Keys to Your Next Level

I.                  GOD IS COMMITTED TO OUR NEXT LEVEL.

2 Corinthians 3:18

¹⁸ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 16:9

⁹ For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

Remember the Parable of Talents

II.                 NEXT LEVEL IN GOD IS CIRCULAR NOT LINEAR.

1.   Israel in the Wilderness.

2.   Israel under the Judges.

III.            WE WILL BE TESTED PRIOR TO PROMOTION.

1.   Blessing can’t mean more to you than God.

2.   You must be fit enough to handle the pressures and warfare of the next level.

3.   You must earn the right to stand in that new level of authority. 

IV.           WE MUST MEET THE SAME TEST/CONDITIONS ON THE WAY UP BUT WE ADDRESS THEM FROM A HIGHER POSITION.

1.   More Knowledge of the Temptation.

2.   More Knowledge of How God Helped you last time.

3.   More knowledge of Heavens Encouragement. 

V.              HOW TO GET READY FOR NEXT LEVEL.

1.   Handle the Hell…

Hebrews 12:2

² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2.   Ask for Wisdom to see clearly.

James 1:1-8

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

3.   Set your sights on the promotion (Vision).

4. Take steady steps towards your goal while waiting for  God’s suddenly.

Like Lightning II

Acting in the Opposite Spirit

I.             IN THE BEGINNING.

1.   Lucifer.

Luke 10:18

¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

2.   Enmity between Satan and Humanity.  Genesis 3:15

3.   His M.O.

a.   Feeds on Dust. Genesis 3:14

b.   Steal Kill and Destroy. John 10:10

c.    Devour. 1 Peter 5:8

d.   Accuse. Revelations 12:10

e.   Deception. 

f.    Blinds unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 4:4

g.   Get your eyes off of Christ.  2 Corinthians 11:3-4

³ But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

II.           CURRENT POWER.

1.   He Has restricted Power.

Job 1:9-13

⁹ So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.¹³ Now there was a day.

2.   Believers are above Him in Christ.

Ephesians 1:20-21

²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Ephesians 2:6

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Luke 10:19

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

3.   He needs legal entrance.

John 14:30

³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me.

Ephesians 4:27

²⁷ nor give place to the devil.

III.          WEAPONS OF WARFARE.

1.   Submission to God. James 4:7

2.   Shield of Faith.  Ephesians 6:16

3.   Standing. Ephesians 6:14

4.   Forgiving.  2 Corinthians 10-11

5.   Verbally forbidding (Binding).  Matthew 18:18

6.   Condemning Word Curses.  Isaiah 54:17

7.   Full Amour of God.  Ephesians 6:10-19

IV.        ACTING IN THE OPPOSITE SPIRIT.

1.   All temptation is designed to get you to think something, feel something and then do something.

a.   Think: In some way God is not being fair. You are missing out on something. Discontentment is the fuel of temptation.

b.   Feel: Anger, bitterness, resentment, hurt, remorse.  He is after some negative emotional response that takes root. Self Pity is introduced

Hebrews 12:15

¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.

c.    Do Something: Either for relief. Or cause you feel you deserve it or to just get even.

2.   We must discern what the enemy is trying to get us to do.

a.   By our gift. 1 Corinthians 12:10

b.   By common sense. Ecclesiastes 1:9

c.    By thoughts. Proverbs 23:7

d.   By surveying History. Psalms 119:9

3.   Simply Humble Yourself and Act in the Opposite Spirit

a.   David and Saul

b.   Joseph and His Brothers

c.    Job

d.   You…..

Like Lightning

I.             IN THE BEGINNING.

1.   Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:12-15

¹² “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! ¹³      For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ ¹⁵ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Luke 10:18

¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

2.   Enmity.

Genesis 3:15

¹⁵ And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

3.   His Nature.

Revelations 12:12

¹² Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

4.   His M.O.

a.   Feeds on Dust.

Genesis 3:14

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

b.   Steal Kill and Destroy. John 10:10

c.     Devour. 1 Peter 5:8

d.   Accusation.

Revelations 12:10

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

e.    Deception.  

f.     Blinds unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 4:4

II.           CURRENT POWER.

1.   He Has restricted Power.

Job 1:9-13

⁹ So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.¹³ Now there was a day.

2.   Believers are above Him in Christ.

Ephesians 1:20-21

²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Ephesians 2:6

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Luke 10:19

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

3.   He needs legal entrance.

John 14:30

³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me.

Ephesians 4:27

²⁷ nor give place to the devil.

III.          WEAPONS OF WARFARE.

1.   Submission to God.

James 4:7

⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

2.   Shield of Faith.

Ephesians 6:16

^1Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

3.   Standing.

Ephesians 6:14

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.

