STEPPING UNTO HIGHER GROUND

SCRIPTURE: Philippians 3:12-24.

CONFESSION: 1 John 5:4-5.

SONGS: 1. Sing unto the Lord a joyful song, I will praise His name for the Lord is good.  2. Giving glory to the Lord He reigns.  3. I am going higher alleluia amen in the name Jesus alleluia amen.

HYMNS:1. Lord plant my feet on higher ground. 2. Burdens are lifted at Calvary

PRAYERS

1.   By the power in the blood of Jesus, I cancel the effect of every dream of demotion, in the name of Jesus.

2.   Every evil load preventing me from going higher, I offload you by fire and by force, in the name of Jesus.

3.   Power to move forward, fall upon me now, in the name of Jesus.

4.   Power of divine healing, fall upon me now, in Jesus name.

5.  Every evil conspiracy and gang up against my calling, my destiny, and my life, scatter by fire, in the name of Jesus.

INTRODUCTION

Everybody say “I am stepping up.” If you can step up, it means that you can step down also.  Even right now, some people are stepping down to hell fire which is very real.  Some are stepping down to demotion, non-achievement, depression, suicide, drugs, pornography, and sin.  You name it.   But that is not you and that is not me. Say, “I am stepping up. As long as we live, there is always a higher ground to press unto. You never stop pressing higher.  There is always room to go higher. If you stop, you become stagnant and after a while you begin to retrogress. 

         

WHAT IS HIGHER GROUND?

Higher ground is:

         

1.    An elevated place. 1 Chronicles 17:14, Ezekiel 36:11.

2.    A greater place.

3.    A higher platform, forum, or stage.

4.    Above normal or mediocre level. Jeremiah 18:9, Jeremiah 24:6, Jeremiah 31:28

5.    A more exalted place.

6.    An enlarged coast.

7.   A strong place.

8.   A place where breakthroughs and success become ordinary.

9.   To be set up as opposed to being pulled down.

10.        To prevail. 1 Samuel 17:50.

11.        The become the most favored when you used to be the least favored. Esther 2:6-18. 

12.        To have your enemies hung in the gallows that they had prepared for you. Esther 7:10.

13. To use your distractors as stepping stones to your destination.

PRAYER:  I will get to the level that no one else has achieved in my family, in the name of Jesus.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO STEP UNTO HIGHER GROUND?

To step unto higher ground is to:

         

1.    Increase in value or stature. 1 Chronicles 17:14, Ezekiel 36:11.

2.    Ascend. 2 Samuel 7:10, Jeremiah 17:8, Psalm 92:13.

3.    Increase in height. Jeremiah 18:9, Jeremiah 24:6, Jeremiah 31:28

4.    Exhaust your enemy.

5.    Attain a change in status for the better.

6.    Have your coast enlarged.

7.   Go above and beyond the ordinary level.

8.   Rise above the standard.

9.   Be a high achiever. 1 Samuel 17:50.

10.                Operate at the Holy of Holies level instead of the out court.  Be re-positioned from a lower place to a higher place. It means you have moved from the place of lack of commitment to the place of total commitment and alignment with God’s purposes and plans for your life.   

11.                It means you are no longer kicking against the prick.  That you have moved to a place of more maturity. 

12.                Be relocated to a better place, a stronger place, a place of strength.

13. Use your distractors as stepping stones to your destination.

14. Become more influential.

15. To become outstanding.

16. Move to a more exalted and more glorious place.

           Prayer:  Power to step unto higher ground fall upon me, now, in the name of             Jesus.

SOME FACTS ABOUT PRESSING ON TO HIGHER GROUND?

  

1.    You must never stop pressing unto another level.

2.    There is always a higher ground to attain. More heights to attain for God.

3.    When we step unto higher ground, we are cooperating with God. Meaning we have taken that step to align with what God is doing.  Cooperating with God will always take you to a higher ground. On the other hand, when we refuse to cooperate with God, we are limiting God by our action. Psalm 78:3.  Not only that, sorrow and demotion will be awaiting us. 

