You won’t get to the mountaintop by standing at the bottom!
I want to start out today by asking……. Anyone been in the valley lately?
You don’t have to show hands, but from here I can see a lot of faces and the look on those faces answers that question with a resounding YES.
If you all have known me for anytime, I will constantly let you know that we are indeed in the last days. And in that we are not going to see the “better days” that some of you enjoyed in your younger years or even growing up.
I love the T-shirts out there right now that say, “Normal isn’t coming back….. Jesus is!”. You know, the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, heck even the 80’s into the 90’s for some of us were times with a lot of mountain top experiences. Life was good. Yes, there was plenty of trouble if you went looking for it. And life could get bad. But at the edge of those valleys was a mountain. And once you got to the mountain top …… Life was good again.
Well folks. The mountain tops are much farther away nowadays. In fact, for most of us we have to go through the valley, down a couple of ravines, through the swamp, across the desert, and through the wilderness, just to get to the mountain. And all of those examples are a full sermon series all on their very own. Heck if you will have me back up here sometime, we might get into each of those. Pastor David, there’s some good sermon topic food if you need it.
But all of the journey to the mountain aside and the heartaches and troubles of life just to get to the mountain out of the way. Then we get to climb up the mountain to the mountain top, and sometimes that can seem all but impossible!
Everyone feeling super pumped up and awesome after that??? HA!
I know that wasn’t the most encouraging intro, but it brings me straight into what I want to focus on today. I want us to talk about the mountains. We live in the middle of the mountains here in our VERY BLESSED corner of God’s rock, so its not a stretch to use this and build a biblical example out of THE MOUNTAIN. And you have probably heard many messages and one liner encouragements about the mountain. But mountains can be tough!
We don’t just get magically transported to the top of the mountain!!!
So…..
Anyone here ever actually climbed a mountain?
I don’t mean that you have to have done the full crazy rock climbing picture from the internet with people hanging over rock cliffs with nothing but a rope between them and a 100ft plunge to certain doom. And if you’re anything like me, that was the mental picture that popped into your head right when I said that.
Have you seen some of those people? Hanging there between heaven and earth by a bundle of string????
Heaven knows they don’t make just 1 rope that would hold all of me up off the ground! And I’m not gonna volunteer to test any that claim that they do!
But anyway, have any of you ever really gone up a mountain?
Its really not as easy as one would think is it??
Even walking, hiking, climbing, whatever….. the mountain is a formidable obstacle to overcome.
With all of that being said, I want us to focus today on the mountains that we may be staring at. For some of you, we may be climbing already………. Yes?
So, lets dig into it, and don’t worry, bible verses are incoming! Our key verses are going to be the following, because it is God’s ultimate promise to us in the face of the mountains:
Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
And also our secondary verse….
Psalm 121:1-2 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
…….Lets pray!........
Now, back to mountain climbing……….Mountain climbing is not easy!
And the obstacles and hardships that we face along the way are what we are going to be digging through today.
But where do we start??
I believe that we have to start with God’s word.
Psalm 121:1-2 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
How many times have you heard this verse???
Now how many times have you paid attention to the first 8 words? The majority of pastors around the world have used this verse and spent hours just talking about the last 18 words, …… but what about those first 8???
Anyone here ever just sat and stared at a mountain? What about your own mountain? “I lift up my eyes to the mountains…”
Boy I sure have…..
And often….
That is mainly why I think this word that God gave me is so important for RIGHT NOW!
So, how many of you have just sat and stared at the face of the mountain in your life and just not known even how to start?
It’s overwhelming! It feels like it just can’t be done! It seems impossible!
Well, let’s read that verse again….
Psalm 121:1-2 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
So, looking at those last 18 words…… read that next part from the writer of this psalm. Of course we think David wrote this one, and if you know anything about David’s life, he sure stood staring at the face of the mountain from time to time …… to time………….. to time……..You think Goliath wasn’t a MOUNTAIN for David. C’mon we use the example all the time!
