Crossing Over (cont'd)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
April 21, 2013 - Pastor Dale Lloyd
There is nothing more certain in our lives than change. Yet many of us fear change and
make elaborate plans to avoid it. We fear the new and find comfort in the
stability of the known and familiar.
Scripture Reading: Joshua 3: 1 – 7
With this present series of messages I have been primarily
making application to where we are corporately – where God has us right now as a
faith community. However, what I urge each of you to understand (and especially
any visitors among us) is that this entire teaching has a personal application;
you do not need to be a member of KCF to glean the benefit of these
messages.
As a Fellowship we are in a significant season of transition; a time of crossing
over. The first chapter of the life of this Fellowship has come to a close
and we are now looking to the new chapter that God has written and is calling us
into. None of this can happen without generating real change.
The Holy Spirit has directed our attention to the Joshua
record – especially the first few chapters of that record – as the scriptural
grounds of our present experience. He has also brought to our attention a book
called, ‘Crossing Over’ written by
Paul Scanlon. We are making this book available to our small group leaders as
well as all those in leadership. We are making this investment and strong effort
because of our deep conviction regarding and serious commitment to this new
chapter God is bringing us into. We are committed to crossing over our
particular Jordan (whatever that may be or look like) and entering into our Kingdom ministry inheritance
(whatever that may be and look like).
Last week I spoke on the theme of, ‘Preparing
to Cross Over’. The first
stage of that preparation is separation
from the past. All of that was communicated to the new leader Joshua in the
first word God spoke to him: “Moses my
servant is dead.” Backing up to that Joshua experience I want us to consider
the following theme: The First Two Core
Realities of Change.
Here is where we
are: We are on a journey from being yesterday’s church to becoming the church of
today and tomorrow. There was nothing wrong with yesterday’s church yesterday.
But it’s no longer yesterday. God is now calling us out of the past we have
lived through and into the future we have not yet experienced – a future that
past prepared us to possess.
On (date) we made a crossing over. We journeyed from that
white church at the north end of this property to this new building. When we
stepped into this new building we did much more than step into a building; we stepped into a new chapter of Kingdom
purpose – we stepped into our future. Hear this with much care: Our
future is not about this building, but this building is about our future. In
making that journey across that parking lot we were saying, “Yes!” to that
future. The question we are called to answer this morning – including myself –
is a simple one: Where do I now stand
with respect to that future? Where is my heart in relation to that future? What
is my attitude toward that future? What is my faith concerning that future?
This is not a negative confession; this is not a negative
prophetic utterance. I have exercised great care regarding what I am about to
speak. This morning I do have liberty in my spirit to share with you that not everyone is going to journey into the
future God has for this house. I can tell you that sifting has already
begun. I can also tell you that before this is done each
and every heart is going to be revealed as to where it is with respect to the
future God has for this house.
Jesus, in the days of His flesh, spoke some things that left his
listeners thinking and saying, “This is
a hard saying.” I have a “hard saying” this morning: There are good people
who are not going to cross over with us, and we must understand that when
good people stand between us and God’s best we must push into God’s
best.
Returning to our theme: The First Two Core Realities of Change
– what exactly are those changes? The first
is structure; the second is culture. It
is impossible to change a culture without first changing the structures that
support and maintain that culture. We claim that
we want things to be different while at the same time refusing to open the heart
to different things.
In the life of Joshua the structure
changed forever that day Moses went to the top of the mountain and never
returned. When God declared to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead...” he was
confirming the fact that the 40 year
“Moses structure” had come to an
end. The structure of leadership would never be the same. Joshua
was not to duplicate the “Moses
structure.”
The wilderness demanded certain realities of structure; the
journey through the wilderness called for a certain leadership style and
structure. But all of that came to a close at the edge of the Jordan River.
That’s what Joshua
chapter 3 is all about; structural
change. In the wilderness everyone saw the cloud and the pillar of fire.
But here in Josh.3 there is no
cloud or pillar of fire. What there is is a gold covered box carried on the
shoulders of the priests. The structure has changed, and moving
forward now requires trusting God in the leadership.
A couple of months before Pastor Dave passed away I met with him
and Pastor Robert, (Pastor Robert has provided apostolic covering for KCF from
its beginning). We met in a hospital room in this city. In that room Pastor Dave
made declaration with his mouth that God had released him from his role as the
senior pastor of this Fellowship. Beyond that he declared that he and Robert
agreed that God was calling me to fill that place of leadership. Right
there the structure changed. And I can tell you with certainty that the
sense of peace and authority in that room was
sobering.
Shortly after that event Pastor Dave went home with the Lord.