Prayer:  Every lion assigned to take me downwards, die by thunder, in the name of Jesus.

4.    As a Christian, higher ground should be our normal place of abode.  This is possible because we are seated in Christ Jesus in heavenly places high above principalities and powers.

5.    It is a place of a very clear vision of where you are going. When you are on higher ground, you can see very clearly and very far.  You develop the eyes of the prophet Elisha. You are like a man on a watchtower. This puts you steps ahead of your competitors and your enemies.

6.    Stepping unto higher ground is a choice, a decision that you have to make. 

7.    There are certain things that you must not do if you want to step up to higher ground. 

Prayer:  I receive the power to step unto higher ground, in the name of Jesus.

    

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE THAT STEPPED UNTO HIGHER GROUND IN THE BIBLE

There are several examples in the Bible of people that stepped unto higher ground.   They decided that enough was enough.  They refused to accept mediocrity or to take no for an answer. They include:

1.    Daniel who rose from being a slave boy in a foreign land to serving under three different kings, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius and Cyrus. Daniel 28.

2.    Joseph who was buried in a pit, sold into slavery and ended up a prisoner in a foreign land.   He greatly feared God and ended up as the Prime Minister of Egypt the land of his captivity. Genesis 41:38-46.

3.    Nehemiah. Nehemiah 6:15-16.

4.    The widow of the prophet overcame debt, poverty and the threat of losing her children. 2 Kings 4:1-7.

5.    David who stepped from being the shepherd boy and the least favored in his father’s house to being the king of Israel. Not only that, David will always have a king on the throne because King Jesus is that King. 1 Samuel 16:5-23.

6.    Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 20:20-27.

7.    Paul who stepped from being the murderer of Christians to being the chiefest of the Apostles.  Acts 8:1, 1 Corinthians 15:9, 2 Corinthians 11:5.    

        

      Prayer: I step unto higher ground, in the name of Jesus.

ENEMIES OF STEPPING UNTO HIGHER GROUND

There are things that you should not do if you want to step up to higher ground. They include:

   

1.    Sin and rebellion.

2.    Refusal to deal with internal stumbling blocks.  This includes laziness both in spiritual and in physical things. Diligence makes you to stand before kings. It includes talkativeness and telling your enemies your secrets.  It includes anger which can abort your destiny as a whole.  It made Moses unable to enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 32:51. It includes pride which demoted King Saul.  It also includes moral bankruptcy which disgraced and killed Samson before his time. Judges 16: 1-30. Another is greed. It pulled the rug from under Gehazi, and denied him his higher ground. 2 Kings 5:20-27.

3.    Unbelief and doubt.

4.    Fear which can make you to limit God. This is why “fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible.

5.    Evil weights which can keep you down and prevent you from going higher. You have to shake these off as no one will do it for you. Hebrew 12:1.

6.    Evil company.  Get rid of those unprogressive and uncircumcised in heart friends of yours or you will never get to the next level.

7.    Worldliness. Friendship with the world is enmity with God.  

8.    Negative retrogressive thinking inhibits progress.

9.   Living in the glory of yesterday when God wants to do a new thing now. Psalm 1:1-6.

Prayer: Everything in my life limiting God’s vision and power for my life, come out and die, in the name of Jesus.  

WHAT TO DO IF YOU WANT TO STEP UNTO HIGHER GROUND

To step unto higher ground, you have to do the following:

            

1.    Get to know God and make Him your friend. You cannot do anything by your own power.  On the other hand, through Christ Jesus, you can do all things. Therefore, a good relationship with Jesus is the launching pad for stepping unto higher ground.

2.    Get a vision of the higher ground that you are aspiring to. You should know what “higher ground” is for you.  Know what God wants you to be and step up there. You have to set goals and not just drift through life. 

