Sermon: Level Up 

Just means to progress, move up to another level, move higher. In the old Nintendo games once you had completed a level, the sign at the end would say level up, you would get a star rating and it was on to your next mission. God in this current season is preparing to move his church beyond boundaries.
 
Passage: Psalms 40 (NIV)
I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire,
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.
 
David was in a period of suffering, he had experienced his fair share of “life lessons”. He found himself figuratively in a deep whole.
How many of us have been there? I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

Can you think of a time where you felt like you’re not even feeling being in the environment for a minute. Dark, cold, insects and bugs and a funky smell, yet you wait patiently.
How long has God been waiting for us to sort out our own mess, years of broken promises to let go of things we can’t seem to let go of?
But the bible said he turned and heard his cry… the truth is patience runs out and no longer are you calm, no longer do you have words, you’ve had enough.
 
'He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire'

At your weakest and toughest moments God just lifts you out of it!
'he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand'

That rock of offence, the rock which the church was built on and the gates of hell shall not prevail, the rock that we shall fall on and be broken in too or be crushed by of it falls on us. Set my feet on the rock which is Christ Jesus.
 
'He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.'

Some of the greatest songs are written in times of despair, when you have been through so much pain, your praise is all you have left. So don’t stop those tears when they fall, don’t make people around you feel like you’re odd, when you know the suffering you have been through.
'Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.'
 
But how do we have this word and find ourselves at the same level, year after year?

7 Points;
1. Survival Mode v Thrive Mode –
2. Novice Mode
3. Humble Yourself
4. Avoid quick fix solutions
5. Relationships are important 
6. Stay at your post
7. He  is Lord - Above All
 
Ephesians 3 v 20
 
Above all your circumstances i.e. finances, worries, pain, grief, loss, anxiety, future. Let us prepare our hearts. Let us upgrade our thinking, Let us aim higher, Let us level up.