Take the First Step

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Putting the progression of events in your life into perspective is certainly important...to keep moving toward your goals you have to maintain a vision of the big picture, on some level, at all times...but looking only at the big picture can sometimes be overwhelming...when you're tempted to feel like it's all just too much to deal with, simply visualize your first step and then take it...once you've taken that first step, look out from where you are at that point and notice what has changed...doing this will help you determine what your next step should be, and after that, just keep stepping..."the STEPS of a righteous man are ORDERED..."

On Wednesday nights at CITN I always have the visiting pastors share what they talked about in their Sunday sermons at their churches, and this past Wednesday, P. Brandon Mitchell talked about "Popcorn Theology", the confirmation of a spiritual truth through the plot line of a motion picture...of course, that's something I've used for years in my preaching ("You told Harpo to beat me..."), and I make no apology for it, as I see the referencing of pop culture to make a point the modern equivalent of Jesus' parables, in which he used imagery from agriculture (seeds, sowing and reaping, harvest) to explain the Kingdom of God to His first-century audience...

There's a great scene in the last installment of the Indiana Jones trilogy ("Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade") that really epitomizes the power of faith, belief in oneself, and Dr. King's above quote about the staircase...

In it, Indy, an archaeologist/adventurer, is on a quest to locate his father who has gone missing in his own archaeological quest to find the Holy Grail...though the Grail is the symbol of every archeologist's obsession, there comes a moment in the film when Indy realizes that he needs the Grail for a higher purpose other than his own professional pride...he has to find the Grail in order to save his father who, in the storyline, will surely die without its healing powers...

Up to that point, Indy has been following the instructions to locate the Grail that are contained in an ancient book...but in a very dramatic moment...just when he needs the Grail the most...he incredulously comes to a dead end...he finds himself at the rim of a chasm that appears to be bottomless, and he has no apparent means to cross to the other side of it...

So he consults the book again, and learns that what is required for the bridge to appear is belief...simple faith...and even though this idea is completely contrary to the way his scientific mind works, with this terrifying knowledge he just closes his eyes and steps out with both feet...and the bridge does, in fact, appear beneath him...then he runs quickly and effortlessly across the invisible bridge to the other side, eventually completing the quest...

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."
- St. Augustine

We were all raised to believe that "seeing is believing", but the more open we become to the Mind of Christ, the more we understand that believing is seeing...

Override your dependence on logic (the "seeing is believing" belief) with the knowledge that your vision has already manifested, and that all you need do is step into it..."NOW FAITH IS the EVIDENCE of things not seen, the SUBSTANCE of things hope for"...

"You become what you think about."
- Earl Nightingale

Keep your mind focused on your vision, and not on your doubts and second-guessing about it...when doubts arise, bring the vision you have for your life...your destiny...back to the forefront of your mind, and just let it override the doubts...you may have to do this frequently at the beginning, but you'll find that if you're faithful to do it, it will become easier and easier..."but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of your MIND"...

"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail."
- Charles F. Kettering

Ask yourself "If I knew I could not fail, what would I be doing right now to bring my vision into reality?"...chances are you will think of some bold moves that will probably be far outside your comfort zone...then remind yourself that if you are capable of conceiving these ideas, you are capable of achieving them...then act on one of these bold moves..."but FAITH without WORKS is dead"...

Instead of giving yourself reasons why you can't, give yourself reasons why you can...write down your reasons for not being able to achieve your vision in one column, and directly opposite it, write down the reason why you can..."but WRITE THE VISION, and MAKE IT PLAIN on tablets, that he may run who reads it..."

You can also do this mentally whenever a negative thought arises...counteract every negative thought and statement with a positive one...be consistent in this practice, and In time, your mind will default to the positive beliefs...

This weekend at CITN is going to be awesome...there is a great flow of revelation right now in all of the services, and this coming Sunday's experience will be no exception...remember that FAITH COMES BY HEARING (not from having heard), so make your plans to be in one or both of the servies to HEAR (if you're out of town, you can stream the 11 AM service)...come and hear the word you need for your next step...