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.

You were made on purpose by God & for God. You were created to "Do Something!"    

You might not have been planned or scheduled for this world, but from the moment you were conceived, you were purposed & destined by God. That means you're not an accident, coincident, or a mistake. Before you were formed in the womb, God knew you; before you were born, he set you apart with destiny & purpose. You might not believe it or even care, but you were created for purpose.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Eph 2:10, For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Everything God creates has a specific purpose. It solves a problem.  Every part of you solves a problem for you: Ears to hears’; eyes to see.  Mouth to speak; nose to smell, and hands to touch.

Your destiny is shaped with the knowledge that you were made for a purpose. Your purpose is not your decision to make; it's your discovery to make. The creator decides the purpose of his creation; the creation simply decides the degree of obedience. Your smart phone didn't determine it functionality...the manufacture did.You are the creation of God; he is the only one who can reveal your purpose. You can decide which school your kids will attend. You can decide the community you will live in. You can decide who you will marry. You can decide where you are going to college.

The purpose for which you were created is not your decision, but your discovery.  You can decide your career, God decides your purpose and calling. You don't decide your purpose, you discover it. God's purpose for your life is revealed progressively by the Holy Spirit. At different seasons & interval in your life, the Holy Spirit will reveal something about your destiny & purpose. What you know in part, will be fully revealed by the purpose of his will. If you seek it, you shall find it; if you knock, the door shall be open saith the Lord!

Lastly, Your purpose is a reward to those whom you have been sent. You are a reward to somebody. Moses was a reward to the slaves of Egypt. David was a reward to the nation of Israel. Paul was a reward for the Gentiles. Somebody needs exactly was you have been given by God. Someone is waiting for you to enter their life. You are the solution to somebody's problem. You are not a reward for everybody. Some people don’t need you; you are not the answer they need. God has created you with destiny & purpose to "Do Something."    

Before you can do something for God, he needs to do something in you.

Before you were born God made preparation for you to live a significant life. He provided you with all the tools, both natural and supernatural and the opportunity you need to do something of eternal significant. You are God's workmanship (His masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus to do good work which Christ prepared in advance for you to do. We have all been given one life to live, and we are to do something of eternal significant. We are to add to our faith good works, because faith without doing something that impacts eternity for the glory of God is dead.... If you're going to make your life count, you should start right now because time is not on your side!  Psalm 90:12 says,  So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.  I was looking at some old pictures recently and realized that in a photograph, you are frozen in time.  I don't look now like I looked then. Time is not on my side! Time is not on your side so it must be subdued!

The bible says, time & chance happens for us all!  If you don't subdue time, you'll waste it all and have nothing to show for it. If you don't subdue time, you will blow your chance to impact eternity for the glory of God! God is eternal (forever) and exist beyond the realm of time. However, we are born into time & must ask God to teach to become masters over time. When you become a master over time,  you will discover that you have more than enough time to do God's will. You will discover that you have enough time for, family, career, recreation & calling. The bible demands that we redeem (number your days) the time because they days are evil. We are living in urgent times...we have no time to waste. By redeeming your days, hours, and minutes, you can better offer them to God. 

Give your days to God as an offering, He will make it count for eternity! Make your life count because death  comes for us all! Hebrews 9:27 says this: " Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."  We all have an appointment with death. It’s an appointment that you can’t cancel, reschedule, or delay. It is for this reason that you want to make your life count. What we do in this life prepares us eternity. The Lord said, life does not consist in the abundance of our stuff. When death comes for us, we better be rich toward God with good works. You want to make it count because after your appointment with death, we will all give an account to God! 2 Cor. 5:10 reads: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.  

When you stand before God, need to be able to say, Lord, this is what I have done according to my abilities: Look at the lives I have impacted with acts of kindness;  Lord, I have given a large part of my income to the Church to buy vans, property, and missions.  Lord, I used both the natural & supernatural tools you gave me to complete your assignment for my life. You only have one life to live, make it count for the glory of God. You have been prepared by God to do something extraordinary with your life. It is not too late for you to make an eternal impact for eternity.