Uncharted | Week 5 | Pastor Maria Kringel
Uncharted
Week 5Come Up Higher | God’s Invitation into the Unknown
The Invitation We Didn’t Ask For
“Some invitations excite us. Others interrupt us.”
“Some invitations excite us. Others interrupt us.”
- Invitations that came unexpectedly
- Opportunities that arrived before you felt ready
- Moments where saying yes meant leaving something familiar
God’s invitations are rarely convenient—but they are always intentional.
THE OPEN DOOR
Revelation 4:1-2 (NIV)
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.”
Revelation 4:1-2 (NIV)
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.”
- John didn’t open the door
- The door was already open-it was an invitation
The issue was never access—the issue was response.
“God opens doors before He explains destinations.”
“God opens doors before He explains destinations.”
I. COMING UP HIGHER MEANS LEAVING THE FAMILIAR
Joshua 3:1-4
Joshua 3:1-4
“Since you have never been this way before…”
- God does not deny the unfamiliarity
- He doesn’t minimize the uncertainty
- He simply asks for trust
Faith doesn’t wait for comfort—it responds to calling.
II. COMING UP HIGHER REQUIRES WITHDRAWAL (PRAYER) BEFORE DIRECTION
Luke 5:16
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Luke 5:16
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
- Before crowds → prayer
- Before miracles → prayer
- Before decisions → prayer
Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV) “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Matthew 7:7–8 “Ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
You cannot navigate uncharted territory without consistent communion.
III. COMING UP HIGHER REVEALS WHO WE’RE REALLY LIVING FOR
Trying to live to please others?
Trying to live to please others?
Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Colossians 3:23–24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23–24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Living for MYSELF?
1 Corinthians 10:31-33 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God- even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
“At higher levels with God, living for oneself and people-pleasing becomes impossible.”
You cannot come up higher with God and still live for approval below.
IV. COMING UP HIGHER PRODUCES AN EXCELLENT SPIRIT
Daniel 6:3-5 (NKJV) “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
- Excellence wasn’t ambition
- It was integrity under pressure
- Faithfulness in public and private
- Prayer-his communion with God, his heart toward God (started here)
V. HIGHER PLACES ARE PLACES OF ENCOUNTER AND COMMISSION
Moses – Exodus 24:12-18
Come up the mountain
- Moses went up to encounter God
- He came down carrying responsibility and direction
- God never calls us up just to stay up
CONCLUSION: THE INVITATION STILL STANDS
Revelation 4:1
“The door is open.
The invitation is clear.
The only question is—will we come up?”
Uncharted waters are not dangerous when the Lord is the one inviting us higher.
THREE NEXT STEPS: RESPONDING TO GOD’S INVITATION INTO THE UNCHARTED
1. STEP INTO A DAILY APPOINTMENT WITH GOD
(Prayer before clarity)
Choose a specific time and place every day during the 40 days to meet with God in prayer.
Make it practical:
1. STEP INTO A DAILY APPOINTMENT WITH GOD
(Prayer before clarity)
Choose a specific time and place every day during the 40 days to meet with God in prayer.
Make it practical:
- Same time
- Same place
- Simple posture: “Lord, I’m listening.”
“If you don’t schedule prayer, life will schedule over it.”
Uncharted territory requires consistent communion, not occasional prayer.
2. PRACTICE INTENTIONAL DENIAL TO SHARPEN SPIRITUAL ATTENTIVENESS
(Fasting + discipline)
“Coming up higher requires leaving the familiar.”
(Fasting + discipline)
“Coming up higher requires leaving the familiar.”
Choose one intentional form of fasting or denial for the 40 days.
Examples:
Examples:
- A weekly food fast
- Media or social media fast
- Late-night scrolling replaced with Scripture
- One day a week of intentional Sabbath rest
“Fasting is not about earning God’s attention—it’s about quieting everything else.”
You can’t hear God clearly when your soul is constantly fed by noise.
You can’t hear God clearly when your soul is constantly fed by noise.
3. SAY YES BEFORE YOU KNOW ALL THE DETAILS
(Obedience in faith)
(Obedience in faith)
Ask God this question during the 40 days:
“Where are You inviting me to trust You next?”
Then take one obedient step, even if it feels small.
Examples:
“Where are You inviting me to trust You next?”
Then take one obedient step, even if it feels small.
Examples:
- Recommit to prayer or church community
- Reorder priorities
- Release control in an area of fear
- Step into a calling you’ve delayed
“God rarely gives us the full map—He gives us the next step.”
Uncharted faith is not passive, it moves.
“For the next forty days, we are choosing to:
Meet with God daily.
Deny the flesh intentionally.
Obey the Spirit faithfully.
We don’t know everything ahead—but we know Who is leading us."
Meet with God daily.
Deny the flesh intentionally.
Obey the Spirit faithfully.
We don’t know everything ahead—but we know Who is leading us."