Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Today's Chapters: Isaiah 5-8
Message Title: Climb Your Mountain With Jesus

I have never climbed a mountain, but I have climbed plenty of hills, and they can be pretty rough to climb. While no hill is probably as hard to climb as a mountain, the concept is still the same, an escalated climb going in the opposite direction to reach the top. Every day, saved, born again Christians are struggling to climb the mountain that they got themselves on, and many fall because even the strongest Christian can fall. Our salvation does not exempt us from the sin nature that we fight with until the day God brings us home, but God never forgets His children, His hand is still stretched out to help anyone climb their mountain and reach the top. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:7-9.

The hardest part of getting God to help us to the top of our mountain us confessing and repenting of our sins. No one wants to stand before God and tell Him all the things they are guilty of. The truth is, God already knows, He just wants us to acknowledge it to Him, to admit that we know we have done wrong, and to let Him know you mean more to Him than the sin. Through Isaiah, God gives an illustration of the immoral and corrupt, rocky mountain they climb when they continue to live in sin we not even a glimpse of guilt of what they are doing.

“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.” - Isaiah 5:11-16.

God pleads with His people every day to get the worldly life that causes so much pain in their lives out of their lives. The only way He can help is if we humble ourselves before Him. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:8-10.

Isaiah sees an amazing vision from God, Jesus accepting the call to save God's people from their sin. “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” - Isaiah 6:6-10.

Only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ are we able to be purged of our sins, the word seraphim means fiery ones, in reference to their burning love for Christ. They are angels standing above Jesus as He sits upon His throne, ready to minster to him. We will all stand before Christ one day and it will be a day of great fear, but those who have His blood applied to them need not fear because all of their sin has been purged away. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” - John 15:1-3.

With that assurance that does not mean we will not face consequences for living in sin while we remain here on earth. So many Christians are suffering, trying to climb their mountains with their own strength. The truth is, until they are broken, until they stop trying to do it on their own they will keep struggling. That's where Jesus comes in, if we truly want to get up that mountain we need Jesus. This is not something just for us to believe today, even those of the Old Testament had to believe the same thing. Isaiah foretells the amazing prophecy of how Jesus was going to come to save God's people.

“Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.” - Isaiah 7:10-16.

It's really sad that most Jews refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ since it's all right here, but until we believe in and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior we cannot be converted and we cannot be saved. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” -Romans 10:9-13.

As long as we keep looking to God, Jesus will give us the strength to climb the mountain and reach the top. One thing about mountains, once you reach the top, you must come back down. That is the tricky part, but as long as we hold onto Jesus, we will not stumble coming down. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:1,2.

Today's Prayer: Jesus, I do not know how many times I have struggled only to realize that the reason I was struggling was because I was trying to climb my mountain by myself. Yet time and time again Your hand is always reaching out to me when I reach out to You. There is no better feeling that to be at peace and feel all the burdens come off we when I come to You. Lord, give me Your power to remain humble and keep holding on to Your hand, which helps me climb my mountain to reach the top, and also keep me from falling on the way back down. In your name Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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