Ok, read it….. the writer asks a question……. “where does my help come from?” So right off the bat, the writer is feeling just like you and me. See everyone wants to just skip straight to the end of this verse and go straight to the “God makes it all better” part. But we start at the foot of every mountain. And when we read this part of the psalm we feel just like the writer……..
Where in the world do I start??? Is anyone going to help me here??? This is overwhelming! It feels like it just cant be done! It seems impossible!........ We stare right into the face of the mountain and wonder how in the world we can ever get to the top of this. And to top it all off. To just get to the base of the mountain, most of us have already been through the valley…..RIGHT???? You may have even been through the valley, down the river, through the swamp, across the desert, and past whatever else to just get to this point.
Anyone feel like they’ve been through that lately?
Anyone going through all that right now?
Well, you’re not alone!!! Look at this passage!!! 2500 years ago, someone else was going through the same thing. Maybe not the exact circumstances, but the same in the grand scheme of things. People have been staring at the face of whatever mountain is in their lives for over 2500 years!!!
Now just to give a preview of the ending……. Read the rest of the verse……. “….My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” We aren’t quite ready for that today, but I’ve got to give you some light at the end of the tunnel. Some glimmer of hope that God IS going to make it alright.
So, back to the foot of the mountain………
You’ve stared it down and have been blasted by the overwhelming and impossible task of getting to the mountain top.
Now, really really back to the mountain….. Where are we?? We are still standing at the dang bottom! We’ve got to get to the TOP!!!!
So, those of you who have ever climbed a mountain…….. how easy was it? Did you just magically end up at the top???
NOPE!
You gotta work for it! You have to hike! You have to climb! Sometimes you might fall! You might run into thick vegetation. You might meet wildlife that is less happy to see YOU than you are to see THEM! Well guess what???? That’s all a part of getting to the mountain top. You gotta go through some STUFF!
Anyone here in the middle of just some stuff??
Like you can see the mountain top, but it just seems like STUFF is pulling you down and holding you back??
Ok, let’s talk about that.
Even when you’ve made it to the foot of the mountain and you are over the “standing there staring it in the face” and you’ve finally decided to take that first step and start climbing the mountain. We have all of this STUFF that tries to pull us down?
Can I get a witness there????
We have to climb. We have to press on.
Phillipians 3:12 ….. but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
We PRESS ON to the mountain top where Christ Jesus waits for us. Just like running the race. Hebrews 12:1-3 We run that race with ENDURANCE. 1 Corinthians 9:26 ….Run with purpose in every step. Same for the mountain. We have to climb with endurance. Take each step with purpose. And move toward our goal of reaching the mountain top!
I wish I could put pictures up here just showing you a hand reaching down out of heaven to help pull you up that hill to the mountain top. Can you see that in your mind????
You are pressing on and Christ is pulling you up!!!
YES! That is our Hope! This is our Faith!
But pressing on isn’t the whole struggle is it???
There’s rocks along the trail making us stumble. Or heck, we might just have to climb up or work our way around them!
1 Peter 2:8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. ”They stumble because they disobey the message …. “
Ya, when we are climbing those life mountains, how many of you find that sin likes to trip us up?? Kinda like a rock rolling out from under your foot while hiking up that mountain? See the parallel there? When you disobey the message……..What message?? The WORD OF GOD! What is our short word for this? SIN. Sin is the disobeying of the message. And the message plainly states right there that it will make you fall like a rock will make you stumble.
People, ….. like I have said 1000 times before, ….. we have to get the WORD of God in us to help us through this life. To keep us from stumbling.
Any of you hikers and mountain climbers been on one of those rocky and steep portions of a trail? Its hard to get anywhere when you keep having your feet roll out from under you isn’t it? If half of your steps are sliding back, then its hard to stay motivated to climb the mountain.
