The Year of Step Up (2026) PART THREE: Step Up to Responsibility

SERIES: The Year of Step Up (2026)

PART THREE: Step Up to Responsibility

Scripture: I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself. Philippians 3:14

Key Concept: Moving from Mindset to Action.

Date: 25 January 2026

Introduction: The Moment of Movement

Welcome back, Church. It is so good to see you all here for the fourth Sunday of our series, “The Year of Step Up.” We are declaring together that 2026 is not just another year on the calendar; it is a turning point in our destiny.

For the last two weeks, we have been laying a foundation. In Part One, we dealt with the Past. We learned that you cannot embrace a new season while you are still hugging an old season. We learned the hard but necessary art of Letting Go. In Part Two, we dealt with the Mindset. We talked about Expectation—shifting our perspective from seeing obstacles to seeing opportunities, believing that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.

But friends, I have a hard truth for you today. You can let go of the past until your hands are empty. You can dream big dreams and have the most positive mindset in the world. You can have a vision board that covers your entire living room wall. But if you do not move… if you do not act… you will die exactly where you are standing.

We have dealt with the Past. We have dealt with the Mindset. Now, we must deal with the Action.

Today is where the rubber meets the road. Today is where we separate the wishful thinkers from the world changers. Today, we are talking about: Stepping Up to Responsibility.

1.The Word: Pressing, Not Floating

I want you to turn with me to the book of Philippians, chapter 3, verse 14. This is the Apostle Paul writing. And keep in mind, he isn’t writing this from a luxury resort. He is writing this from a place of difficulty, yet his resolve is unshakable.

He says:

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

I want you to look at that text. If you have a physical Bible, take out your pen. If you have a digital Bible, highlight it. Circle that word “Press.”

Notice what Paul doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “I float toward the goal.” He doesn’t say, “I dream about the goal.” He doesn’t say, “I manifest the goal.”

He says, I PRESS.

The word “press” implies resistance. You don’t have to press against air. You press against weight. You press against opposition. You press against gravity. Paul understood a spiritual law that we often forget: Momentum requires muscle.God provides the vision, God provides the strength, but you must provide the movement.

This brings us to the hardest part of this message. It is the part that isn’t popular, but it is necessary. If we are going to Step Up in 2026, we must Step Up to Responsibility.

The Metaphor: The Stairs vs. The Elevator

Let me paint a picture for you.

We are living in what I call the “Elevator Generation.” Look around our culture. We are addicted to the quick fix. We are obsessed with the shortcut.

We want the “Get Rich Quick” scheme.
We want the “Lose Weight in 3 Days” pill.
We want the marriage restoration without the counselling.
We want the spiritual revival without the prayer.
We want the promotion without the overtime.

We want to walk into the lobby of success, push a button, and arrive at the penthouse suite without breaking a sweat.

But I am here to tell you—based on the Word of God and the laws of life—the elevator is broken.

If you want to get to the top floor of your calling in 2026, you have to take the stairs. And let me tell you something about the stairs. The stairs are hard. The stairs are tiring. The stairs will make your legs burn. The stairs are made of responsibility.

To “Step Up” means you stop looking around for someone else to carry you. It means you stop waiting for a rescue team. We love the blame game, don’t we? It’s the oldest game in human history, starting right back in the Garden of Eden.

“If only the government would change policies, then I’d be successful.”
“If only my boss was nicer, then I’d work harder.”
“If only my spouse understood me, then I wouldn’t be so angry.”

Stop it.

Listen to me closely: The moment you blame someone else; you give them the power over your life. When you say, “I am unhappy because of him,” you are admitting that he holds the keys to your joy. When you say, “I am stuck because of the economy,” you are admitting that the market is your master.

But the moment you take responsibility; you take the power back. The moment you say, “This is my life, this is myresponse, and with God’s help, I am going to move,” you align yourself with the victory of Christ.

III. Application: What Responsibility Looks Like in 2026

So, practically, how do we climb these stairs? What does stepping up look like this year? I want to give you three specific areas where we need to see a shift.

Step Up in Your Discipline

We all want the glory, but few want the grind. You say you have a dream for 2026. Maybe you want to write a book. Maybe you want to start a business. Maybe you want to get your health back. That is wonderful.

But here is the reality check: You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.

You want to write a book? Stop watching 3 hours of TV every night. That’s 21 hours a week you just reclaimed.
You want to get healthy? Stop buying the junk food. It starts in the grocery aisle, not the gym.

The “Step Up” doesn’t happen on the stage; it happens in the dark. It happens in the daily, boring, unseen habits. It happens when the alarm goes off at 5:00 AM and you put your feet on the floor. That is the stairs.

Step Up in Your Service.

Now, I want to speak specifically to our family here at NEWLIFE4YOU. I love you, but I need to challenge you. Some of you have been sitting in these pews—or watching us online—for years. You are faithful attenders. But you are still consumers. You consume the worship. You consume the sermon. You consume the coffee.

But spiritual maturity is the shift from being a Consumer to a Creator. God did not call you to just fill a seat; He called you to fulfill a mission.

Don’t just come to church; BE the church.
Don’t just read the devotional; share it with someone who is hurting.
When you walk through the lobby and see a piece of trash on the floor, don’t walk past it thinking, “The janitor will get that.” Pick it up! That is your house!