With that the structural changes he got to speak with his mouth were now
settled; there was no going back. Then at an appropriate time, Pastor Robert
returned and installed me as the Lead Pastor of this house, and Pastor Adam as
the Associate Pastor.
All of this to say, the structure has changed and if you intend to have any peace in
making the journey into the this new chapter you will need to find grace to
accept and embrace the structural changes that are here and those that are
coming. If not your soul will remain disturbed and
unhappy.
In the Joshua experience the structural
changes in leadership inevitably pointed to a cultural
change. Old
structures cannot produce a new culture. We
cannot with any measure of honesty claim we earnestly desire a new culture while
at the same time protecting the old structures.
With that change of structure from Moses to Joshua the culture
changed from wilderness culture to
promise land culture. It changed
from a culture of unbelief and fear
to a culture of strong faith and
courage. It changed from a culture
of defeat and death to a culture of
life that overcomes and takes possession. The new culture was one of victory, of dispossessing the enemy and
possessing the promise of God. We are told that on the day – the Bible
says, ‘on that very day’ – that Israel ate some of the produce of the land of
promise the manna ceased. This speaks to a change of culture. For 40 years
their daily supply of manna was miraculously delivered right to the door of
their tents in the night. But the culture of Canaan was different. God was no
less present in Canaan, and every good thing in that land had been provided by
God. But the way they entered into and partook of that provision was different.
In Canaan they became personally responsible for the state of their vineyard,
the state of their house, etc.. The new
culture is a culture of personal responsibility.
The really vital fact
concerning all this new culture is that the first manifestation of it was seen
in one thing – one reality: the crossing
over of a generation. I think it is right and proper
to conclude that the first characteristic of the culture of that Joshua
generation is that it was a “crossing over culture.”
This was their heart, their passion, their attitude, their faith: Let us cross
over into the future God has called us to.
Let me speak with strong conviction. Let me speak with boldness.
Let me speak prophetically. God Almighty – God our Sovereign Potentate has a
future for you. He also has a future for this house corporately. I can tell you
right now that the culture of and in that future is a new culture and will not
look like the cultures of the past or even of this present moment. But – and
this is absolutely vital – all that cultural newness in the future is entirely
dependent upon structural changes in the present and the attitude of my heart
regarding those structural changes.
Here then, is where we are: The First Two Core Realities of Change – The first is
structure; the second is culture.
Let me now point out the beginnings of the practical application
of this message. (Call the deacons forward).
April 21, 2013 - Pastor Dale Lloyd
There is nothing more certain in our lives than change. Yet many of us fear change and
make elaborate plans to avoid it. We fear the new and find comfort in the
stability of the known and familiar.
Scripture Reading: Joshua 3: 1 – 7
With this present series of messages I have been primarily
making application to where we are corporately – where God has us right now as a
faith community. However, what I urge each of you to understand (and especially
any visitors among us) is that this entire teaching has a personal application;
you do not need to be a member of KCF to glean the benefit of these
messages.
As a Fellowship we are in a significant season of transition; a time of crossing
over. The first chapter of the life of this Fellowship has come to a close
and we are now looking to the new chapter that God has written and is calling us
into. None of this can happen without generating real change.
The Holy Spirit has directed our attention to the Joshua
record – especially the first few chapters of that record – as the scriptural
grounds of our present experience. He has also brought to our attention a book
called, ‘Crossing Over’ written by
Paul Scanlon. We are making this book available to our small group leaders as
well as all those in leadership. We are making this investment and strong effort
because of our deep conviction regarding and serious commitment to this new
chapter God is bringing us into. We are committed to crossing over our
particular Jordan (whatever that may be or look like) and entering into our Kingdom ministry inheritance
(whatever that may be and look like).
Last week I spoke on the theme of, ‘Preparing
to Cross Over’. The first
stage of that preparation is separation
from the past. All of that was communicated to the new leader Joshua in the
first word God spoke to him: “Moses my
servant is dead.” Backing up to that Joshua experience I want us to consider
the following theme: The First Two Core
Realities of Change.
Here is where we
are: We are on a journey from being yesterday’s church to becoming the church of
today and tomorrow. There was nothing wrong with yesterday’s church yesterday.
But it’s no longer yesterday. God is now calling us out of the past we have
lived through and into the future we have not yet experienced – a future that
past prepared us to possess.
On (date) we made a crossing over. We journeyed from that
white church at the north end of this property to this new building. When we
stepped into this new building we did much more than step into a building; we stepped into a new chapter of Kingdom
purpose – we stepped into our future. Hear this with much care: Our
future is not about this building, but this building is about our future. In
making that journey across that parking lot we were saying, “Yes!” to that
future. The question we are called to answer this morning – including myself –
is a simple one: Where do I now stand
with respect to that future? Where is my heart in relation to that future? What
is my attitude toward that future? What is my faith concerning that future?
