Good Morning Friends,
The letter to the Hebrews reads a lot like a sermon series. And, in chapter 12, we see a message in the Old Testament narrative where Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments. The early Hebrew tribes were so frightened by the events that they asked Moses to pray that God would not speak directly to them. They asked that God would communicate with Moses as an intermediary. And such is the beginning of the role of prophecy that was reconciled in Christ in a new covenant. So, when we worship and witness today, we are not to come to Mount Sinai in our minds separated from God but to assemble at a mountain top celebration to spread the Gospel of repentance and healing to others following the plan and will of God. And that brings us to a very practical question for the Saints must be equipped. Are We Climbing The Right Mountain And Are We Training Fishermen With The Right Gear?
Scripture: You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:18-24 (NRSV)
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
Matthew 4:19 (NRSV)
He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Mark 6:7-13 (NRSV)
Message: We all have mountains that we face in our lives. Some mountains are small and take very little effort to overcome, but then life throws us those mountains that we cannot even see the top of them let alone conquer them. We cannot do it alone. For some of us, effective witnessing can be such a mountain. And part of the problem might just be that we are climbing the wrong mountain. And part of the problem is that we will never know for sure in this life if we have been effective. The book of Hebrews gives us some profound images of mountains echoed from the Book of Exodus and the image of a shining City on a hill as a place of perfect worship in the heavenly Jerusalem. Interestingly, today’s Gospel selection points us in the direction of a mission of evangelism with Jesus and that is a mountain we cannot go around. Here we must stop playing at being the church and get serious about our assignments. The choice the book of Hebrews presents is that it is either the blood of Abel, which demands vengeance, or the blood of Christ, which provides forgiveness. The rule of God’s grace and judgment cannot be deterred. The power and promises of the Word of God is assured, for we have been promised that the children of God shall dwell in eternal inheritance in that city atop mount Zion whose architect and builder is God. We are not alone in this search. Many seek this place so holy that it multiplies God’s glory in a brand-new dimension of love. Perhaps you have experienced this kind of worship. Perhaps you are ready to go to the mountain where the saints and angels gather. Perhaps you want to come in prayer to Jesus on the throne. But are we approaching God boldly? Maybe the bold step of allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us is to accept Christ from the inside out is the way to relearn what we have forgotten. Maybe the step is submitting to God’s will. Maybe it is an honest conversation about our faith in a relationship with God. Friends, there are some mountains God can guide us around but then there are some mountains we cannot ignore, and the most formidable ones are on the inside.
And So, we need somebody to show us the way. That is why we are called to train disciples to return to the way God intended us to be and why Jesus asks Peter to Feed My Sheep. Let me give you an example from a story about starving pelicans in Monterey, California. For many years Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican’s paradise. As the commercial fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the offal to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. The problem came when the offal was utilized commercially, and recreational fishermen were encouraged to no longer give snacks for the pelicans. The pelicans had become bloated pier bums and were losing their lust for life. When the change came the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew gaunt and thin. Many starved to death and turned up on the beaches throughout California. Wildlife officials finally surmised that the birds had forgotten how to fish for themselves. The problem was solved by importing new pelicans from the south, birds accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit, and the famine ended. Friends, if you are not reading your Bible daily in small groups and relying only on one sermon a week, if you are not guided by the Holy Spirit, you are starving yourself spiritually and will never have the energy to discern what mountains to climb and reach the goal.
Pray that we set an example of climbing the right mountains. Pray we practice by starting small and working our way up. Pray we discern the mountains to walk around and there embrace God’s plan of deliverance. Pray we turn our mountains over to God. Pray we realize that God has already conquered the mountains we will be called to climb. Pray we do not let the mountains of life separate us from God. Pray we realize that God is with us to guide us. Pray we take bold steps of sharing God the Gospel. Pray we have character, perspective, courage and God’s favor. Pray we realize that though the Gospel is a gift it is also a priceless one. Pray for a City on a hill where redemption rules. Pray we are called out for purpose. Pray for a solution that is a living vibrant relationship with God…an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God to destroy the bondage and replace it with a purpose whose architect is God. Pray we get out of our sins and messes and replace them with a vision and purpose worthy of God. Pray we are shaken into real worship in the Spirit of heaven…a place the devil is not allowed to go. Pray we get wrapped up, tangled up in the persistent presence of the Glory of God. Pray we live in the city of the living God where the saints pray with us. Pray we relearn how to fish the way Jesus trained his disciples.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 