The Mountain Of God...

[Divide]

I wasn't sure where to put this, so just came to the lounge. It's not really heavy doctrine and it's not something that I'm dogmatic about. Just something I've been pondering off and on about lately and maybe it's time to see what some other perspectives are about it.

Ok so a man goes to the foot of the cross, and accepts Jesus as his savior and (receives Him), then gets baptized and begins his walk with the Lord. He reads, he prays, he stops letting sin be a lifestyle for him and...fellowships, speaks of he good news to others about the gospel of Christ (so that he may be useful to the Kingdom and not show up alone on that day!).

And he occupies and waits on the Lord to return for us. He continues to live in the world though he is not of the world. Ok so far?

Occasionally we stumble and sin. Even if it is not a lifestyle we will still sin. When a man accepts the Lord and is in the Kingdom of God, he will be attacked spiritually. Enemy of the state, lol. We all make mistakes. All of the patriarchs in the OT did also. That I would do not, that I do. That I would do I do not. But then we get back up again. We confess our sins, ask forgiveness, the Lord's love covers a multitude of sins, we are still redeemed. We continue our walk with the Lord.

We may visit the foot of the cross, but we do not stay there, do we? We climb the mountain of God and draw closer to Him. We grow up spiritually and mature as Christians, correct? We don't stay at the foot of the cross...(?)

We were babes in Christ, we still are for the most part. Even a lifetime of study and devotion and ministering and praying...will not teach us everything there is to know about Almighty God. We press on do we not? To become toddlers in Christ, then get ahold of our calling in the Lord, and to fulfill our destiny in Christ as He has planned it for us since before the foundation of the world, right? Oh, here:

Hebrews 5:12-14
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.../(KJV)

So we are to be weaned off the milk and grow into the meat in the word of righteousness of our Lord. To press in and grow. Not to stay a babe in Christ but to grow, right? Is this not leaving the foot of the cross and climbing the mountain of God, in a sense of speaking?

Now I do not disparage the work of the cross one whit. But we are to climb to the higher levels of the mountain and grow up spiritually. Now it is a given, that we can do nothing of ourselves, but the Lord which worketh within us, ok? He is bringing us to perfection and sanctifying us over time. It is a process. We are a work in progress. But this doesn't mean that we do not do anything, for we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit and listen and obey and so forth.

Like Peter who walked on the water. He was looking at Jesus and got out of the boat. He did walk on the water. But then he got distracted by the waves and wind, and took his eyes off of Jesus...and immediately began to sink! So he had to do his part by keeping his eyes upon Jesus and when he did, he was given the power to walk on the water. The Lord could only do this for him because Peter had his eyes upon Him. So this isn't a ok I'm saved and now I sit and wait on the Lord, and one day he will come and transform me into perfection, the end. No. We have to cooperate and obey what He says to do now. It is only when we do this that we will grow and begin being perfected and make any progress whatsoever. I don't want to be a babe all my life, do you?

besides, ...on Earth as it is in Heaven. It's not something that will happen someday. It is happening right now. IF we get up and walk away from the cross to climb up the mountain and progress and go higher. When we fall, as we will sometimes, we go back to the foot of the cross, start again, repent, forgive, start climbing again. Does this make sense at all?

What was it? After Jesus's resurrection he appeared to 500 at once or something like that? They converted and believed...then He sent them out 2 by 2...right? To go do the work.

So we don't stay at the foot of the cross. We climb the mountain, right?

I've tried thinking of names for the higher levels of the mountain. It seems to me, that the higher we go the (better view we will have of the big picture around us and the more we will understand!!), but the footing will be narrower up on the mountain. Not the big wide flat bottom. Levels. Faith, hope, Love, Galations 2:20, and so forth.

hope this wasn't too long.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Some leave Jesus in the manger still needing His mother, others leave Him on the cross in death, yet others follow Him into the heavenlies.

Song of Solomon 4:8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.

 

[Divide]

Some leave Jesus in the manger still needing His mother, others leave Him on the cross in death, yet others follow Him into the heavenlies.

