On your journey, you may be on one of the later steps, getting closer each day to the finish line. Your friend, however, might be just starting out, eager and excited about the unknown promised in future steps. Others might be in the tough middle stage, wondering when they will reach the downhill portion of the race.

As we read the Scripture, we find many times when the Lord lets his people know that they are to take the next step; that they have been at a particular place long enough. And gently He beckons us to take that next step.
I'm glad that one day the Lord has set me free! I'm glad that I have taken a step down the isle towards an altar and I repented of my sins. I'm glad that one day I took a step in identifying with His burial by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. I'm glad that when I was in the Monroe County jail, I was willing to take the next step and receive the Holy Ghost. I'm glad that God has set me free from drugs and alcohol...
But where I am today, I'm glad that I did not stay at that place of simply experiencing God and receiving salvation, being set free, but I'm glad that I took the next step of dedication, the step of learning His Word, the step of learning to hear His heartbeat. I'm glad I had men and women of God that I admired and there was something in me that cried our for more of God. I'm glad that I didn't stay at that one place....
I believe the Lord wants to challenge us...
You haven't experience My Glory yet,
- Signs, wonders, miracles...
- Used by God.
- Life of Abundance
- True blessing
We all face a journey, a heavenly trek through this earthly life. The earthly decisions we make in this adventure are determined by our spiritual beliefs. To successfully navigate through the unknowns of this journey, there are several important truths we must all understand.

First, you can't make it alone. Ironically, the spiritual life is an individual race run as a group. I can't run it for you and you can't run it for me, but we can run together. If we run together, we can help up those who fall and speed up those who fall behind. Loneliness is a dangerous distraction on the journey of life and God wants His children to run in groups. This group, providing safety and comfort, is called the church, helping you navigate the winding paths of the journey called life.
- I'm more spiritual than everyone in the church
- I'm not interested in fellowship; I don't want to associate myself with the carnal.

Second, you must recognize which step you are currently on and ask for advice on moving to the next step. If you are unaware of which step you currently stand on, you won't know how to move to the next step. People on step one, just beginning to find their way, need to study the guidebook, called the Bible, to discover advice that will keep them safe and help them choose the proper route.
Those currently occupying later steps of the journey would do well to turn around and see if they can encourage one or two new runners to keep running.

Third, God is not finished with you. He wants you to move to the next step, and then the next step, wanting to teach you more about Himself and His plan for your life. If you are 16 years old today, God is not finished with you. If you are 36 or 56 or 76, God is not finished with you either and will not accept you giving up the race. He will let you know when your race is over. Until then, get back up and find your race partners and ask Him for advice on the next step to take.

Finally, please remember all the paths do not end up in the same place. Many of your fellow runners will want you to believe that all spiritual paths are equal and that while they take different routes, they all culminate in the presence of God in a real place called heaven. While this sounds safe and happy and reassuring, it is illogical and tragically mistaken. In John 14:6, Jesus of Nazareth stated, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."

As you run your race, as you make progress on your journey, understand that the ultimate destination is at the feet of Jesus, and He will not ask you how fast you ran or how gracefully you handled the obstacles. While God will be pleased if you helped direct other runners and looked out for fellow travelers, He will not grant access to His heaven based upon your manners and accomplishments along the way. Instead, He will ask you only one question -- did you allow Jesus to be your guide or did you allow everything and everyone around you guide you?

From a Place of Stagnation
- In church for 20 years
- Continue to grow - new converts; not stop at salvation - seek new things from God
- Stopped looking to be used by God. Settled into routine/comfort zone.
- Unusable for the Master's hands
Unreliable, uncommitted, wavering/double-minded.

Next Step
- Teaching HBSs
- Witnessing
- Singing
- Working the altar
- Working in the Gifts

3 Prerequisites for The Next Step.
Story of Joshua crossing Jordan - Joshua 1
There are 3 things that we learn from scripture that the Lord asks of us before we can take the next step:
1. Courage, confidence
Jos 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

- Listen to His promise in Isaiah 48:17. "Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go."
Another translation: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."
That's a great promise - that let us know that we can have confidence. The fact is, we don't know what is best for us - we really need the leadership of a Lord who can see the whole picture. We may know the way we'd like to go, but we don't know the way we should go. We need God's guiding hand.