So, what else do we get into while trying to get up that mountain?? Anyone have that feeling of really thick foliage and brush to push and struggle and fight to get through? Sometimes you have to chop down the vines, clear through the brush, tear away at the thorns all tangled around your shoes and pants……
Anyone feel like the thorns and underbrush are trying to drag you down? Those thorns are sharp aren’t they? They hurt! They dig in and tear and pull you. They can trip you up and pull you down. Anyone feeling like they are on this portion of the mountain climb right now? The brush is so thick that you just want to give up and go back down. That’s DISCOURAGEMENT for you isn’t it? All that “stuff” of life that makes you want to just go back and not press on. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about giving up the whole thing. Just discouragement to the point you want to go back and try to find a different way up or around whatever is in the way.
Josua 1:9 - 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Look there at how that verse parallels our Psalm 121:1-2 , Where does your help come from…????
“The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Even when I’m climbing that mountain and the trail gets rough or blocked???
YEP! ALL THE TIME and in ANY SITUATION. Your strength, your help, its all from the LORD. Time and time again the word points us to God for our help.
Last thing that I want to talk about on that trail up the mountain is the wildlife we may encounter. Anyone here met any wildlife while trying to get up the mountain?? How about a Snake? A Wolf? A mountain lion??? Any of these animals sound familiar from our WORD here???
The Snake/serpent was right there in the garden in the beginning. You know satan is going to use snakes!
How about wolves? I’m pretty sure our word talks about false prophets being like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Yes, satan can even use the supposed “people of God” to get in our way. I like Perry Stone’s joke about all these so called “prophecies” and “prophets” and stuff out there posting stuff and making youtube videos and all that on supposed prophecies they have been given. He says a prophet of God is right 100% of the time, and I completely agree. So all of these “prophets” that say all this stuff that isn’t coming to pass are missing it…… they are NON-prophets.
Has anyone ever had a NON-prophet mess you up? Yes that’s a real thing while heading up the mountain isn’t it.
What about that last one though….???
Does our word say anything about the mountain lion? Sure does!
1 Peter 5:8 - Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
It doesn’t get much more plain than that does it?
Look yall, the word tells us that we are going to have these obstacles on our way through life. We are going to face our Lions, our Snakes, … deal with our wolves, … deal with the thickness of discouragement, …thorns will pull and tear at us, …we will have our feet taken out from under us by the rocks…….
But here are the promises as I wrap it all up…..”Where does my help come from….? It comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth. See last 6 words sum it up if you really read it and pay attention…
The Lord made it all! He is in control of it ALL!
But you’ll never get to the mountain top while standing at the bottom! You’ve go to go up the mountain, and through everything that gets in the way.
And on that day when we get to the mountain top….. Just imagine the Joy we will find there, the view we will see, the rest we will find in our father God.
There are going to be all kinds of wild animals on our journey up our mountain
That thick brush we push though… God will make a way, when there seems to be no way!
The thorns that tear us down and pull us back…. God knows about those thorns! There is nothing made that HE hasn’t made
Everything in this Word…This book….points to God the father being the only way we can get through the obstacles in our way. Sure we might push some stuff aside, but the only way it really gets taken care of is through the Father!
And finally, the rocks we talked about …… the stones……. You know the biggest promise of all lays in the stones…….
Because at the end of it all what happened to the stone????
IT WAS ROLLED AWAY!!!
Praise GOD IT WAS ROLLED AWAY!!!!!!!!!
If you are here today and you have not accepted that the stone was rolled away that day from the tomb of the RISEN Lord Jesus, then please come do that today. Realize that the only way to get YOUR stones are rolled away, is to accept that HIS stone was rolled away. Jesus was dead and buried, but now is ALIVE, the stone was rolled away and He ascended into heaven where He stands at the right hand of God, just waiting for that last soul to be saved. ……. Then God will turn to His son and say, …. In Jeremy’s unapproved version…. “Go get em my boy!”, “Its time”. You don’t want to be left out when He comes for us, so make sure that you have this taken care of TODAY!
Come now as we sing…..
