And you don't have to settle for regular milk! Perhaps they were previously lost, or filled with anger, depression, addiction, confusion. At the very least, tell a fellow Christian about your decision and ask for guidance. There were many heartaches and tears shed over painful relationships with family members and close friends which were also part of the pile. The story in our text today is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke and I believe it's the source of the phrase "A Mountain Top Experience. Copyright www.personality-insights.com. I suddenly gained a perspective about life I had never had up until that moment. Philippians 4:13. As soon as Jesus and company reach the summit, he undergoes the mysterious process of transfiguration. There we can change the world and share Gods love and faithfulness that is as stolid as the mountains.We come down from the mountaintop because very few people are there. Those moments at a worship concert or at the end of a sermon when the person holding the microphone makes a powerful speech with emotional music playing in the background. adjective situated at the top or summit of a mountain: a mountaintop house. Sinai still a third time because he shattered the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments upon hearing that the Israelites had manufactured and worshiped a golden calf in his absence. TheLordwill keep you from allevil;he will keep your life. , the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering. Maybe youve realized a new passion you have that you can practice in your community. On one particular hike, the sun was setting, the warm air brushed against me, and the silence engulfed me. The first time we see Jesus on a high mountain is in Matthew 4 when he is being tempted by the Devil. Horeb, Elijah stood in the mouth of a cave and heard God speak not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the sounds of silence. 2023. Moses had asked to see Gods glory, and only got to see the backside of God as he passed by. You feel overcome by a greater awareness of Gods reality. The mountain top experience was a sanctuary, and a challenge. Here is our startling recognition: the Christian's mountaintop experience is to come in contact with the Word of God. Our God is an awesome God, and He loves to come to us in ways He knows will change us. 3:17). He will teach us about his ways so that we may walk in his paths. For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2-3 CSB). But as Jesus might say, We cant work effectively for God in the valley until we have been transformed spiritually with God on the mountain. But Jesus was not reflecting the glory of God; He was shining out the glory of God from within. Things may not be the way you want them to be right now, but as long as you do the next right thing and move in a positive direction, you will continue to learn and grow. The people live in the valleys. the law and the prophets. It is always a good to say nothing when you dont know what to say! But Jesus came and touched [the disciples], saying, 'Rise, and have no fear' (Matt. If youll notice, neither Moses nor Jesus retired on top of a mountain. For Christians, it seems that anything from a relaxing woods retreat to a Mountain-Dew-induced sugar-high at a youth conference can gain the mountaintop moniker. -They spoke about his decrease, which he would accomplish at Jerusalem, There on that high mountain with the representatives of the O.T. This is the walk all . But the valley experience is just as important to our Christian walk. What matters most is that you end up standing on top of it all rather than being consumed by it! Through His Word, Jesus presents grace to frightened disciples on the mountain. Theres only one place to meet with God; only one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus! That somebody is my wife, Joani, and Ive asked Joani to briefly describe her mountaintop experience with us today. There are several reasons. Living on a spiritual high all the time would make for an exhausting life, but there are lessons we can take from each moment and implant them into our routines. We dont know the name of the mountain or its heightthe tallest peak in the region was less than ten thousand feet highbut we know this eventbecame the trios ultimate mountaintop experience. I have established you on the mountaintop. every Bible should be bound and shoe leather. While we face the last couple of weeks of winter there are many things you need to do. However, along the way there were broken relationships and many long hours of hard work and study. II. We also learn something about how things will be in the next life for the saved: When your body dies, you are not annihilated. The distinction between the two is clear (now). We must take what weve learned and processed, allowing it to change us. Appropriately enough, both Moses and Elijah, the greatest lawgiver and the greatest prophet, show up to talk with Jesus. This Lent, follow something deeper than identity One trait that gets very little press is that mountain top experiences often involve waiting. Moses and Elijah were still alive and conscience though they had left the earth hundreds of years before this. I love to see families encouraging and helping one another. On that mountaintop I realized that all the problems and worries that suffocate me daily were so worldly. The disciples needed to know who Jesus was because in the days ahead they would be discouraged, disillusioned as they saw Jesus suffer and die on the cross. Get our latest tips and leader helps with our free monthly e-newsletter. Mixed in with all of that were some great memories and wonderful times of happiness, too. These three disciples are none as the inner circle; Jesus let them in on things the other disciples didnt get in on. White in the Bible speaks of purity, absolute holiness. But, maybe you say, The church doesnt hear the voice like Peter did. 1:19). They are solid and unmovable. V:29-the