And the exciting thing about following Jesus is that he will never lead you where you're going to trip or you're going to run into anything that will be bad for you. His ways are, according to Romans 12:2, "good, pleasing, and perfect." The problem is that you may be following someone else's leading right now - and they're blindfolded, too! Or you may be thinking that the only safe way to go is for you to lead yourself - but you're blindfolded, too! The only One who can see everything ahead of you is Jesus.

See, it's that control thing that may be keeping you from experiencing all Jesus wants to lead you into. You refuse to relinquish control, even to God Himself. As a result, you're going to keep tripping and running into things and doing it the hard way. And since when are we in control anyway? So much of our life is totally out of our control! What we're trying to protect is actually the illusion of us being in control.

You may have been battling God over some places He's trying to lead you. That's a battle you cannot win. And it's a blueprint for unnecessary scars and even wasted years. It's time to take His hand and let Him lead you into the very best places you can possibly go. You will have to trust Him - He'll usually only let you know the next step, not the entire road ahead. But that's all you need to know. And there's really nothing to fear in this Trust Walk with Jesus. Anyone who loves you enough to die for you is never going to do you wrong. You can have confidence in Him; he won't let you down!

Letting go to take the next step:
- Doubt: Is this really truth? How do I know this is really the church? I've steeled that once and for all!
- My point is simply this: When in doubt about your next step, refocus on what you know for certain."
- Fear: Family, friends, my way of life, fear of unknown. Fear of letting God be completely in control.
- Soul Ties.
- Lack of Commitment - "...As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."

2. Obedience
Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
- Obedience is better than sacrifice. - Saul, Cain and Abel vs Samuel
- We fight God and His ways thinking that it will be easier on us, when in fact it makes harder.
Robbed of blessings and progress
Well, I'm not going to that church, they'll make me wear skirts...
- Sis. Freeman's Mom

3. Faith
We who follow Jesus Christ must do so by faith. It's a pilgrimage that must be a step-by-step process.
It's like a hiker on a narrow mountainside trail, unable to see the path ahead. Sometimes the way is clearly marked out before him. At other times, it turns abruptly to the right or left, becomes rugged or muddy, rises or falls sharply. All he knows is that he must take the next step.
Our spiritual walk of faith is similar to that of a mountain hiker. Through faith in Christ, we can keep moving forward with full confidence that we will reach our destination. We know that even though we may not always see the next step and sometimes have to step out into the unknown we know that there will always be our guide, Jesus Christ, leading us and upholding us every step of the way.
This anonymous poem describes the walk of faith:

When you come to the edge
Of all light you have known,
And are about to step off into darkness,
Faith is knowing there'll be something to stand on,
Or you will be taught how to fly.

Perhaps today you are right at the rim of a shadowy unknown. You know you must move forward, but you can't see 10 feet ahead. God has brought you to this place not to abandon you but to show you--perhaps as never before--that you can trust Him completely.
Go ahead. Prayerfully step into the unknown future. God has promised to be there for you (Heb. 13:5). You can be sure "there'll be something to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." --DCE
Faith is not a leap into the dark but a step into the light.

- Now it could be that your Lord is pushing you in a direction that has no map, lots of questions, and not many specifics. You only know that there is this Holy Spirit compulsion to take that step. It may very well be that your Lord is asking you to board that ship - orders unknown. All you know is that He wants you on that ship.

Remember, God usually leads by revealing one step at a time, not the whole plan. Your mission is to take the next step. And God's leading tends to work this way - you take a step, you see a step. The waters of the Jordan River didn't part for God's ancient people until they stepped into the water. We'd love to have it the other way - "How about You part the waters, Lord, and I'll step in." Nope, it doesn't work that way. It's like that automatic door at the grocery store. The door only opens as you start walking toward it.

In Deuteronomy 1, as God was leading His ancient people into a future with many questions, He answered the three issues that might be keeping you from moving out. First, the obstacles. Well, God says, "The Lord your God will fight for you." So, whatever is bigger than you are, God is bigger than it is. So much for the obstacles. How about your inadequacies? "The Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son." OK, so it's His strength, not yours. So much for your inadequacies. What about knowing which way to go? "The Lord your God went before you on your journey ... to show you the way you should go." So much for knowing which way to go.

Soldiers of Jesus ship out even when their orders are unknown. And when they do, amazing things start happening - waters part, doors open, enemies flee, walls fall down. "Going, not knowing" - that is often the path to the greatest victories you have ever seen!