UP INTO A MOUNTAIN
Matthew 4:25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Luke 6:17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
Even from ancient times the Lord God spoke of feeding his people upon the mountains of Israel. Therefore his people spoke of lifting up their eyes of expectation and hope unto the hills! Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
Psalm 121:1 ¶ I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
And for the coming of our final redemption we are instructed to “Look up.” Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
And in our two accounts of the Lord’s delivering his “Beatitude” message, as seen in the above two accounts of both Matthew and Luke, we see that those who were satisfied with but physical healing remained “in the plain,” while those to whom he would heal spiritually by his word, departed with him “up into a mountain.”
We also recall that when the first major Gentile kingdom of Babylon was presented to us in the scriptures the king set up a golden image of himself in the plain of Dura! Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
The point is that carnal, organized religion always seeks a convenient god, and an easy way of access to him! This is the broad way that leadeth unto destruction. Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
And when the wicked King Jeroboam would turn the hearts of the people away from true worship, he spoke of it as being too inconvenient, proposing a much more easy way of worship. 1 Kings 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
But King David, being a man after God’s own heart, refused to receive as a free gift the very property upon which Solomon’s temple was to be built, that would cost him nothing! 1 Chronicles 21:22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. 23 And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. 24 And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. 25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
For one is not much of a worshipper of the true and living God who does not invest much of himself into his religion! Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
But going up into the spiritual realm, separating one’s self from the masses of carnal religionists who imagine themselves as true worshippers, is a very private and personal matter. It cannot be shared by those who experience it to those who have not. It is only given to individuals whom the Lord chooses to reveal himself! Matthew 17:1 ¶ And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. It is only those who have been brought to receive it by grace alone who can stand on resurrection ground!
For it is only those who being spiritually resurrected with Christ – raised from being dead in trespasses and sins – that can seek these spiritual things! Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
These three who went up and viewed the Lord’s transfiguration, saw the glory of his inner spirit shine through his outer flesh. It was a private matter to them, which they were instructed not to discuss with anyone else at that time. Yet even they had to be corrected as how to understand it from the Father. For they wanted to direct it into a matter of traditional religious practice of building temporary booths in order to make a shrine on that spot. This caused a rare incident, of which we have but few accounts – God the Father, spoke to them! Matthew 17:4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
For the true issue from God was the revelation of the Person of the Word! The revelation of the Son of God! Therefore they were explicitly instructed that their sole responsibility was to “hear ye him!” For those true lovers of Christ are as the song writer stated,
“The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face.
I shall not look at glory,
But on my King of grace!”
For it is but the Harlot Church who make so much of gates of pearl, and pavement of gold. But the true believers have not that carnal curiosity solely for heavens brightness, but the blessed hunger of looking finally upon the Righteousness of the Lamb of God who gave himself for them. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
The question which the disciples asked in this passage should not be ignored. Having seen Elijah they ask, “Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?” Then the Lord corrects that erroneous religious mindset, revealing the error of religion’s literal understanding. For he instructs them that the person of Elijah would not come, but truly one would come in “the spirit and power of Elijah.” Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
And that one was John the Baptist! Matthew 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. So when we go up into the spiritual atmosphere of the glory, we have our religious stinking-thinking corrected, our eyes being anointed to clearly see such things as being spiritually interpreted. John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Sadly, religion has brainwashed the masses into thinking that they must either envision Jesus as a baby in a manger, or as a dead man on a cross. Yet we are clearly instructed by the scriptures that this in not acceptable. Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
2 Corinthians 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The only authorized ‘description’ of the Son of God is given to us in the first chapter of His Revelation. Here is that revelation set forth: Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Truly, one must Go Up Into A Mountain, alone with God to perceive that vision of the Person of God! John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
“We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is!” – 1 John 3:2
And shall you now remain on religion’s plain?
Pastor Gene Breed
April 29, 2023