Song of Solomon 4:8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.

Good scripture Sister! Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I got accused of denying the work of the cross on another board for saying this same thing. Like we have to stay at the cross or something. By a few people actually. Christians! The cross was a good and merciful work for us, but...there was a resurrection too! the cross may have atoned for our sins, but the power of the Lord and the, well, everything else! came from the resurrection. Now is the beginning for us!

Or so it seems to me. Lol.

 

[~Anastasia~]

We take up our cross and follow Him, no? So there should always be a cross right at hand.

I'm wondering what it is about being at the foot of the Cross (I take that as repentance, but maybe you mean something else?) ... that prevents us doing that AND growing in the Lord at the same time. Seems like they work together.

(And for what it's worth, we tend to focus MUCH more on the Resurrection/Risen Lord than the Crucifixion, but both are of course essential.)

So maybe I misunderstand you. Forgive me if that's the case.

 

[Divide]

We take up our cross and follow Him, no? So there should always be a cross right at hand.

I'm wondering what it is about being at the foot of the Cross (I take that as repentance, but maybe you mean something else?) ... that prevents us doing that AND growing in the Lord at the same time. Seems like they work together.

(And for what it's worth, we tend to focus MUCH more on the Resurrection/Risen Lord than the Crucifixion, but both are of course essential.)

So maybe I misunderstand you. Forgive me if that's the case.

You do make a good point that we do pick up our cross and carry it daily and follow him. That is a better way of saying it than walking away from the cross to climb the mountain. Surely it is. Yes. I'ma going to rephrase that from now on, lol. Thank you.

But my point is, I've gotten so much flack about no you don't leave the cross, that's denying it. And we can't do anything but wait on the Lord. We do not go to the Lord, He comes to us... And that is just not right. I think this comes from lukewarm lazy Christians who do not want to do anything, they say the Lord will come, we merely occupy and wait. And that it is even occultic to seek the Spirit of the Lord and to seek His very manifested presence because I will certainly accidentally bring evil spirits to me and that we should be content to merely wait upon the Lord...(HA!)

That is not right. Scripture says, seek the Lord and you will find Him. He who seeks will find, Knock and it will be opened unto you. When the Lord died upon the cross, the veil was rent in two, thereby making it so that we no longer need an intercessor such as a priest to entreat the Lord for us. We all should be living under an open heaven. And it also says that no one can snatch us from His hand. So if we are seeking the Lord (and to climb the mountain of God) to grow and walk in His ways...there is no way that we could "accidentally" bring evil spirits and go down the wrong path. I believe that's carnal Christian thinking, and yet, scripture clearly tells us to not lean upon our own understanding, but to open our hearts to the Lord and abide in Him and He will come dwell within us. That we really do not need any man to teach us, for the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth.

We are supposed to study to show ourselves approved, but to also be led by the Holy Spirit in all that we do. And the Holy Spirit will give us revelation of the truths of the mysteries of Heaven and righteousness and we will be led up the mountain.

I think the only reason you may have partially misunderstood me was because I had a poor choice of words...which you very aptly cleared up for me.

Is that better?

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Good scripture Sister! Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I got accused of denying the work of the cross on another board for saying this same thing. Like we have to stay at the cross or something. By a few people actually. Christians! The cross was a good and merciful work for us, but...there was a resurrection too! the cross may have atoned for our sins, but the power of the Lord and the, well, everything else! came from the resurrection. Now is the beginning for us!

Or so it seems to me. Lol.

The scripture reminds me that we must be discerning of, yet dwelling with (in the world not of) In the mountains are also where the wild beasts dens are. There are 3 mountains there that we're to come away to. Each looks over a different aspect of spirituality imo.

 

[Divide]

The scripture reminds me that we must be discerning of, yet dwelling with (in the world not of) In the mountains are also where the wild beasts dens are. There are 3 mountains there that we're to come away to. Each looks over a different aspect of spirituality imo.

No...When I was speaking of the mountain of God and climbing it...this is a figurative thing and not actually earthly mountains where animals dwell...You have misunderstood me Sister.