fashion of his countenance was altered, a reflection of another light, but this was light, this glory was from within! Prophecy is not about a happening, an event, is about a person. They knew a lot about Jesus; but on that mountaintop they. Mountaintop experiences are moments where people experience a dramatic expression of faith. Afterwards, we go back into the valleys where we live our lives. Mountain top removal Definition | Law Insider My purpose is to lead believers into a deeper relationship with God, resulting in them becoming A Bold Christian. Full kitchen, with cookware and dinnerware, dishwasher, microwave, stove/oven, full fridge, coffeemaker. It is always dangerous to say something when you dont know what to say! Check out my Recommended Resources list. There, Jesus face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light (Matt. as he tells you to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow him. Don't be surprised if none of them want the spotl One goose, two geese. Our moments with God shouldnt remain hidden in the past. -For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With this idea, though, one final observation must be made. So when it is too cold for an ice cream party, you can have a hot chocolate party instead! Soon, weekends can be filled with park trips and beach adventures, but for now, the weather is temperamental, so a movie night can suffice. Moses is a prime example of this. My greatest insight from a week of mountain climbing came from the time spent at the bottom of the mountains. We wont be able to implant every detail of the mountain top into the valley, but we cant waste those moments. Moses who represents those who die; and Elijah who represent those who are caught up and never die; will both see Jesus in his glory! And that moment made such an impression on Peter that years later he would refer to it in one of his New Testament letters as proof positive that that he didnt make up the gospel, but was an eyewitness to the very power and majesty of Jesus that changed his life forever. He and his disciples went up this mountain to pray. The fascinating story behind many people's favori Can you handle the (barometric) pressure? In the Old Testament, the mountains of Sinai and Zion are most significant. Everything is tiny and nothing seems to matter when you are that far away from people. But dont forget that six days prior, the disciples spent their own time in a theological fog, utterly confused about the proposed suffering and death of Jesus. Carmel that Elijah staged his mesmerizing victory over 450 prophets of Baal when God breathed down fire from heaven at Elijahs request. MTE's 4WD tag-along tours throughout the Victorian High Country and passenger tours around Walhalla became very popular . In the presence of Jesus with the saints, talking about the Cross! We long for the mountaintop. So where one person might be on their knees in tears over an experience with God, another might simply acknowledge the fact that theyve learned something new about God. Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. At least, that pattern held true for the likes of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Jesus climbing to the top of a mountain not to receive, but to give a new interpretation and understanding of those laws shaping our communal life together as Christians through the Sermon on the Mount. I'd love to go mountain - climbing. Worrying about finances doesnt measure up to what really matters in life. The glory cloud was the sign of Gods approval on the work that Jesus Christ had come to do; to die on the cross as a sacrifice for mans sin, and be raised from the dead the third day. I have ordered from them with great satisfaction for over 20 years. Some experiences are more calm and rational moments. The person and name of Jesus is a name that is above every name! Mountaintop Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com It is on the mountaintop we receive revelation from God, and it is where we often experience the tangible, felt presence of God. , it was a manifestation of the presence of God, the form in which God revealed himself to Israel. He has it all in control. adj. The heap on which he stood consisted of all the experiences and obstacles that he had faced on his journey through life. I recently heard a man say that he had worked all of his life to get to the top of his own personal mountain. as he calls you to leave bitterness behind, and to forgive and find joy. A Mountain Top Experience This is such an awesome piece of Scripture that describes the imagery of a future time when "the mountain of the LORD" and "the house of the God of Jacob" will be a holy place for all the diverse people groups from every nation and of every ethnicity, worshipping God and learning the ways of His wisdom - Amen! They are solid and unmovable. The aspect of a beautiful mountaintop experience has a whole new meaning when you realize that it does not matter what the mountain is made of. Build a pillow fort on your bed in any clear space using four chairs, an abundance of blankets and all the pillows you can find. What was the difference? Peter, James, and John climb up this high mountain with Jesus; probably Mount. Valleys contain lakes and streams and are where rich grasses and varied types of trees grow.Therefore, ranchers take their cattle and sheep to the valley for the rich food. Then in Matthew 17, Jesus is once again climbing a mountaintradition says it's Mt. Both had been shown Gods glory on those mountains. But if we dont use what we have experienced on the mountain to affect the valley, then they might as well just be quick reactions to a fleeting moment. The Cross was a great accomplishment; not an accident, tragedy, disaster! Jesus was God incognito, dressed in human flesh. Baptism is NOT something we do. And the thought of spending an additional 40 days in the fog listening for the voice of God doesnt excite me either. They didn't last for