Taking My Faith to The Next Level

Beginning in March, I kicked off a brand new teaching series called "Step Up," because God wants you unglued & unstuck from anything & everything that keeps you from taking your faith to the next level. At the next level is where you will trust God more than you do right now; the next level is where you will find enough courage to face your fears; the next level is where you will stop dragging the same old sin into every new season of your life. At the next level, victories will come a little easier, and you will discover that success is not based on what you got, but who you got! I am challenging you to step up for God, and take your faith to the next level, because every time you climb to the next rung of your faith in Jesus Christ, you shine brighter & brighter in the world. There are important moments in life when you need someone to challenge you, and push you to step up. When was the last time someone got into your face and really challenged you to step up your faith? When was the last time you sat down and set some spiritual goals for yourself? You got health goal, career goals, and relationship goals, what about spiritual goals? I want this series to be a challenge for you to wake up and step up spiritually.

It's going to look a little bit different for each person. If You Take Nothing Else From This Blog, Take This: There is another level of faith, glory, favor, and power waiting for you to discover, if you are willing to go to the next level! Read the foundation verse for this teaching: Phil 3:7, 8- 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. The writer, the apostle Paul took successive steps that put him at the level he needed to experience the fullness of God in his life, and we are challenged to have the same mindset. To do that.... You must be willing to LOSE to gain. Paul was willing to lose & gain: He had a great reputation as a scholar and a religious leader. He was proud of his Jewish heritage and his religious achievements. All of these things were valuable to him; he could profit from them. He had many friends who admired his zeal. He might have risen to the highest posts of honor in his native land because of his ambition and drive. But he measured these "treasures" against what Jesus Christ had to offer, and he realized that all he held dear was really nothing but "waste" compared to what he had in Christ. His own "treasures of success" brought glory to him personally, but they did not bring glory to God. Paul was willing to lose whatever was gain to him personally apart from God. The gains that he saw as an advantage, were an obstacle to his Salvation. In Mark 8:36-37, Jesus said: What good is it for a man to gain the whole world...soul? When you step up... you will lose everything in your life that doesn't conform to Christ. But I got good news...you will gain the surpassing knowledge of Him! You go to the next level in your faith when you admit your dependency on Him. It's easy to say but hard to do. We were not created to be in control of our life, we are suppose to depend on God. You admit your dependency of God & remove the barrier called SIN between You & God. Sin builds up a wall between us and God that prevents us from experiencing God's presence, and power in our life. Sin is a dangerous thing. It is something that every one of us deals with. Sin is weight that will hinder you from taking your faith to the next level. Sin can be described as things we do that God wishes we wouldn't. Listen to what Paul wrote: Phil. 3:8, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. The statement, "My Lord" expresses a close personal communion between the apostle and the Savior, and between you & the Lord. Sin is a barrier between us & personal communion with the Lord. How can that barrier be removed? Confess your sins to God. Confessing your sins to God simply means admitting that you messed up. When the barrier called SIN is removed, you can confidently take your fears to God. Fear may be the greatest barrier to stepping up in your faith. Fear paralyzes. It causes doubt and feelings of uncertainty. Fear takes your focus off of God & place it on your struggles.... You might be afraid or even frustrated right now. You make have stepped up in the past just to be knocked back down...failure isn't final & the past don't equal the future. Admit your dependency on God & cast all of your cares on Him! How? By taking everything to Him with prayers. You can do all things through Christ who gives you the strength. Stepping up for God maybe the decision to say yes to Jesus for the 1st time. It might mean to get baptized and become a member of the Church. It could mean spending time in prayer & bible reading every day. Stepping up could mean honoring God with your finances. May be you should step up by surrendering your fear to Jesus. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, I want you to take the next step of faith right now.