This is not a negative confession; this is not a negative
prophetic utterance. I have exercised great care regarding what I am about to
speak. This morning I do have liberty in my spirit to share with you that not everyone is going to journey into the
future God has for this house. I can tell you that sifting has already
begun. I can also tell you that before this is done each
and every heart is going to be revealed as to where it is with respect to the
future God has for this house.
Jesus, in the days of His flesh, spoke some things that left his
listeners thinking and saying, “This is
a hard saying.” I have a “hard saying” this morning: There are good people
who are not going to cross over with us, and we must understand that when
good people stand between us and God’s best we must push into God’s
best.
Returning to our theme: The First Two Core Realities of Change
– what exactly are those changes? The first
is structure; the second is culture. It
is impossible to change a culture without first changing the structures that
support and maintain that culture. We claim that
we want things to be different while at the same time refusing to open the heart
to different things.
In the life of Joshua the structure
changed forever that day Moses went to the top of the mountain and never
returned. When God declared to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead...” he was
confirming the fact that the 40 year
“Moses structure” had come to an
end. The structure of leadership would never be the same. Joshua
was not to duplicate the “Moses
structure.”
The wilderness demanded certain realities of structure; the
journey through the wilderness called for a certain leadership style and
structure. But all of that came to a close at the edge of the Jordan River.
That’s what Joshua
chapter 3 is all about; structural
change. In the wilderness everyone saw the cloud and the pillar of fire.
But here in Josh.3 there is no
cloud or pillar of fire. What there is is a gold covered box carried on the
shoulders of the priests. The structure has changed, and moving
forward now requires trusting God in the leadership.
A couple of months before Pastor Dave passed away I met with him
and Pastor Robert, (Pastor Robert has provided apostolic covering for KCF from
its beginning). We met in a hospital room in this city. In that room Pastor Dave
made declaration with his mouth that God had released him from his role as the
senior pastor of this Fellowship. Beyond that he declared that he and Robert
agreed that God was calling me to fill that place of leadership. Right
there the structure changed. And I can tell you with certainty that the
sense of peace and authority in that room was
sobering.
Shortly after that event Pastor Dave went home with the Lord.
With that the structural changes he got to speak with his mouth were now
settled; there was no going back. Then at an appropriate time, Pastor Robert
returned and installed me as the Lead Pastor of this house, and Pastor Adam as
the Associate Pastor.
All of this to say, the structure has changed and if you intend to have any peace in
making the journey into the this new chapter you will need to find grace to
accept and embrace the structural changes that are here and those that are
coming. If not your soul will remain disturbed and
unhappy.
In the Joshua experience the structural
changes in leadership inevitably pointed to a cultural
change. Old
structures cannot produce a new culture. We
cannot with any measure of honesty claim we earnestly desire a new culture while
at the same time protecting the old structures.
With that change of structure from Moses to Joshua the culture
changed from wilderness culture to
promise land culture. It changed
from a culture of unbelief and fear
to a culture of strong faith and
courage. It changed from a culture
of defeat and death to a culture of
life that overcomes and takes possession. The new culture was one of victory, of dispossessing the enemy and
possessing the promise of God. We are told that on the day – the Bible
says, ‘on that very day’ – that Israel ate some of the produce of the land of
promise the manna ceased. This speaks to a change of culture. For 40 years
their daily supply of manna was miraculously delivered right to the door of
their tents in the night. But the culture of Canaan was different. God was no
less present in Canaan, and every good thing in that land had been provided by
God. But the way they entered into and partook of that provision was different.
In Canaan they became personally responsible for the state of their vineyard,
the state of their house, etc.. The new
culture is a culture of personal responsibility.
The really vital fact
concerning all this new culture is that the first manifestation of it was seen
in one thing – one reality: the crossing
over of a generation. I think it is right and proper
to conclude that the first characteristic of the culture of that Joshua
generation is that it was a “crossing over culture.”
This was their heart, their passion, their attitude, their faith: Let us cross
over into the future God has called us to.
Let me speak with strong conviction. Let me speak with boldness.
Let me speak prophetically. God Almighty – God our Sovereign Potentate has a
future for you. He also has a future for this house corporately. I can tell you
right now that the culture of and in that future is a new culture and will not
look like the cultures of the past or even of this present moment. But – and
this is absolutely vital – all that cultural newness in the future is entirely
dependent upon structural changes in the present and the attitude of my heart
regarding those structural changes.
Here then, is where we are: The First Two Core Realities of Change – The first is
structure; the second is culture.
Let me now point out the beginnings of the practical application
of this message. (Call the deacons forward).