years. How does a congregation go They would come down that mountain knowing without a shadow of a doubt who Jesus Christ was! This past week I attended a two day conference in Atlanta for facilitators of a program called Listen to Your Life. Yes it is, it is good to be in the presence of Jesus, it is good to be in good company, Moses, Elijah, James and John. This reminds me of Church! A glorious, spiritual experience where you were alone with Jesus and your soul was lifted above this old world, and you got a taste of heaven. I love to see goals attained after hard work. But as great as those experiences are, there not the greatest experiences of my life. They allow us to listen to our Christian books while driving, working, or cooking dinner. If you keep striving and climbing you will eventually get on top of it and you will have a life that is helpful to you, profitable to your family and a good influence on your friends. Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends. Jesus face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. It also known valleys are quiet places of rest and peace. The mission field proves a common place where we experience God in new ways. Yet over time we go back to normal life. Jesus death on the cross is the topic of conversation when you have a mountaintop experience! -The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof. The transfiguration was a foreshadowing of that event, but Christs followers would not be able to clearly see that until after the resurrection. If you have Netflix or Hulu, the possibilities of movies are endless. And minds that were already spinning are now completely blown. You will recall that Moses had to return to Mt. And as we immerse our lives in the majestic glory of the Word of God, we never need to. What is it about mountains that invoke a spiritual or religious response from us as human beings? Define mountaintop. Together they represent the entire O.T. And if we keep moving upward an onward, we will eventually get to the peak or sum total of our own personal mountaintop experience! Mountaintop. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mountaintop. Mountain Top Experience's season generally runs from April through December each year. Most of us have had a similar experience, maybe not as intense, but a "mountain top" experience nonetheless. Jesus dead on the Cross as the Lamb of God means Exodus, freedom from sins bondage to all who will apply the blood of Jesus to their heart in faith! Both had famous departures from this earth. I commit myself to daily sharing with others good things You have done for me. When the Word is preached, the power and majesty of God are communicated to His people. Jesus is the. Consider how Peter engages this question in 2 Peter 1:16-21. 2. a large mass or heap; pile. At those times, we receive revelation and teaching from God. Under his feet lay challenge after challenge that he had encountered along the way in his business and personal life. Frankly, I cant imagine being stuck in a dense mountain fog for six days with absolutely nothing to do but look at the fog! Or did we just respond with emotions that were not actually genuine for the long run? It was a Mountain top experience, as heaven came down on that mountain. As for how this takes shape in the coming future, I dont really know and I am okay with that because I am very confident that my job is to be willing and available and He will open and close doors. 17:2). We, of course, visited the ranger station and gift shop at the top, and chatted with one of the rangers about what short hikes we could do while we were at the top and about the recent snowstorm that made the road impassible. Sinai again and again to commune with God and to better understand not just the essential laws for the life of the community, but the rhythms and cycles of what their covenantal life together will be like in the Promised Land. Instead of presenting a contrast of experiences, Peter presents a parallel. Thats almost seven weeks of sitting around in the fog! Thousands of people would say the answer is to stand on the "roof of the world," the summit of Mount Everest. V:36-And when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone. You come down from the mountaintop ready for a changed life. Maybe it was getting married or having children. They were the Lords closes friends, they were with him when he raised Jarius daughter from the dead, and they would be with him in the garden of Gethsemane. Challenging Standardized Test Words, Vol. Husband of Orlena. But make no mistake Jesus was the unrivalled son of God. What is Your Mountain Top Experience? - Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church tain maun-tn often attributive Synonyms of mountain 1 a : a landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than a hill The sun set behind the mountains. All nations will stream to it, and many peoples will come and say, Come, lets go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. I lift up my eyes to the hillsfrom where will my help come? encourage them and help them in the days ahead. But then, out of nowhere, God's presence became real to them. Like the testing of Abraham (Genesis 22:1-19), the receiving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19-20:21) and, of course, the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13). Maybe your mountain top experience was giving your life to Christ for the first time at that altar call. Now, even though Joanis Listen to Your Life conference in Atlanta took place in the suburbs rather than on top of nearby Stone Mountain (which is where, by the way, I proposed to Joani), she still refers to the conference as a mountaintop experience. The High Mountain became the Holy Mountain because he saw the glory of Jesus there! The glory cloud was a sign that Jesus was Gods dwelling place on earth, Jesus was the Mercy seat, he alone provides salvation and forgiveness! Here is our startling recognition: the Christians mountaintop experience is to come in contact with the Word of God. The goal is "Living All Out For Jesus". those moments in the Bible when God revealed Himself to people on a mountain. Mountain top removal means a coal mining operation that will remove an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge, or hill by removing all of the overburden and creating a level plateau with no highwalls remaining instead of restoring to approximate original contour, and is capable of supporting postmining We cant leave them behind us. This unmediated view of the living God happened once, and only once in the Old Testament. Learn a new word every day. It could have been graduating from college and then stepping into a dream job. About Us - Mountain-Top Experience 4. of or pertaining to mountains. To hear the voice of God is to be led to the mountaintop. After clarifying among the three who the real hillbilly is (its the one who has And Im guessing wed have a mountaintop experience at church if we took the time to listen to each other describe our mountaintop experiences. Well have a better understanding of how that intense moment can fit into our everyday. Remember, it was on top of Mt. b : an elongated ridge 2 a : a great mass a mountain of a man E. K. Brown b : a vast number or quantity a mountain of mail a mountain of debt You respond in Worship, praise, awe, thanksgiving, tears, and joy!! the mighty apostle of Pentecost was a great leader in the early church, crucified upside down. And eventually Peter would deny the very one who changed his life. The Israelites were deeply moved by what Moses reported, and promised to obey all that they had heard. Whoever has ears, let them hear. Our job is to share Gods reconciliation with them and bring them to the mountaintop for their own personal experience with God. Jesus is the only one to ever walk this earth who was absolutely sinless and holy! To get on higher ground, to climb above the mundane, and get in the place where the glory of God can touch our lives, and we can see JESUS as He is in glory and power, and hear God speak to our hearts. He neither deserves the honor or respect that entails. The law and prophets all meet in Jesus, they point to Jesus, and they preach Jesus. By adding some whipped cream and a cinnamon stick, a regular cup of warm chocolate powder in milk becomes more like a dessert. Moses was reflecting the glory of God because he had been in the presence of God; that is something we all should do! the cloud which covered the Tabernacle with Gods glory. Many people want special blessings, and mountain top experiences but they do not want to be dedicated to Jesus. The Father speaks from the cloud (Matt. In those moments, do we lose the passion and the awe we once felt on top of that mountain? 1:17). (see Exodus 19) died on Mt. The Holy Spirit really works through the sacrament of baptism. Horeb, which is described in the bible as the mountain of God. Later, Moses will climb Mt. When the Bible says that Jesus was transfigured, it means that He became on the outside what He was on the inside. Yet, if we keep going and if we keep climbing, the sum total of all those experiences will keep us moving upward in the right direction. Sinai. A MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCE | FaithWriters But it seems that the visual experience did not generate the immediate fear and awe one might expect. Keep reading Matthew 17 and youll see that during their descent from the mountain the disciples have a frightening encounter with a demon from hell. Barkley spent his final four seasons with the Rockets, but the team's big threecomprised of him, as well as Olajuwon and Clyde Drexlerwas never able to get them back to the NBA, Later that day in February, Ms. Dean visited the, The Tanners handed the Red & Black their first loss of the season and reminded everyone who sits atop the Middlesex, The duo in recent days flew back to Los Angeles from the snowy city of Aspen, Colorado, where they were huddled in deep planning, and now like holy figures coming down from the, The best team in the states largest classification reached the, In the film, Korean detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) is probing the death of a climber who fell from a, Post the Definition of mountaintop to Facebook, Share the Definition of mountaintop on Twitter, The businesss new computer system proved not to be a. If youve ever been to a mountaintop, then you are familiar with the feeling of dizziness. I love to see groups of people work together and everyone succeed. Jesus gives us his word that we might obey it, put it to practice in our lives, and live it out every day! But Jesus explained that Elijah had already come in the ministry of John the Baptist. Metamorphosis- An outward change that comes from the inside. The glory of God shines the brightest with the topic of conversation is the redemptive work of Jesus Christ! It is time to drop the negative connotation attached to valleys and embrace their true purpose. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples When it happens, they become excited and zealous for God. This is my favorite source for everything Christian. Did we really experience change? It involves a series of visual maps which are designed to help us sort through the chapters of our life story and rediscover clues about those places in our life where God has been, and is continuing to work. DISC Certification, Speaker Boot Camp etc. Jesus is above all men, Jesus has no Equal! mountain noun [C] (VERY LARGE HILL) A2 a raised part of the earth's surface, much larger than a hill, the top of which might be covered in snow: The Matterhorn is one of the biggest mountains in Europe. Bible Verses About the Mountaintop Experience & Godly Journey Mountains are a symbol of steadfastness. Moses and company obeyed, hiking to the foot of the mountain where an astonishing thing happened: they saw the God of Israel, and they lived to talk about it!