Messes To Masterpieces

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Mountains – An Introduction

Mountains always give you uniquely rich perspectives, visions and aspirations unavailable from other places. Being one of the earth’s most majestic landforms, it is said that Mt. Everest can be seen 124 miles away and one reaching its summit can see 211 miles in any one direction. Imagine driving your car 60 miles per hour non-stop for three and one-half hours on a perfectly straight highway to arrive at a destination. That total distance traveled is viewable from the top of Mt. Everest.

Which brings us to the point of all this, God is the God of the mountain. Surely God is involved in the small business of things. And God is equally involved in big things. Big things like mountains that allow you to see things unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Let’s go a little deeper into this.

The God of The Mountain

And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. Luke 9:28-29

Why mountains? What is it that only mountains can supply? The answer is one word – perspective. Perspective is everything with the Lord. And when it comes down to it perspective is everything in life. How we think, how we act, how we feel and the words we speak are all affected by our perspective. This is where mountains come into the picture. Mountains give unique perspectives that nothing else can. It can be said that perspective is directly related to attitude. The more refined and aligned perspective is to God’s word and will, the better the attitude becomes. Someone wrote that ‘attitude determines altitude‘. And mountains occupy the highest altitudes.

Yes, we do learn from the valley experiences and are humbled and refined in the fiery trials that come our way. But, there comes a place and there comes a time in your life when you must take the trip to your God-ordained mountain. The mountain where commitment is challenged, faith is energized, hope is rekindled and your love for God is made new again. And it can only happen on the mountain.

There are three specific perspectives we will investigate here. We can call them the three B’s: Beneath, Before and Beyond. Or more specifically, what lies beneath you, what exists before you and what awaits beyond you while positioned upon your mountain.

The ‘Beneath’ Perspective – The Mountain of Protection

For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Psalms 18:39

Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. Psalm 144:1-2

What is beneath us that we need to conquer? God planed from the beginning that if we allow Him to have dominion over our will, He will give us the authority to have dominion over that which is beneath us. More specifically, the world and the god of it. And one more thing. That we daily conquer the desires and whims of our flesh that includes our past. Jesus emphatically made the assertion that there is a personal cross to bear on this journey to Heaven. And the only way to make it over the finish line is by taking daily trips to the mountain of prayer, encounter the Lord, get sin under the blood and refresh new perspectives of who He is, what we have and who we are. One must be born again to conquer this mountain. It cannot be done “in the flesh”. It is a spiritual journey that must involve other climbing partners, Jesus Christ, the lover of your soul and his church (Jam 5:16).

If you are a child of God, born of his Spirit and washed in his blood, you are positioned for greatness. Daily casting all cares on Him will keep us there (I Pet 5:7). A Mighty fortress is our God. The Lord protects his own (Psalm 18). As the Psalmist penned the words, he knew his God would not leave him nor forsake him:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psalm 91:1-2

The number one challenge to conquer this mountain is not oxygen. It is fear. We must totally trust God here and not succumb to fear. The late British writer G. K. Chesterton stated the following:

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

Difficult is the key word. This mountain is no “tick-a-belly hill”. It is the real deal of a hill, as in Mt. Kilimanjaro. The beginning of David’s ascent to kingship began here on this mountain:

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. I Samuel 17:45-47

David knew who his God was and what his God was capable of doing. Conquer fear and you will summit the mountain of protection and everything which lies beneath you moving to higher ground and on to the next challenge.

The ‘Before’ Perspective – The Mountain of Purpose

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12  

It has been stated that had the Lord not given the Apostle Paul divine revelations and visions he would not have endured the many hardships and trials he faced in life. There comes a time in one’s walk with God that you must ‘see’ the miraculous, the opening up of the spiritual world to your own spirit and perceive beyond your present circumstances. It is here that your purpose becomes apparent and obtainable.

