When our journey in friendship with God seems to lead us to prison, we have to process our way through a storm of emotions. “What happened?” we want to know. There we were—we made ourselves vulnerable to God. We committed to being His friend. We opened our hearts to Him. We asked Him to help us learn to love Him better. We were doing our part, cultivating that first Next Level heart attitude—a heart for His friendship and leadership style— now, suddenly, we find ourselves alone, arrested, thrown into a cell, locked down in chains, and slapped with a trial date. We don’t see our prison as a “springboard for spectacular beginnings.” We wonder if we will ever fulfill the dreams and plans in our hearts.
When I was 13 years old, I found myself in this very position. There I was, walking in friendship with God—getting to know Him, even involved in ministry and leading others to Christ at a young age—when suddenly, the life I had...
Friendship with God is what sustains us on the journey of life, especially as leaders. It is what gives us the strength to keep going when circumstances change, people vacillate, or the path takes a difficult and unexpected turn. Through the unpredictable conditions, relationships, and demands of leadership, we find everything we need in God. Joy and pleasure are in His presence, in His right hand, in His friendship (Psalm 16:11). He is our sustaining power. Our friendship with God is our true destination. It is the starting point of the journey, our gateway to the Next Level. It also is the Next Level: the place of our dreams and our destiny, the land we’re setting out to explore.
As with Adam and Eve in the garden, every temptation you face—every battle you fight—on your Next Level as an individual and leader is ultimately about one thing: your primary purpose of being God’s friend.
In the face of spiritual opposition, we must exercise faith and...
First of all, Happy New Year!
I am grateful to God for you and the blessings He is going to release into your life in this year, 2021. However, we cannot access them if we do not make the decision to live and lead at the Next Level.
I can still remember preaching at Trinity Baptist Church in London, England. It was a church comprised of mostly Ghanaians who had relocated to Great Britain. It was there that the Lord gave me a message about Peter’s imprisonment, and seemingly ensuing death through Acts 12. After I preached that message, I began preaching and living the message of Next Level Living everywhere I went. This message is simple: the life you want you already have. Start living at the next level right now! The ultimate goal in human life is a friendship with an amazing and holy God. How could anything ever top that? Money, fame, influence—nothing comes close to being God’s friend—and that is Living at the Next Level.
Once we choose friendship with...
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