[Music] you’re watching kcmi TV well let’s get into the word of the Lord today I’m going to give you a lot of verses today but in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20 speaking of Jesus Christ it said which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places so the scripture here is declaring that when uh Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and his father restored him back to his original Glory that Jesus was set in Heavenly places at the right hand of the father he didn’t

stay in the earth he didn’t stay in the low place the Bible says the Earth is his foot stol but Heaven is his throne and Jesus Christ went back to a ruling position now I think it’s in first John it says as Christ is so are we in this world and so then we we go back over then to uh the Ephesians the 2 chapter and um verse 6 uh it says and has God has raised you and I up together and made us together sit in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus and so this is why I quoted John as as Jesus Christ is so are we in

this world so the scripture here in Ephesians chapter 2 says this that Christ has made us or he has created us and and not everybody experiences this um in in the natural realm uh but subjectively God created you and I that that means we have the DNA in us we have the potential to be in the same position as Christ is in Heavenly places and so I want to talk to you today about going up higher in the Lord and I was praying the other day and I just heard the Lord saying this you got to come up higher you got to

come up higher and uh the Bible talks about this that Christ ascended far above all principalities and powers and might um when when you when Jesus Christ was crucified and of course we know this when you look at the overall picture it looks like man it’s just the lowest point of his life but actually it was purpose being fulfilled at its highest order and again in Ephesians it talks about this says that Jesus Christ descended and here we are talking about we need to go up higher but it’s saying that Jesus Christ descended into the

lower parts of the Earth but he was he was descending into the lower parts of the Earth because that’s where Old Testament saints were he was not going down in defeat he descended into the lower parts of the earth and then it says and then he ascended he went down to accomplish something and then he begin to arise and go up higher he begin to come up out of there and um you and I we never bring God down into our problems for him to sit with us and have a pity party God when we bring down when God is willing to come down into our problems

he’s not coming down to sit there in defeat but he’s coming down to bring us up into his Solutions and when you think about the lame men at the gate beautiful the Lord when he healed him he told him this he said now take up your bed and walk and this is where we stumble a lot it’s because God will give us a victory but we don’t take up our bed and walk and so what happens is the first little test we go back down we lay back down into where God has delivered us from and every day that you walk with

God you need to come up higher this is the nature of God and when you go all the way back to Exodus and we’ll just read this this is in Exodus uh the thir chapter and this is where God is setting the stage because his people are down in bondage and and I want to declare to you it is never the will of God for you to be defeated you know we we hear people say well you know uh when you go through sickness and in really difficult times uh you know it’s just a way for us to show our faith in God listen God never

gets Glory when we’re defeated if when when we cry out unto the Lord uh we’re God is not saying all right I’ll come down and live with you in your problems and this is where we want to pick up in Exodus chapter uh chapter 3 and um we’ll read a few verses verse 7 and the Lord said I have surely seen the Affliction of my people which are in Egypt and and there are many times in the scriptures Egypt is called the iron furnace and he said I have heard their Cry by reason of their taskmasters and I

know their sorrow and and I want to tell you that there is not a person on the planet that God does not see their Affliction and there’s not an human being breathing the Breath of God that God does not know their sorrows and hear their cry and and I can tell you this when you begin to cry unto the Lord God cannot resist the Cry of his people in verse 8 he said I have come down see this is where again you remember we just talked about when the Lord descended into hell and you look at that say oh my he’s

went to the enemy’s domain and he’s been crucified it looked like it’s over God said no he said I have come down to descend he said or to ascend and in this scripture he says I have come down he said I’m coming down to where they are into their sorrow into their cry into their Affliction but he said I am come down with purpose to deliver to deliver Hallelujah them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up and out of that land into a good land listen God doesn’t just want to come down and and deliver you but

then you just stay there he says I’ve showed up in your life to come down to deliver you from where you are but he said I am going to bring you up and I’m going to bring you out I and I really believe this is what we’re getting ready to seek God we’re already beginning to to see a little bit of the hand of the Lord but we’re seeing God come down into our nation we’re seeing God come down into our lives into our churches you say why Pastor because the Lord has heard our cry and he has seen our sorrow and

God is not going to leave us in this place you know when you think about uh how we speak as humans uh we we don’t realize it but the in we we speak the language of the enemy many times God is saying come up higher and you know people say well how you doing you go well I’m down in the DS or how you feel well my spirit’s low or how’s your help well it’s declining do do you see you see the the the trend there is the enemy want wants you to decline he wants you to come down see God says listen just because it’s

difficult he said come up higher uh there’s Victory when you come up higher uh when you go to the Old Testament U Saul King Saul’s son Jonathan uh he took his armor Bearer and and separated from from the crowd of Israel there for a while the Army and he told his armor bear he said let’s go up and fight and he and when they got close to the enemy he said now he said we’re going to call out to him and if they say y’all stay there and we’re going to come down to you God has not delivered

them into our hands but he said to his armor bear if they say come on up and we’ll show you something he said God has delivered them into our hands and when Jonathan cried out and they said why don’t you come on up and we’ll show you something Jonathan said God has delivered them into our hands and he went up and he smoted them with a great Victory you’re never going to have Victory when you think in terms of that there’s defeat this is why Paul said I am fully persuaded that he is able there is not one thing in our

life that God is not able to bring us out of the writer said this he said set your affections or what you desire he said set your affection on things above and not beneath this is the writer said he said think on things whatsoever things you’re pure and whatsoever things are honest and whatsoever things are a good report um set your affection set your mind on them uh when the scripture says this when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I and and I and every day I pray God help me to come up higher in

thee and one of the benefits as you begin to ascend the heights of God is that height increases Vision this is why the higher you go you know and I I love to watch outdoor shows and and I’ve seen it where uh they they’re in the mountains and they’re lost they don’t know what to do they don’t know how to get out and I’ve seen more than once a man will climb a tree he says if I can climb clim that tree and I can get up and I can see over where I’m at he said the heights will give me vision and there are so many

Christians that live in a low place that they can’t see where they’re going and this is why God said I have created you you have the potential Hallelujah you have the potential to live in Heavenly places this is why we don’t think like the world thinks this is why when you get in prayer this is one of the benefits of prayer you know what prayer does it puts Wings to your spirit that as you begin to pray and you begin to exalt the Lord you begin to see an aspect of God you’ve not seen and you’re like an eagle you

begin to you begin to ascend on the wings of the spirit of the Lord and you begin to go up and you know what God does in prayer as you’re ascending he let you see beyond where you’re at he lets you begin to see the victory that’s down the road that you couldn’t see from where you were um in in the Old Testament when God was getting ready to make covenant with the Israelites he told Moses he said I want to give you something I want to show you something but I can’t do it where you’re at he said Moses come up higher come up

higher son come up to the top of the mountain and the scripture says that when Moses got to the top of Mount Si Hallelujah a cloud overshadowed and the glory of God showed up on top of the mountain and Moses got to see the glory of God because he came up higher in fact the Bible is very very clear on this says in the last days when the Lord gets ready to take you and I home when the Rapture gets ready to take place it doesn’t say and the and the Lord’s going to descend and he’s going to come down and

he’s going to sit in our problems and in our chaos and say hold on it’s going to get better no first Thessalonians says this chapter four for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven and you and I that are remain or are alive he’s not going to come down the scripture says we’re going to come up higher and we shall be caught up Hallelujah to meet him in the air this is why the Holy Spirit a lot of times will we’ll Quicken you and I he’ll he’ll convict us of things you know Paul said all things are lawful but not all

things are expedient and um I not over the years of certain of the Lord God has I don’t know if it’s conviction as much as it is just a challenge and he would and he would talk to me about my life he’d say you know I need you to let go of that it’s not a sin but the scripture talks about this it says let us lay aside Hebrews Hebrews 12:1 let us lay aside every weight that besets us there are some things uh you know when when you look at these hot air balloons and they inflate and they’re fully inflated and they’re beautiful to

look at but they’re not going anywhere you know why because there are huge weights a lot of times it’s its bags filled with sand and they’re tied to that basket on that hot air balloon and they keep it tethered to the ground the weight won’t let it Ascend and when they get ready for that thing to go into the clouds they they cut the weight loose this is what the Lord is saying to us in this hour he said listen there are some places in the spirit that I want to bring you some there are some things in God that we

will never see until we come up higher come up higher this is why the Lord said you got to lay aside every weight even if it’s not a sin you say well Pastor it’s not wrong but it it’s not expedient it it keeps you tethered it keeps you at a lore altitud and God said no he said ultimately he said I want to bring you up into Heavenly places where I live where I sit on the right hand of the father I want to bring you up high so that you can see beyond your immediate situation you can see beyond your immediate

problems that he told Israel he said listen he said I know you’ve been in a difficult place for a lot of years he said but I I’m coming down but he said the only reason I’m coming down is I’m going to bring you up and out into a large land you you cannot come into your inheritance that God has reserved for you a until you come up higher and so I I want to challenge you today uh ask God lord how do I come up higher u in the Book of Psalms chapter 24 it says this who shall Ascend into the Holy Hill of

God remember the other verse it says when I’m overwhelm lead me to the rock that is higher than I the mountain The Rock Christ is that rock it says who can Ascend into that Holy Hill of God he who have clean hands and a pure heart they that have a pure heart they shall see God and so every day should be a day that when the sun sets and you lay your head down to rest you can say I’ve come up a little higher that every week every year you can look back on your walk with God and you can say started out here but but I’m

here now and my goal soon is I’m going to be up here what are we doing this is why the Bible says if you will draw nigh to God He will draw nigh to you and when you get in that realm where Christ is he just gets a hold of you and he’ll pick you up and he’ll cause you to come up higher into the presence of the Lord so as I end this today I want to challenge you uh too many Christians are content at plateauing they haven’t grown in years they don’t change their Bible reading habits they don’t extend their prayer

time they don’t change the way they fast or they sacrifice or tithe or go to church they’ve just plateaued you get stale you become a sister Christians have to every day keep up coming higher higher higher in you and um we used to sing an old songm I’m going higher yes higher every day I’m going higher each day over the mountains across the blue skies Hallelujah going for men and no sickness ever die I want to challenge you today ask God Lord give me the wings of an eagle and help me to go higher in thee to ascend above the

clouds that blur my vision that I can see you with Clarity well God bless you um I’ll see you uh next week and I hope you have a great week and be strong in the Lord in the power of his mind for more information about Kent Christmas Ministries International or regeneration Nashville go to Kent christmas.

org or regeneration nashville.org and for the latest updates or videos follow us on Facebook and subscribe to us on YouTube God bless you