PATHWAYS TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
By Pastor Festus Adeyeye
Deuteronomy 28:13
There is nothing God has in plan that does not have a procedure to experiencing it. There is always a due procedure to follow any of God’s blessings for your life.
Many know that they are meant for the next level, but don’t understand how to get there. For everything there is a secret, a how to. Between the promise and the performance there is the process.
Outside of God’s method, there are no other working methods. It is following God’s process that guarantees the product. Knowing the way God works is what guarantees the product. There is nothing that empowers like the working knowledge of God’s word. Nothing guarantees enduring success like the working knowledge of the truth.
There are seven areas pathways that will cause you to have a sustained lifestyle to your next level. God wants us to move from one level of grace to another level of grace. There are seven fundamental principles and each begins with an S
1. Be Strong in the Lord. 2 Timothy 2:1 Christianity calls for those who are strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Not strong in our own ability but in the grace of our Lord: a) saving grace- you must first be saved in order to be strong. That is what makes the difference between you and the unbeliever. Makes you special. Ephesians 2:8. (b) Sanctified grace- the grace that sanctifies you daily. Titus 2:11-12. Separate you and makes you to behave like a Christian wherever you are. You need to be strong in it. (c) Serving grace: you are not only saved by grace, sanctified by grace but there is also a grace that helps you to serve. Kingdom service is the provoker of your next level, it is the sustainer and the preserver of your next level. Hannah did not receive her next level until she attached the service dimension to her prayer. She prayed that if God would give her a son, he would be dedicated to the service of God. Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:11. 1Corinthians 15:10. You are called to labor and not be lazy. (d) Sustaining grace: God’s grace will save you, sanctifies you, empower you for service and also sustain you. Being a Christian does not mean that you will not encounter some challenges, you wont check out as a result of the challenges, wont lose your testimony-His grace is sufficient for you.
2. Be Single minded: To be focused. Not to be double minded. James 1:8. God who has called you is a good God. There are two things that will keep you focus: 1. Define your desired end. John 4:34 (my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish the work. John 17:4. I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work, which thou gave me to do). If you don’t know where you are going, any road will look like it. Elisha knew what he wanted: As thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. 2. By Counting your eggs before they are hatched. Focusing on the benefits of your chosen course of action will always keep you focus irrespective of the challenges on the way. Hebrews 12:1-3
3. Be Strict- 2 Timothy 2:3-10. To be disciplined. Christianity is a disciplined Christ controlled life. The word discipline is not a negative word, but rather an integral part of a successful journey. It is your ability to gain self-mastery. My definition of discipline is “operating as required and not as convenient” Not to do whatever you feel like doing. In order to achieve anything meaningful in life, you must be disciplined in a) time management. Psalms 90:12. Ephesians 5:15-16 Look carefully then how you walk, purposefully and worthily and accurately not as unwise and witless but as wise and sensible. Making the most of your time. Every body has 24 hours. We need to be time conscious. Our God is a God of time. (b) Must be disciplined in what we consume- Daniel 1:8, (c) be disciplined with our eyes, (d) be disciplined with our temperament.
4. Be sound in your faith. Jude 1:3 There is the need for us to know what we believe and not shallow in our faith. The bible is our constitution. Spend time in it. To read, study the bible, meditate, memorize and live it. Pray more- Alfred Pewee- Add kneelogy to your theology
5. Be strategic in your living. Therefore I do not run uncertainly without a definite aim. I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary 1Corinthians 9:26. To be strategic means to have a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. You need to be strategic in a) your thinking, You must be generally proactive and not reactive. This gives you competitive advantage in life" Proverbs 30:24-28. Ants, Connies, locust and spider. Ants are feeble, people not strong, yet they prepare their meet in the summer. The connies (rock baggers or Arabian mice: feeble houses in the rock. The locusts have no king, yet go forth in bands. The spider taketh hold with her hands and is king’s palaces. There are important lessons in the lives of these animals on preparation, association and strategic living that we can all embraced.
6. Be steadfast- Be rugged, be consistent, 1 Corinthians 15:58. Consistency. Diligence.
7. Be spirit filled- This is very important. Ephesians 5:18. Full of the Spirit. One of the New Testament command, not optional. God wants you to be full of the Holy Spirit. Only those who are filled with the Holy Ghost can achieve for God. Definition: to be full of the Holy Ghost at all times, in all places under all circumstances. More so under provocative situations. God expects us to live a life full of the spirit as our normal Christian life. We are to be controlled and be led by the Holy Spirit. Living under His influence in our daily lives. This will cause you to ceased to be ordinary. Evidence: *You begin to exhibit the fruit of the spirit. *Be able to speak like God, see like God, act like God, and hear like God beyond the natural. Elijah said by my word- 'there will be no rain, Joshua- commanded sun and moon to stand still. This will also compel God to act on our behalf 2 Chronicles 16:9. You will be recognized and respected by the devil.
Finally, befriend the Holy Spirit, hunger for the Holy Spirit, always pray in the Spirit especially praying in the unknown language. Stay blessed.
