Pastors Bible Class Thomas Road Baptist Church
A View from The Top
A. LIFE IS A MOUNTAIN ALL MUST CLIMB
1. God gives everyone a mountain to climb, but each mountain is different.
a. Some steep.
b. Some dangerous.
c. Some beautiful.
d. Some mountainous.
2. Your mountain climb is determined by:
a. Your parents.
b. Your neighborhood.
c. Your schooling.
d. Your friends; your physical makeup.
3. You have various mountains in life.
a. Physical.
b. Financial/vocational.
c. Ministry.
d. Marriage.
e. Children.
f. Education.
4. God has determined your mountain but you determine what you will do with your challenge. “This one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind and looking forward to those things which are before” (Phil. 3:13).
5. Reverse. The young “think they know” a lot about their mountains, but on the top you “know what they think.”
Age 20 – we desire to wake up married
Age 30 – we desire to wake up with a job
Age 40 – we desire to wake up successful
Age 50 – we desire to wake up rich
Age 60 – we desire to wake up contented
Age 70 – we desire to wake up healthy
Age 80 – we desire to wake up!
B. 13 VIEWS OF LIFE FROM THE TOP
1. You look back with understanding, whereas those climbing look forward with doubts and questions.
a. Rule: pay now, play later, i.e. learn early, enjoy later. “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lam. 3:27).
b. I reject the idea older means less useful. The team that plays the best in the 4th quarter usually wins.
c. The remaining years in life - like the 4th quarter – determines the results of life. “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).
d. You never reach the top if you stop a few yards short.
2. What you achieve at the top is built on what you learned at the beginning of the journey, so begin well and finish well.
3. The greatest thing about climbing near the top is you are still living, learning and growing.
a. The coach takes some out of the game and they don’t finish because they quit playing their best and they didn’t help the team.
b. If you are still playing at the end of the game, the coach believes in you and you can get the job done.
4. The closer you get to the top, the more comfortable you get with the daily task of climbing.
a. Most don’t know what they can do when they start climbing a great mountain.
b. One of the guiding principles of the older: they know what they can’t do, and they know who they are not.
5. Even though it’s more comfortable at the top, climbing never gets any easier.
a. Life is finite. “Man that is born of woman . . . is full of trouble” (Job 14:1). “In old age your arms will be weak and your legs will be feeble” (Ec. 12:3, Prayer Bible).
b. The enemy is unrelenting and patient.
6. The longer you climb, the more comfortable you get with family, friends, and team members.
a. When I was younger I wanted everyone to be like me and do things my way.
b. I’ve learned, accepted and made use of different spiritual gifts, personalities, and skills.
c. I’ve learned that others can do it better than me and different than me.
7. The closer you get to the top, the better your vision of things behind you, and challenges before you.
See first – see most – see farther into the future
8. The closer to the top the better you see the path to the top and what you have to do to finish.
a. You know what doesn’t work.
b. You can apply what works.
c. You probably know easier and quicker ways to get it done.
9. The closer to the top, the more frustrated you are with past mistakes (yours and others).
a. You realize past failures didn’t kill you. What to do with failures.
(1) Admit them.
(2) Learn from them.
(3) Determine to do it differently.
(4) Confess them to God for forgiveness.
(5) Forget about them.
b. Everyone gets knocked down in football; winners get up and keep playing.
10. The closer you get to the top, the more confidence you have about life. As an elderly man Paul said, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him” (2 Tim. 1:12).
11. You learn to climb with pain toward the top.
a. Young people don’t pay as much attention to aches and pains.
b. Later you learn to trade off to get things done.
c. Succeeding is more important than pain.
d. Pain will hurt and slow you down, but not stop you.
12. Near the top you learn what you can’t do, shouldn’t do, and don’t want to do.
a. Limitations is a good friend to make you focus.
b. A closed door is another friend to keep you from mistakes.
c. Climbing within yourself will keep you from exhaustion.
13. Near the top is the best stage of life.
a. More satisfaction in what you do, rather than what you are going to do. “Young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17).
b. More satisfaction in what you did, than what you didn’t do.
c. More satisfaction because you still can do what you do.
d. Youth want to be something different in the future than what they are, older appreciate who they are.
e. The one who says he can do everything he did at 20, didn’t do much!
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord,
I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
For more information on the TRBC Pastor’s Bible Class, log on to the Internet www.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-elmer-towns.
Dr. Towns’ email: eltowns@liberty.edu
Dr. Towns’ web address: www.elmertowns.com
