Luke 9:28-36
The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes observed that there was a “time and a season for every matter under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,” and so forth.
So we go through “seasons and times” of the body, mind, and soul, as pilgrims on this journey from the cradle to the grave – seasons of birthing and dying, seasons of joy and sorrow, seasons of war and seasons of peace, etc.
At the same time we are going through “seasons and times,” we are also going through all kinds of different “landscapes.” Some are rugged and some are smooth. Some days are
Landscapes are like “seasons,” but seasons of the soul, like seasons in creation, tend to last longer. Landscapes, on the other hand, can change at any given moment.
For instance, leaving for work in the morning and backing into your garage door without first putting it up can change the landscape of your entire day, can’t it?
Getting into an argument with your best friend can change your day’s landscape.
News that it’s time to get ready to go back to school will change your landscape.
On the flip-side, getting a hug at the right time will change your landscape, won’t it?
We’re going to look at different kinds of Christian landscapes this month and find out how believers can get through them better with the help of the Lord.
Today we’re going to look at mountains. And what do Christians do when faced with mountains?
We climb them and we conquer them. That’s what Jesus did, so let’s follow.
Luke 9:28-31
Mountains are formed when forces come together and press against each other or when forces build up and can’t be contained any longer. That’s why in mountain-moments we always feel as if we are facing something “big.”
Mountains come in all shapes and sizes. Financial obligations, work demands, family issues, health problems, spelling tests, filing workman’s comp, and some days just trying to get dinner on the table or house-breaking a puppy can all become mountains at any given moment. These and countless other mountains feel big to us. They can feel overwhelming. They can feel unconquerable. They can appear insurmountable.
Geologically and spiritually speaking, mountains are both created by forces.
One kind of mountain is formed when forces push and press geological plates against each other, causing the land to be thrust up into mountains.
The second kind of mountain is formed when forces build up in the depths of the earth and explode through the earth’s surface. We call them volcanic mountains.
When Jesus climbed to the top of mountain one day in the northern reaches of
Whenever you are following Christ, striving to be a Christian, working to serve the Lord, reading your Bible, worshipping God faithfully, and moving forward in your faith, “forces” are going to rise up and push back against you. In the natural as well as in the supernatural, forces are going to come against you in the attempt to hamper and hinder your walk with Christ.
These forces create the mountains. Mountains are sure to come to those who are moving forward in Christ.
And when they do, we do what Jesus did – we climb them and we conquer them.
Luke 9:28-29
When the level landscapes of life change and mountains rise up before us, we climb them and conquer them when we rise up as well….when we rise up in prayer;
Did you notice that Jesus, feeling the pressure of the forces lining up against Him, intentionally decided to climb a mountain?
It was almost as if He was demonstrating to His followers that when mountains rise up against you, the answer is to climb them and conquer them through prayer.
I discovered something quite by divine accident this week. As I was pushing my hands against each other as if to demonstrate to myself how geological plates can push against each other and thrust up into mountains, I realized that they eventually came to form praying hands.
Luke and the other gospel writers indicate that Jesus climbed this mountain “to pray.” Why couldn’t He pray down in the valley? Why did He have to climb this mountain to pray unless maybe it was in praying on top of the mountain that He would gain the power from His Father to conquer the forces that pressed and pushed against Him?
I don’t know the reason for sure, but I do know this. Jesus climbed the mountain, and that’s what we do when we face our mountains. But as we climb them, we need to be praying about them and even against them all the way.
Mountain-moments are praying moments.
Mountains will come. So what do we do? We climb them and we conquer them. How? Through prayer, communion with God, submission to God, and drawing on God.
Luke 9:29-31
God allows mountain-moments to come into our lives because they are spiritual moments when specific revelations are given to us and changes are made within us.
Art Linkletter asked a little boy what he wanted to be when he grew up, and the boy said that he wanted to be a policeman. Linkletter asked, “Have you ever seen one up close?” The boy answered, “I’ll say! The other day Dad got a ticket for going through a stop signal and when the cop came up to the car, I helped him.” “How did you help the policeman?” asked Linkletter. The boy iced the cake when he finished, “I told him that Dad hadn’t been looking.”
Sometimes, friends, I believe that God allows forces to come together in the natural and the supernatural and o make mountain-moments because He wants to help us. He wants to help us to “see” things that we can’t see down in the valleys. Mountain-moments are times that reveal things that we otherwise wouldn’t see, don’t see, or can’t see….about ourselves, about others, about God, about our faith, and a whole lot more.
Just as Jesus was given revelations of things to come from Moses and Elijah up on the mountain, so too, will God reveal things to us in prayer as we climb and conquer our mountains. I have found out more about me and my faith, my weaknesses, my shortcomings, my strengths, and my need for God when facing mountains than when facing anything else. When mountain-moments drive me to my knees and open my eyes.
And we’re changed in mountain-moments. Just as Jesus was transfigured and was changed right before the eyes of the disciples there on that mountain, I believe that God allows the forces pressing against us to rise up as a mountain so that He can transfigure us. I believe that mountain-moments have made changes for the better within me that cannot happen in any other way than when facing mountains.
Mountain-moments are going to come. And when they do, what do we do?
We climb them and we conquer them, knowing that in prayer and communion with God, He will reveal divine things to us and changes us into the likeness of His Son along the way. Praise God!
Luke 9:32-33
Many people are crushed by mountain-moments because they are already weighed down by the cares, worries, distractions, materialism, and the weariness of daily life.
You know, some of us couldn’t stuff anything more into our day, into our heads, and into our hearts if we tired to.
I had never “seen” these particular words in all the years I have read this passage of the transfiguration of Christ on the mountain until the Lord revealed it to me this week: “weighed down.”
Peter, James, and John were “weighed down” with sleep.
Have you ever noticed how much harder it is to walk, even on level ground much less climb a mountain, when you’re weighed down?
So many people are crushed by mountain-moments and fail to climb them and conquer them for the simple reason that they are so weighed down by the cares, worries, distractions, and the materialism of this world…all the thing we talked about last Sunday.
When mountain-moments suddenly rise up before you, do a quick, spiritual inventory and shed any weight in your heart, mind, and soul at the foot of the cross.
This shedding will help you to be more light in your spirit, more powerful in your prayers, more hopeful in your efforts, and more joyful in your attack upon the mountain.
Listen, mountains are going to come. You can’t get around this fact that forces are going to press and push against you if you are striving to do the will of God. Jesus faced mountain-moments in the landscape of His life’s journey.
But what did He do when the mountains rose up?
We climbed them and He conquered them because He faced them with prayer, welcomed the revelations and changes that came with each mountain, and He made sure He was not weighed down.
We are followers of Christ. Follow His lead when mountain-moments come, and you will also be able to climb every mountain.
Climb every mountain,Search high and low,Follow every byway,Every path you know.
Climb every mountain,Ford every stream,Follow every rainbow,'Till you find your dream.
A dream that will needAll the love you can give,Every day of your lifeFor as long as you live.
Climb every mountain,Ford every stream,Follow every rainbow,Till you find your dream