3.    You have to make a conscious decision to step unto higher ground. There are decisions to be made and choices to be made in doing this. They should all line up with the vision that we talked about above. There are some associations that must be left behind if you are truly serious about stepping on higher ground.

4.    You have to be able to identify divine opportunities and take hold of them to prevent them from being wasted and aborted. Procrastination aborts opportunities. The abortion of such opportunities will only lead to regret and stagnancy.

5.    You need to hide the word of God in your heart and then you will have good success.  Joshua 1:8.

6.    You should operate by revelation because revelation will always put you at the right place at the right time. You should be like the children of Issachar who were on the same wavelength as the Holy Spirit. The Bible records that they knew the times and the season, to know what they were supposed to do. 1 Chronicles 12:32.  Not only does revelation put you at the right place at the right time, but God prospers His people by instructions.  You receive instructions through revelation.

7.    Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.  That is why Jesus asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit.  He is our Helper. John 14:26.

8.    Ensure that you are properly located as your location determines your allocation.

9.    Ensure that you are properly positioned for success and to go to the next level. Get all the training that you need to function at the next level before you even get there. 

10. Be bold. God told Joshua the same thing.  Also Gideon.  It is a major ingredient in stepping unto higher ground.  Joshua 1:9. Take the offensive to the camp of the enemy.  Daniel 11:32.

11. Keep your focus on Jesus. Psalm 34:5.

12. Be determined and refuse to give up and quit. Be like blind Bathmeau who refused to take no for an answer.

13.        Pray targeted prayers. Pray relocation and repositioning prayers when needed.  James 5:16, Ephesian 6:18.

14.        Be patient.  It took Abraham 25 years to get the God promised heir.

15.        Be disciplined. Ensure your character is above board and flee all appearance of evil.

16.        Refuse to be discouraged or frustrated. David refused to be and he overcame his enemies and became king. 1 Samuel 30:6.

17.        Walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

18. Live a life of thanksgiving and praise like Paul and Silas did. 

Say: “Power to step unto higher grounds fall upon me, now.”

PRAYERS

Song: 1. I am going higher yes I am. Going with Jesus to stay. 2. By fire by force I am stepping higher. 3. By the reason of the anointing every yoke shall be broken.

1.    Bring quality repentance before God             

2.    Every power resisting my advancement in life, be paralyzed now, in the name of Jesus.

3.    New effectual doors of opportunity open unto me by fire, in Jesus name.

4.    My Father make me to be sensitive to the wavelength of the Holy Spirit, give way now.

5.   I call forth by fire all individuals and resources divinely assigned to move me forward, in the name of Jesus.

6.    Anything and anyone assigned to demote me, move away, in the name of Jesus.

7.    Power of vision, fall upon my life, in the name of Jesus.   

8.    I am born to be great. Power to be great come upon my life, in the name of Jesus.

9.    I pursue, overtake, and repossess all my stolen benefits, in the name of Jesus.

10. O God arise and raise a voice for me where I have no voice.

11. Enemies of my progress be exposed and disgraced, in the name of Jesus.

12. Lord give me the spiritual alertness to recognize opportunities, in the name of Jesus.

13. Internal battles working against my progress, die, in the name of Jesus.

14. I loose myself from every power of witchcraft and bewitchment, in the name of Jesus.

15. I cancel the power of all curses put upon my head by the power in the blood of Jesus.

16. Stubborn covenants working against my life break now, in the name of Jesus

17. Favor shall pursue my life and overtake me in the name of Jesus.

18. Arrows of envious witchcraft come out and die, in the name of Jesus.

19. Embargos against my progress, break now, in the name of Jesus.

20.O God arise and plant my feet on higher ground, in the name of Jesus.

21. Let all opposition become stepping stones to my promotion, in the name of Jesus.

22. Begin to bless yourself with all kinds of blessings.

23. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers.