your children. Tell them. Hello. From the other side. You know what you need to do going into 2016? You need to give 2016 you a little pep talk from 2015 you. And you need to tell 2016 you, standing on the shore of what God brought you over this year, tell 2016 you, don't be worried. Don't be depressed. Don't be discouraged. Don't be dismayed. You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it. You're gonna be justified. You're going up, not down. You're going over, not under. You're gonna make it to the other side.
Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello Hello Hello. High five 16 people. Tell them hello from the other side. Ah, from the other side. Ah, from the other side. From the other side. There's life on the other side. There's peace on the other side. There's joy on the other side. There's freedom on the other side. Come on over.
We're not going to tell We're telling 2015 goodbye. We're telling 2015 hello from the... I gotta run, I gotta run. Hello! Thank you for every trial. Thank you for every test. Thank you for every blessing. Thank you for every burden. Thank you for every door. Thank you for every lock. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hello, hello. You look different from the other side. I can make it now that I see you. Now, now, now, now that we, now that we got what we need to get out of 2015, and we brought it over to the place where we camped tonight, in Gilgal, which means circle in Hebrew, y'all don't have time to mess with me today. I studied full.
Now, we got to point back at 2015, and look forward to 2016, and tell 2016, hello from the other side. Now, watch this. I got one minute, 23 seconds. You're not facing the Jordan anymore. Now you're facing Jericho. Jesus already brought me through the Jordan. He already saved me. He already redeemed me. He already stood in the middle as my high priest. He already hung in the middle of two thieves on a cross, and he hung in the middle and stood between and sprinkled the blood of his mercy.
So now, I'm looking at Jericho, and I'm telling Jericho, just like God cut off those waters at the Jordan, whatever battle is next, I need you to know, 2016, that I'm blessed in the city. I'm blessed in the field. I'm blessed in the Jordan, and I'm going to be blessed in Jericho.
If you're blessed, then you know it. If you're blessed non-circumstantially, if you're blessed just to know him, if you're blessed because he lives in your heart, lift up a shout. Come on, let's shout our way to the other side. Count me down. I want you to shout all the way to the other side. Come on. It's up. Take faith to shout. When you get there, shout like your father. Come on, it's on the way. Come on, it's on the way.
You better wave at your future. You better wave at your potential. You better wave at your Jericho. Jericho. Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, I got something for you. I got an arc on my shoulder. I got the premise. I got the power. I got the... Come on, here we go. Here we go. We're just about there. Come on. We're crossing over, Blakely. We're crossing over, Matthews. who are crossing over, Rachel. Shout with me. Hey, seven... Shout, hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello Hello Hello.
The Final Charge – Shouting into the New Year
Tell them. Tell them! Tell your children. Tell your children. Tell your children. Tell them. Hello. From the other side. You know what you need to do going into 2016? You need to give 2016 you a little pep talk from 2015 you. And you need to tell 2016 you, standing on the shore of what God brought you over this year, tell 2016 you, don't be worried. Don't be depressed. Don't be discouraged. Don't be dismayed. You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it. You're gonna be justified. You're going up, not down. You're going over, not under. You're gonna make it to the other side.
Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello Hello Hello. High five 16 people. Tell them hello from the other side. Ah, from the other side. Ah, from the other side. From the other side. There's life on the other side. There's peace on the other side. There's joy on the other side. There's freedom on the other side. Come on over.
We're not going to tell We're telling 2015 goodbye. We're telling 2015 hello from the... I gotta run, I gotta run. Hello! Thank you for every trial. Thank you for every test. Thank you for every blessing. Thank you for every burden. Thank you for every door. Thank you for every lock. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hello, hello. You look different from the other side. I can make it now that I see you. Now, now, now, now that we, now that we got what we need to get out of 2015, and we brought it over to the place where we camped tonight, in Gilgal, which means circle in Hebrew, y'all don't have time to mess with me today. I studied full.
