Mountains: Ascend

 PSALM 24 

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol  or swear by a false god.  

They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of  Jacob. 

(VISUAL) “What’s the difference between a valley and a mountain?” Great Q Lord, what IS the difference? I started searching it out.  Before I share with you what He’s shared with me, let’s pray. 

Here’s what I found: 

(VISUAL) We are supposed to tell them to move/ to melt  

MOVE 

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say  to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be  impossible for you. Matthew 17:20 

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into  the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will  come to pass, it will be done for him. Mark 11:23

MELT: 

And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open,  like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. Micah  1:4 

(VISUAL) Oh no! Are we never supposed to climb mountains?? Because I  definitely feel like I’m climbing a mountain.  

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…he began to bring to mind heroes throughout the  Bible who climbed mountains… the thing is, in scripture, whenever someone  climbed a mountain, the experience at the TOP so greatly eclipsed the pain of  the climb that it is not even mentioned. 

◦ If the mountain remains, we MUST ADVANCE. 

(VISUAL) How do you know you’re climbing a mountain (in the spirit)? – view  looks like this. every step is carefully weighed. it’s very steep. takes ALL of you – breath, body, spirit, soul – engaged… 

In the Bible, the pain of any climb was always eclipsed by what was  experienced at the top of the mountain: 

MOSES: Mount Sinai (Moses & the PRESENCE of GOD; 10 Commandments;  New Vantage Point of the Promised Land) 

ABRAHAM: Abraham offering up Isaac and discovering his stand-in ram NOAH: Noah’s ark RESTED on Mount Ararat; 

ELIJAH: called down fire on the sacrifice and God revealed Himself to 450  prophets of Baal as the one true God 

JESUS:  

The great sermon on the mount (blesseds);  

Mount of transfiguration (Jesus revealed);  

Mount of Olives – Jesus prayed here before his arrest & crucifixion and later  ASCENDED to HEAVEN from this VERY PLACE;  

(VISUAL) REWARDS at the top of the mountain: Rewards we can expect at the top of the mountain: 

INSPIRATION: New, INSPIRED Content from God (10 Commandments Mount  Sinai, Sermon on the mount, Jesus) 

RADIANCE: shining like the sun with God’s radiant light, like a bride on her  wedding night 

TRANSFORMATION: Transforming experience of the Presence of God

VISION: incredible new vantage point – not only for you, but for your  descendants (Moses was granted clear vision of the promised land) 

UPGRADES: Precious things that were willingly laid down will be replaced with  something better, more sufficient (Abraham)  

REST: A Resting place (Mount Ararat) 

AFFIRMATION: Your identity revealed by Father God and witnessed by others  (Mount of transfiguration)  

VINDICATION: Vindication from our Savior (Elijah, Jesus) 

VICTORY: Competing Idols cast down/humiliated in your presence and the  presence of others – a personal AND corporate victory (Elijah’s mountain)  

RECLAMATION: Reclaiming of spaces where you were once put to shame.  Redemption from the way things went before and the way they will go NOW on  the very same soil (Mount of Olives) 

7 Mountains of Influence: In the Kingdom, Giftings & Talents are  FREE…CHARACTER SOLD SEPARATELY.  

Character is built ON THE CLIMB: 

PSALM 24 

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart…

IF YOU’RE PART OF HIS BRIDE, YOU’RE BEING PURIFIED Why? Because He’s preparing us to see Him! 

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” – Matthew 5:8 …. 

I heard Bill Johnson say recently that GOD changes our hearts… WE change our  minds…and changing our minds will change our heart. 

To ascend the mountain, we need a pure heart. For a pure heart, we purify our  minds. 

But the wisdom from above is first pure [morally and spiritually undefiled], then  peace-loving [courteous, considerate], gentle, reasonable [and willing to listen],  full of compassion and good fruits. It is unwavering, without [self-righteous]  hypocrisy [and self-serving guile]. 

James 3:17 AMP 

The contrast of Wisdom from above is earthly wisdom: 

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be  arrogant, and [as a result] be in defiance of the truth. This [superficial] wisdom is  not that which comes down from above, but is earthly (secular), natural  (unspiritual), even demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there  is disorder [unrest, rebellion] and every evil thing and morally degrading practice. James 3:14-16 AMP

To operate in the PURE wisdom that comes from above, we must exchange these patterns of thought: 

jealousy 

selfish ambition 

arrogance 

defiance of truth 

Honestly, realms of thought like jealousy, self ambition, arrogance, defying the  truth…they’re like shots of energy. Although they’re not from heaven, they have  a way of motivating us…propelling us forward through our day…they are  motivations, or fuels, that energize our actions. They just won’t move us where  want to go. They will lead us to dead ends, not mountain tops. 

To climb a mountain, we will need to find exchanges that fuel us well, that are  equally as compelling to propel us forward, AND are also PURE.  

I want to share some ideas for pure exchanges in our minds that excite me! EXCHANGES 

Jealousy – Learning Something New  

Comparison – Having Vision for Those Around You 

Competition – Setting and Accomplishing a Goal 

Gossip – Encouragement  

Hypothetical conversations – Honest Conversations 

Resentments – Future Possibilities  

Crafting Lies – Inventing Something New 

Revenge – Inspiration  

Problems – Solutions 

Selfish Ambition – Curiosity and Wonder 

CLOSE: 

This is the year to ascend, friends! YES, first, tell your mountain to move. YES,  host His presence and believe for it to melt. BUT if it does not move or melt, this  mountain, it’s yours to climb. Character will be built along the way, and the  rewards at the top will be WORTH it. 

(VISUAL) AND, YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE. WE ARE GOING ON THIS  JOURNEY TOGETHER. 

To close, I’d like for us to pray for one another. Find someone next to you, you  don’t need to know them. They’re here because they have the same hunger for  God that you do – assume they need a friend just like you need a friend. They  need support and comfort just like you need support and comfort. 

Lord, I pray for my friend. 

I pray that you give them faith,  

Your presence,  

and great courage for any mountain they are facing.  

I pray if their mountain is to move, that it will be moved! 

That if their mountain is to melt, it will melt! 

And if this is a mountain for them to climb, that you give them  

courage 

strength 

endurance

freedom from all idols 

clean hands 

and a pure heart 

I pray over my friend’s mind – that it will be pure.  

That every thought that does not help them up their mountain, would be  interrupted 

That You would help them to exchange it  

for pure, energizing thoughts that propel them forward 

until they find themselves at the top of their mountain 

We thank you NOW for the rewards at the top You will shine upon them like the  sun – 

Inspiration 

Radiance 

Transformation 

Vision 

Upgrades 

Rest 

Affirmation 

Vindication 

Victory 

Reclamation 

Thank you God. In Jesus Name, Amen