When you see a gap in the ministry, don’t complain about the hole—step into it. Here is a rule for 2026: Leaders don’t complain about problems; leaders solve problems. If you see a problem, congratulations, you just found your ministry.

Step Up in Your Integrity

Finally, we must Step Up in our character. We live in a world of fake news, filters, and facades. People curate their lives on social media to look perfect while their reality is falling apart. In a world of fakes, the most radical thing you can be in 2026 is Real.

Step Up in your word.

If you say you’ll be there at 9:00, be there at 8:55.
If you say you’ll pray for someone, do it right then.
If you promise to do a job, do it with excellence.

Why? Because Excellence is a form of worship. When we are late, when we are sloppy, when we break promises, we tell the world that our God doesn’t care about details. But when we act with integrity, we Honor the King. Let’s make 2026 the year where our character catches up to our gifting. Let’s make sure the foundation is strong enough to hold the blessing God wants to pour out.

Conclusion:

Church, the elevator is convenient. It’s easy. But it makes you weak. The stairs are hard. They require effort. But they build muscle. They build endurance. They build faith.

Think about it: When you take the elevator, you arrive at the destination, but you haven’t changed. You are the same person at the top as you were at the bottom. But the stairs? The stairs change you. The climb demands something of you. It demands that you shed the weight of your excuses because you can’t carry heavy baggage and climb high at the same time. It demands that you breathe in the grace of God and breathe out the fear of failure.

I know some of you are tired. I know the next step looks high. But do not despise the strain. The strain is proof that you are growing. The resistance is proof that you are moving. The enemy doesn’t bother people who are standing still on the ground floor; he only opposes those who are pressing upward. So if you feel the pressure today, take heart! It means you are winning. It means you are becoming a threat to the kingdom of darkness.

God is calling you to a higher level this year. But He isn’t going to carry you there against your will. He is standing at the top of the stairs, saying, “Come on. You can do this. I’ve given you the strength. I’ve given you the power. Now, PRESS.“

Some of you are waiting to feel strong before you start climbing. But the Kingdom doesn’t work that way. You climb, thenyou get strong. You step, then the ground appears. Your family is watching you climb. Your children are watching how you handle this season. Are they going to see a parent who complains about the height of the mountain, or a parent who laces up their boots and starts walking?

Do not settle for a comfortable life on the ground floor of mediocrity when God has prepared a mansion of purpose for you on the upper level. The cost of the stairs is high, but the cost of regret is higher. Don’t let 2026 be another year of “what if.” Let it be the year of “even though.” Even though it was hard, I climbed. Even though I was tired, I pressed.

Stop waiting for the perfect condition. Stop waiting for permission. Stop blaming the past. It is time to climb. It is time to work. It is time to Step Up to Responsibility.

Reflection of the Week:

Theme: Taking the Stairs Scripture: Philippians 3:14

The Challenge: This week, we are moving from theory to action. Identify one area of your life where you have been waiting for an “elevator” (a quick fix) instead of taking the “stairs” (personal responsibility).

Ask yourself these three questions:

Where am I blaming? (Who or what am I saying is the reason for my lack of progress?)
Where am I drifting? (In what daily habit have I become lazy?)
What is my first step? (What is one small, concrete action I can take tomorrow?)

Action Step: Commit to one “Step Up” this week:

Discipline: Wake up 30 minutes earlier to pray.
Service: Sign up for a volunteer team at NEWLIFE4YOU or clean up a mess you didn’t make.
Integrity: Arrive 5 minutes early to every appointment this week.

The Altar Call:

Before we go, I need us to do business with God. We cannot just hear a word like this and walk out the same way.

There are some of you here today who felt a sting when I talked about the ‘elevator.’ You realized that you have been waiting. You’ve been waiting for a breakthrough, but you haven’t been willing to do the work. You’ve been praying for the harvest, but you haven’t planted the seed.

Or maybe you are here, and you realized you have been stuck in the trap of blame. You’ve been angry—at your parents, your boss, your ex, or even at God—blaming them for where you are. And today, the Holy Spirit is whispering, ‘It’s time to take the power back.’

If you are ready to say, ‘Lord, 2026 is the year I stop making excuses. It’s the year I stop blaming. It’s the year I PRESS,’ I want you to stand up right where you are.

If you are ready to trade the elevator for the stairs, stand up. If you are ready to move from consumer to creator, stand up.

Look around you. You are not alone. We are a house of climbers. We are pressing together.”

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. It is sharp, it is true, and it cuts through our excuses to wake up our potential.

Lord, we confess that we have often looked for the easy way out. We have wanted the prize without the press. We have wanted the crown without the cross. Forgive us for our passivity. Forgive us for blaming others for the life You have entrusted to us.

Right now, in the name of Jesus, we break the spirit of victimhood off of church! We declare that we are not victims of our circumstances; we are victors in Christ Jesus!

I pray for a fresh wind of Discipline to fall on this house. I pray for a spirit of Service to ignite in our hearts—that we would not just see needs, but meet them. I pray for a spirit of Integrity to rise up—that our ‘yes’ would be ‘yes’ and our lives would honor You even when no one is watching.

God, give us the strength to take the stairs. When our legs get tired, remind us of the goal. Remind us of the high calling. Remind us that You are with us in the press.

We seal this word in our hearts. We declare that 2026 is our year of action. We are stepping up.

In the mighty, matchless, and active name of Jesus, and everybody said… AMEN!

God bless you abundantly.