Now, we got to point back at 2015, and look forward to 2016, and tell 2016, hello from the other side. Now, watch this. I got one minute, 23 seconds. You're not facing the Jordan anymore. Now you're facing Jericho. Jesus already brought me through the Jordan. He already saved me. He already redeemed me. He already stood in the middle as my high priest. He already hung in the middle of two thieves on a cross, and he hung in the middle and stood between and sprinkled the blood of his mercy.
So now, I'm looking at Jericho, and I'm telling Jericho, just like God cut off those waters at the Jordan, whatever battle is next, I need you to know, 2016, that I'm blessed in the city. I'm blessed in the field. I'm blessed in the Jordan, and I'm going to be blessed in Jericho.
If you're blessed, then you know it. If you're blessed non-circumstantially, if you're blessed just to know him, if you're blessed because he lives in your heart, lift up a shout. Come on, let's shout our way to the other side. Count me down. I want you to shout all the way to the other side. Come on. It's up. Take faith to shout. When you get there, shout like your father. Come on, it's on the way. Come on, it's on the way.
You better wave at your future. You better wave at your potential. You better wave at your Jericho. Jericho. Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, I got something for you. I got an arc on my shoulder. I got the premise. I got the power. I got the... Come on, here we go. Here we go. We're just about there. Come on. We're crossing over, Blakely. We're crossing over, Matthews. who are crossing over, Rachel. Shout with me. Hey, seven... Shout, hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello Hello Hello.
Final Shout and Transition into the New Year
Tell them. Tell them! Tell your children. Tell your children. Tell your children. Tell them. Hello. From the other side. You know what you need to do going into 2016? You need to give 2016 you a little pep talk from 2015 you. And you need to tell 2016 you, standing on the shore of what God brought you over this year, tell 2016 you, don't be worried. Don't be depressed. Don't be discouraged. Don't be dismayed. You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it. You're gonna be justified. You're going up, not down. You're going over, not under. You're gonna make it to the other side.
Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello Hello Hello. High five 16 people. Tell them hello from the other side. Ah, from the other side. Ah, from the other side. From the other side. There's life on the other side. There's peace on the other side. There's joy on the other side. There's freedom on the other side. Come on over.
We're not going to tell We're telling 2015 goodbye. We're telling 2015 hello from the... I gotta run, I gotta run. Hello! Thank you for every trial. Thank you for every test. Thank you for every blessing. Thank you for every burden. Thank you for every door. Thank you for every lock. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Hello, hello. You look different from the other side. I can make it now that I see you. Now, now, now, now that we, now that we got what we need to get out of 2015, and we brought it over to the place where we camped tonight, in Gilgal, which means circle in Hebrew, y'all don't have time to mess with me today. I studied full.
Now, we got to point back at 2015, and look forward to 2016, and tell 2016, hello from the other side. Now, watch this. I got one minute, 23 seconds. You're not facing the Jordan anymore. Now you're facing Jericho. Jesus already brought me through the Jordan. He already saved me. He already redeemed me. He already stood in the middle as my high priest. He already hung in the middle of two thieves on a cross, and he hung in the middle and stood between and sprinkled the blood of his mercy.
So now, I'm looking at Jericho, and I'm telling Jericho, just like God cut off those waters at the Jordan, whatever battle is next, I need you to know, 2016, that I'm blessed in the city. I'm blessed in the field. I'm blessed in the Jordan, and I'm going to be blessed in Jericho.
If you're blessed, then you know it. If you're blessed non-circumstantially, if you're blessed just to know him, if you're blessed because he lives in your heart, lift up a shout. Come on, let's shout our way to the other side. Count me down. I want you to shout all the way to the other side. Come on. It's up. Take faith to shout. When you get there, shout like your father. Come on, it's on the way. Come on, it's on the way.
You better wave at your future. You better wave at your potential. You better wave at your Jericho. Jericho. Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, I got something for you. I got an arc on my shoulder. I got the premise. I got the power. I got the... Come on, here we go. Here we go. We're just about there. Come on. We're crossing over, Blakely. We're crossing over, Matthews. who are crossing over, Rachel. Shout with me. Hey, seven... Shout, hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello Hello Hello.