Pastor Eddie James
Read Mark 9:2,17, 23
There is a call to shift to a new place where God has called for you to be. God is calling you out of the shallow and what’s comfortable. God is giving you an invitation to the river of life. You are not meant to stay just where the water can touch your ankles or even your knees. He wants you to jump in all the way.
He is calling you up.
THE CALL TO GO UP
In Mark 9, we see that Jesus is leading Peter, James, and John to go up to a high mountain and He was transfigured before them.
In Exodus 19:24, Moses went up to the mountain of God and he came down with commandments and laws that not only shaped the Jews but also shook the world.
In Exodus 19, in the days of Moses, God called the people up to a place of consecration and they began to have a three-day encounter that resulted in God calling them a chosen generation, a royal priesthood holy nation, and a peculiar people.
In 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, Paul heard the call to go up into the third heaven. He didn’t know if he was in the body or out of the body but all he knew is that when he went the Holy Ghost took him to paradise and he heard unspeakable words that were not lawful to utter.
In Revelation 1 & 4, John heard a prophetic voice calling him up, and Jesus began to release prophetic vision and revelation to him.
Isaiah went up and saw the Lord high and lifted high and his train filling the temple.
Ezekiel went up and saw four living creatures and a wheel in the middle of the wheel.
You may be reading this and saying all these men are prophets, leaders, apostles, or people who walked with God in the Old and New Testaments, so is this available to me? Am I able to go up and experience that kind of revelation?
Well, the answer is yes. The call is not just for a select few but this call is for all of us to go up. Isaiah 2:3 says, “And many peoples shall come, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”
There is a call to go up coming from the Holy Spirit. There is a call to shift from where you’ve been to a new place that God has planned for you. God is calling you out of the shadow and from what’s comfortable.
ALL THE WAY IN
In the book of Ezekiel chapter 47, God gives us the picture of a river that is flowing from the presence of God. God has extended to each of us an invitation to this river–the river of life. Some are satisfied with being knee-deep or ankle-deep. Some have stepped out and gotten to the waist-deep and are comfortable there. But your aim should be to get so deep into the river that you’re swimming and the river is overtaking you. You need to jump all the way in.
In other words, you should desire all that God has for you. Whether it’s prophecy, tongues, or words of wisdom you should want it. You should be hungry for the move of Jesus in your life.
WHEN GOD STARTS MOVING, GET OUT OF THE WAY
Acts 10:34 says, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” God is not a respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of hunger. He will never deprive a hungry soul of more of Him.
Sometimes you need to let God do what He wants to do and say what He wants to say. When God is calling you up, and there’s a Peter trying to distract you, you need to tell Peter to be quiet. For some of you, Peter could be in your mind. You need to press into the presence of God and allow God to show you a fresh revelation of who Jesus is. God wants to take you up and reveal Himself to you in a fresh way.
Are you ready to see Jesus in a way that you have never seen before? He’s calling you up.
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
In Mark 9:23-24, Jesus urges the father whose son has an unclean spirit to believe that all things are possible for the one who believes. God used this moment for the father to come up in his faith. Luke 17:5 says, “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Sometimes a challenge in your life is a call to go higher in your faith.
Sometimes when you’re facing a challenge in your life, it’s a call to go higher in your faith. When it seems like there is no way out and your back is up against the wall, do not listen to the counsel of doubt, fear, and unbelief. Don’t let what you’re looking at give you the counsel or the wisdom. Believe in the word of the Lord. If He said it, He will do it. He is not a man that He should lie.
There is nothing too hard for God. He is undefeated. When He fights, He wins. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Alpha and Omega. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
‘THIS KIND’
You might be praying and declaring for a breakthrough, and it may not seem like nothing is happening but God sees that you are walking with Him. The enemy wants to make you feel like you are walking alone and he wants you to feel defeated, but God is right there. You might find yourself asking why aren’t things working or why aren’t things moving. You’re doing everything you’re supposed to do. You’re serving, you’re tithing and living for Him. But God sees your faithfulness.
He wants you to know that this level of spiritual operation will require a new level of consecration. God is calling you up in prayer, He is calling you to go up in fasting and in His word. You have to give up certain things that would pull you away from Him, and spend more time with Him. He is calling you to a new level that requires you to be in His presence.
God is calling you to a new level of this kind. If you want this kind of power, you need this kind of prayer life. If you want this kind of anointing you got to have this kind of consecration.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
How deep are you in the river of life? Ankle-deep? Knee-deep? Or are you all in?
How hungry are you for a move of Jesus in your life? Do you want to go from glory to glory and faith to faith?
Are you ready to go up? Are you believing God for a miracle? Jesus is calling you up and whatever you are facing right now is preparing you for a new level.
