How Glory Increases
Mark 11:22-24 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Jesus taught how to move mountains. Why bother to instruct us in such matters other than that HE WANTS US TO MOVE MOUNTAINS! We are being trained for Glory. How else do we become used to the miraculous acts of a miracle-working God than to partner with Him as He puts His Glory on display.
However, you may have noticed that some of the mountains we command to step aside and get out of our way don’t budge, much less be cast into the sea. I’ve come to realize something. Struggle is part of our training for Glory. When we struggle it increases our capacity, strengthens our resolve, and deepens our endurance.
Struggle is like climbing a mountain. It’s a lot of hard work that can test our limits. But the view from the top is spectacular. I’m sure that Moses remembers His mountaintop experiences. His first encounter with the Glory was at the burning bush on Mount Horeb. His second encounter with Glory was atop Mount Sinai. When he came down from the mountaintop he was carrying tablets of stone written by the finger of God, and his face was shining with Glory.
When Jesus climbed Mount Tabor with Peter, James, and John He was transfigured before them and visited with Moses and Elijah in a conversation I would have loved to overhear. There was Glory at the top of the mountain.
So, we have two ways that we interact with mountains. One, we command them out of our way. But, sometimes we just have to start climbing. Both strategies result in Glory. I always begin by speaking to every obstacle standing in my way. But, if it doesn’t move right away, I don’t just sit there at the foot of the mountain. I start to climb. Because, I know there is Glory on the mountaintop.
Jesus was made perfect through suffering. That doesn’t mean He wasn’t perfect to begin with. It means that He became the representation of all the suffering of all mankind through His suffering. Through His preparation as our sacrifice, our redemption was fully realized through suffering. It actually makes His ultimate victory through His resurrection even more glorious!
Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
When we struggle, it is our opportunity to see even more Glory revealed in our life and circumstances. Stand firm. Trust the Lord. Command the mountain to move aside. But if it doesn’t move, start climbing. Mountains of adversity are the same mountains where Glory shows up.
Here is the one true mountain we all face:
Hebrews 12:18-21 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”
Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
READ
Romans 5:1-5; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Peter 5:10-11
ACTIVATION
Bring to your remembrance the most difficult moments you have lived through and think about how you faced them. Did you speak to the mountain or did you climb it? Did you sit at the foot of the mountain and bemoan your troubles? How did it work for you? I believe it’s time to stand up, shake it off, and start to declare. And if necessary, start climbing. One thing is certain; you will see Glory.
Jesus taught how to move mountains. Why bother to instruct us in such matters other than that HE WANTS US TO MOVE MOUNTAINS! We are being trained for Glory. How else do we become used to the miraculous acts of a miracle-working God than to partner with Him as He puts His Glory on display.
However, you may have noticed that some of the mountains we command to step aside and get out of our way don’t budge, much less be cast into the sea. I’ve come to realize something. Struggle is part of our training for Glory. When we struggle it increases our capacity, strengthens our resolve, and deepens our endurance.
Struggle is like climbing a mountain. It’s a lot of hard work that can test our limits. But the view from the top is spectacular. I’m sure that Moses remembers His mountaintop experiences. His first encounter with the Glory was at the burning bush on Mount Horeb. His second encounter with Glory was atop Mount Sinai. When he came down from the mountaintop he was carrying tablets of stone written by the finger of God, and his face was shining with Glory.
When Jesus climbed Mount Tabor with Peter, James, and John He was transfigured before them and visited with Moses and Elijah in a conversation I would have loved to overhear. There was Glory at the top of the mountain.
So, we have two ways that we interact with mountains. One, we command them out of our way. But, sometimes we just have to start climbing. Both strategies result in Glory. I always begin by speaking to every obstacle standing in my way. But, if it doesn’t move right away, I don’t just sit there at the foot of the mountain. I start to climb. Because, I know there is Glory on the mountaintop.
Jesus was made perfect through suffering. That doesn’t mean He wasn’t perfect to begin with. It means that He became the representation of all the suffering of all mankind through His suffering. Through His preparation as our sacrifice, our redemption was fully realized through suffering. It actually makes His ultimate victory through His resurrection even more glorious!
Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
When we struggle, it is our opportunity to see even more Glory revealed in our life and circumstances. Stand firm. Trust the Lord. Command the mountain to move aside. But if it doesn’t move, start climbing. Mountains of adversity are the same mountains where Glory shows up.
Here is the one true mountain we all face:
Hebrews 12:18-21 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”
Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
READ
Romans 5:1-5; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Peter 5:10-11
ACTIVATION
Bring to your remembrance the most difficult moments you have lived through and think about how you faced them. Did you speak to the mountain or did you climb it? Did you sit at the foot of the mountain and bemoan your troubles? How did it work for you? I believe it’s time to stand up, shake it off, and start to declare. And if necessary, start climbing. One thing is certain; you will see Glory.
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