Case in point, Paul was on a ship with Rome as its destination. It was God’s perfect will for the Apostle to appear before Caesar. But, there was a problem. The owner of the ship was not operating on the same spiritual wavelength as Paul. Soon after leaving the port in Phenice the ship encountered a terrific storm. It seemed that the entire purpose for the journey became hopeless. This is where climbing the mountain of purpose becomes not only life-giving, but also life-defining:

And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. 
But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. Acts 27:20-21

For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 
Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Acts 27:23-24

Paul refused to be defeated by the mountains of frustration, fear and impossibility meant to destroy his purpose in life. It has been said that the devil does not care if you go to hell or not, he only cares that you do not fulfill God’s will for your life. Upon the mountain of purpose, Paul saw and heard what was before him. Heaven’s purposes will always be opposed and clouded by earthly problems. The key is to keep climbing until the purpose becomes a reality in your life.

Having experienced the mountains of protection and purpose one can move to the last and final pursuit.

The ‘Beyond’ Perspective – The Mountain of Possession

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan …. Deuteronomy 34:1

This mountains gives you the unique perspective of seeing what is beyond you. From this vantage point distant things come into focus. Upon this mountain the impossible  becomes possible and even obtainable. And what is it that each of us desire that is beyond ourselves? Hopefully, one thing is to escape this earthen abode of sin and death and obtain eternal life. To live again after death, go to Heaven, live eternally with Jesus and be reunited with loved ones.

The mountain of possession is defined by two critical characteristics each of us need to master on the road to eternal life – patience and perseverance. Jesus himself spoke of its importance:

In your patience possess ye your souls. Luke 21:19

A biblical example of this can be seen in the life of Caleb. Moses instructed the leaders of each of Israel’s twelve tribes to “spy out the land of Canaan” and bring back a report of what they saw. Joshua was not the only spy who brought back a positive and encouraging report. Caleb did also and he lived with that perspective forty-five years before it became a reality in his life. Joshua went on the replace Moses’ leadership ‘position’ over the nation.

But, what about Caleb? Caleb’s perspective was equal to that of Joshua’s. Yet, Caleb remained Joshua’s under-study and lived in his shadow over half of his life. But, he kept his perspective in focus and was unwavering in perseverance. And it paid off:

And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. Joshua 14:10, 12

And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Joshua 14:13

Because of his faithfulness, perseverance and whole heartedness in following the Lord, he gave Caleb a reward for his perspective, Mt. Hebron. Through his faith in God he knew the giants of life were conquerable. That included not only physical giants. It also included the mental giants he would face such as doubt, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, fatigue, hard-heartedness, fear and frustration. All because of maintaining the right perspective. Caleb’s perspective allowed him to envision a mountain before him and the determination necessary to possess it. Like Caleb, you must never stop short of the mountain of possession God has ordained for your life-  eternal life (I Tim 6:12).

In Conclusion

God implanted within every human soul the desire for something beyond itself, beyond our earthen limitations, weaknesses, barriers and mortality. It is a inner magnetism for something eternally greater than our “inner self”. It is an implantation from the Holy to seek the Holy. We can seek many inventions to either circumvent it with more convenient things or find ways to dampen its drawing power (Ecc 7:29).

And it is a continual challenge to truly make the connection, discover and obtain the true intended essence of life. Which can be summed up in Jesus’ model for prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven (humbly maintain a God-focused life), Hallowed be thy name (living a life approved by God). Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (doing God’s ordained will for your life). Matthew 6:9-10

We can read about God, think about God, meditate on God, dream about God and wish things from God, but we cannot really ‘know’ God until we experience Him. And you can experience Him from His heavenly mountain of glory by being washed in His blood and filled with His Spirit. It is the mountain top experience available to everyone.

There is a place for you in Heaven. You will never attain perfection in this life. However, that does not mean Jesus wants you to stop pursuing it (Mat 5:48, Joh 17:23 & Heb 6:1). As one preacher is noted as saying: “We may not be perfect. But, our standard is not imperfection“. Keep climbing your mountain. Heaven’s prize awaits you!

…. but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; Isaiah 57:13

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.