10/01/2025
When we are lifted up and standing in that spiritual high place with Jesus do we want to stay there forever? When we are feeling the electric thrill of faith coursing through us and every hair on our body has risen as if in unison to the breeze of God's breath, do we want to remain in that state always? Well of course the answer is yes, but that is not what we are meant to do.
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,”
Mark 9:2 ESV
I once worked for a very large conglomerate, and two times a year the upper management of each company owned by this corporation came together in exotic places around the country to discuss topics of concern, interest, and success we had faced. We would take turns speaking to the gathering and although hearing of these things was important, the main reason for our meetings was to encourage one another. This is why Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the high mountain with Him. He didn't want to teach them about configuration... He wanted to fire them up and prepare them for what lay ahead, and then to send them back into the ordinary world to do those things. Pastor Oswald Chambers wrote about this experience in our lives...
"We are not built for the mountains and the dawns and aesthetic affinities, those are for moments of inspiration, that is all. We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle. Spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the Mount." - Oswald Chambers
When I attended the corporate meetings in those beautiful places with my peers, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed those times and the company of those people, and I would love to have stayed there and discussed what-ifs and theorized about the problems we faced back home, but once rejuvenated I needed to go back to Nashville Tennessee and address the issues facing my company with the enthusiasm of having been to the mountain. The idea of staying elevated on that corporate mountain top thrilled me, but by going home I impacted the lives of thousands of people who worked there, and could make them better.
Going home allowed me to not only lead my company in achieving more, but to provide the products and services we offered to millions of people in America and around the world. By example, without my company's success there would have been no Space Shuttle and the inspiration which that product brought to the world. Staying would have been a selfish act and would have benefited me alone. Going home changed the world.
Being on the mountaintop with Jesus and standing with Elijah, and Moses before God,
Tempts us to remain there forever; just as it tempted Peter. Listen to what he said…
“And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."”
Mark 9:4-5 ESV
But our purpose isn't to remain on that high place forever and to build dwellings there, but to carry the transformation we have witnessed and undergone from this experience back to those who didn't have the benefit of that moment. As we look at such moments of faith our stream of spiritual water needs to flow down into the river of life and make it more than it was before. Our pure water is meant to dilute and make clear the muddy waters of the world. God wants our souls, but He also wants those of every other person as well. Towards this end we are sent into the world. For this reason, we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and teach the Word of God.
“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."”
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Jesus is with us when we stand upon the mountain with Him, and just as He was transfigured there, we are changed there too, but then He sends us back down into the valleys and vile places of the world. Wonderfully He is right there alongside us as we reach out to the fallen and lift them up. Pastor Chambers was right when he wrote that we are not built for the mountains, but for the valleys. Are we ready to visit the mountain and then return to those who need us most?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for those times you lift me up to the mountain where you stand, and I thank you for the thrill, rejuvenation, and change that those times bring to my life, but I thank you more for sending me back to do your will in the valley. I thank you for the privilege of serving those who are fallen, downtrodden, and need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and your Holy Word. Thank you for using me and keeping your hand on me always. Thank you for your Son Jesus who is with me always... even as He said He would be. On your high maintain I am purified, but in the valley I deliver a message that clears the muddy waters of mankind. In the valley I wash the dirt and filth of sin from those who are blinded by it and return their sight through your good Word and the presence of Jesus. As I work to do your will each day I become exhausted Father, but you lift me up from time to time and show me glimpses from your glorious perspective, and those moments encourage and replenish me. I praise you for each of those times, I praise you in my prayer closet, and I praise before all mankind that they can see your might, and understand the blessing that comes from your very presence among us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you Father, and at your feet, and in your will, I desire to remain throughout eternity… but more than all else I desire to love and serve you with all my heart, body, mind, and strength. I long to wash the feet of the downtrodden, lost, and struggling, wherever I am sent. Here me now as I pray this in the name of Jesus and call out Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen!
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
John 17:14-19 ESV
Rich Forbes