4.   Forgiving.

2 Corinthians 10-11

¹⁰ Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

5.   Verbally forbidding (Binding).

Matthew 18:18

¹⁸ “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

6.   Condemning Word Curses.

Isaiah 54:17

¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

7.   Full Amour of God.

Ephesians 6:10-19

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

ONE THING LEADERSHIP WEDNESDAY

I.                   ONE THING IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT.

1.   King David Understood it.

Psalm 27:4

⁴ One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

2.   Paul the Apostle understood it.

Philippians 3:13-14

¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴ I ⁿpress toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

3.   Martha embraced it.

Luke 10:38-42

³⁸ Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: ⁴² But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

II.                 THE ONE THING MADE PRACTICAL.

1.   The focusing question.

a.   "What's the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

b.   What is your Domino Effect?

Bill Gates Example

·        Bill's ONE passion in high school was computers. 

·        This led him to develop ONE skill, computer programming. 

·        In high school, he got ONE job in the computer programing field. 

·         Which led to him eventually starting ONE company - Microsoft. 

·        Microsoft focused on ONE thing -- the development and sale of BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, which eventually made Bill the ONE richest man in the world for 15 years in a row. 

·        After Bill retired from Microsoft, he formed ONE foundation that focused on ONE Thing: to tackle some of the world's "really tough problems" like health and education. 

·        The majority of the foundation's money went to ONE area, their Global Health Program -- which had ONE goal: the use science and technology to save lives in poor countries... To do this, they settled on find a solution to the ONE major cause of death -- infectious disease... The ONE solution they came up with was vaccination

2.   Use the 80/20 Principle then go Deeper.

a.   The MINORITY of your effort leads to the MAJORITY of your results...

20% of your customers usually account for 80% of your profits.

20% of your investments usually account for 80% of your returns.

20% of your habits usually result in 80% of your success

It's not necessarily about the exact numbers (80%; 20%) as much as it's about the simple truth behind them, which is this: a SMALL percentage of what you do accounts for a LARGE percentage of the results you experience.

b.   Our to-do-List must become a success list.

c.     The Most Important Thing must get our undivided Attention.

"...What's happening when we're actually doing two things at once? It's simple. We've separated them. Our brain has channels, and as a result we're able to process different kinds of data in different parts of our brain. This is why you can walk and talk at the same time. There is no channel interference. But here's the catch: you're not really focused on both activities. One is happening in the foreground and the other in the background. You can do two things at once, but you can't focus effectively on two things at once. We're right when we say something is "front and center" or "top of mind," because that's where focus occurs--in the prefrontal cortex. When you focus, it's like shining a spotlight on what matters. You can actually give attention to two things, but that is what's called "divided attention." And make no mistake. Take on two things and your attention gets divided. Take on a third and something gets dropped.

3.   Use Small doses of Discipline long enough to develop Habits.

a.   "Success is actually a short race -- a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over.

b.   According to research, it takes, on average, 66 days to develop a discipline into a habit. This number might vary for you depending on your situation, but remember that it's not something that you can do over-night.

III.              HOW IT WORKS.

1.   Analyzing the Question.

a.   What's the ONE Thing I can do...  This first part of the Focusing Question is about taking action... it's not the ONE thing you "should do", or "could do", or "would do" -- but the ONE Thing you CAN do. The word "can" implies action, as opposed to others, which imply intention.

b.   Such that by doing it... this part of the question lets you know you're about to get specific. It means that you're about to take action on something that actually has a purpose.

c.     Everything else will be easier or unnecessary?  this final part of the Focusing Question is about LEVERAGE. It says that when you do this ONE Thing, everything else you could do to accomplish your goal will now be either doable with less effort or no longer even necessary.

2.   GOAL SETTING.

What's the ONE thing I want to do someday?

FIVE-YEAR GOAL: Based on my Someday Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do in the next 5 years? 

ONE-YEAR GOAL: Based on my Five-Year Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do in this year?

MONTHLY GOAL: Based on my One-Year Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do this month?

WEEKLY GOAL: Based on my Monthly Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do this week? DAILY GOAL: Based on my Weekly Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do today? RIGHT NOW: Based on my Daily Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do right now?

3.   Block Time and Reserve best Time for your One Thing.

IV.             AVOID THE 4 THEIVES OF PRODUCTIVITY.

1.   The Inability to say no.

We must avoid saying yes to most things unless they're connect to our ONE Thing.

2.   Fear of Chaos.

Messes occur. In time, you'll learn to deal with the chaos in your own unique way. But don't let chaos control you.

3.   Poor Health Habits.

a.   Pray and read the word.

b.   Exercise and eat right and get enough sleep.

c.     Spend time with friends and family for emotional energy.

d.   Set goals, plan, and calendar for mental energy.

e.    Time block your ONE Thing for business energy.

4.   Unproductive Environments.

a.   Alert other of what you are doing.

b.   Put up a sign.

c.     Get rid of all distractions.

V.               LIVING WITHOUT REGRET.

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying

"I wish that I'd let myself be happier"

"I wish I'd stayed in touch with my friends"

"I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings"

"I wish I hadn't worked so hard"

"I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."