God told Moss at the burning bush what the journey to fulfill a heavenly call would be like. Ex. 3:8 says, “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…” Christians worldwide love that verse. They’ve got it underlined and highlighted in their Bibles. We all want to live in a place that’s flowing with milk and honey. This applies to our homes, our jobs, our health, our possessions, and especially to the vision God places in each of our hearts. This verse, however, doesn’t end there.In most Bibles the second half of this verse is not highlighted and quite frequently people tend to overlook the vital truth contained therein. God said He would lead His people “…to the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.” These are the giants and the fortified cities where their enemies dwelled. In other words, fulfilling a heavenly call will be no picnic.
The promised land is symbolic of the fulfillment of your dream and the enemies who dwell there are types and shadows of the problems that we must all deal with. Many people believe that the Israelites learned about the giants when the twelve spies went across the Jordan River to spy out the land. But no, God told Moses about them back at the burning bush. He wanted everybody to know up front what they’d be up against and He is saying the same thing to each of us today. This verse can very well be translated like this, “I will lead you to the fulfillment of your call, the place of problems and problems and more problems.” This is why so very few people fulfill their call. They refuse to face and defeat the giants that reside in their promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb entered in from that generation. It has been estimated that two million people came out of Egypt and only two entered in. That’s one per million! We may never know what the ratio is today but the Bible does say that many are called but few are chosen.
What’s needed today are people who will rise up like Caleb and say with faith and determination, “We are well able to take the land.” Forty years later Joshua, Caleb, and the next generation did enter the promised land and the time came when Caleb stood before Joshua and said, “Give me this mountain.” Mountains are the place of breakthroughs and little did he know that Isaiah would later write in Is. 65:9 these words of the Lord, “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it and My servants shall dwell there.” God’s elect, those who serve Him unconditionally, are inheritors of God’s mountains. These mountains are peak moments when people are lifted up to divine revelation and breakthrough comes. In the Bible God spoke with the sons of Adam on literal, physical mountains and in 1 Kings 20:13 the Lord is called the “King of the mountains.” In the midst of any mountain range are tall peaks that rise majestically into the air. Between these peaks is a land mass called valleys. Yes, it is a valley but it’s still high up on the mountain. In other words, you can live on the mountain and have your breakthrough even though you’re traveling through the valley. And as God’s elect, as one of the chosen few, we have inherited the revelations and the truths that were revealed on these mountains.
Ps. 87:1 says, “His foundation is in the holy mountains.” Mountains are sacred sites and we read in Is. 49:11, “I will make each of My mountains a road, and My highways shall be elevated.” A mountain symbolizes your calling from God and on this mountain is the King’s Highway. Your call is a mountain that has to be climbed. The mountain is worth fighting for and you must rise up and fight for what rightfully belongs to you. You must go out and possess your mountain. You can’t sit back and wait for things to evolve on their own. You must fight the good fight of faith and say with all boldness, “Give me this mountain!” When you are attacked by the devil let him know that you haven’t even begun to fight and that you are in the battle for the long haul. It is your destiny to rise up and claim for yourself the benefits of your spiritual inheritance. Ex. 15:17 says, “You will bring them in and plant them in the mountains of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.” Your mountain, your personal promised land, is a place of promise and revelation that must be climbed and claimed for yourself. As you put one hand and foot above the other, as you begin the climb, dwell continually on Ex. 15:18, “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
Caleb is a good example of a man who possessed his mountain. He wholly followed the Lord and didn’t let the bad report of his fellow spies get him to take his eyes off his mountain. He reminded Jacob, “So Moses swore on that day, saying ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God’” (Josh. 14:9). He then told Joshua, “Give me this mountain” (vs. 12) and vs. 13 says, “And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.” Why did Caleb want this particular mountain? It once belonged to Abraham (Gen. 13:18) and in Hebron is the cave where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried. Later, when David was king over Judah but not yet over all of Israel, his capital city was Hebron for seven and a half years. The word “Hebron” means ‘fellowship’ and this relates to that special kind of love that fills the hearts of believers one for another and for God. It was a sacred site and now the enemy had built strong fortified cities on it. He wanted the mountain set free from the control of those who were not children of God. This same passion should burn in all our hearts.
Another of God’s holy mountains is Mt. Ararat. The mountains of Ararat rise to as much as 17,000 feet and is the place where Noah’s ark rested after the flood (Gen. 8:4). It was on Mt. Ararat where Noah saw the rainbow and it was a place of hope and new beginnings. The ark represents salvation for it was a place of refuge, rest, and safety. The ark was one boat and was three stories high. Likewise, our God is one God Who is a triune being. There is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There was only one door to the ark just as there is only one door to salvation, the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, the ark had no steering mechanism. Noah could not steer and guide the ark and once he and his family entered in they were totally under the control of God. This is how it should be with all of us.
The ark was also a place of supernatural provision. There was only a small window at the top of the ark so supernatural light was provided. This light wasn’t a continual burning fire because the flames would have used up all the oxygen in the air and all those on board would have suffocated. Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Also, supernatural ventilation was provided. If not, the foul-smelling stench alone would have been enough to unravel the plan of God. In Acts 2:2 on the Day of Pentecost we read, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” The power of God was in that wind and Ps. 135:7 tells us, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasures.” Last but definitely not least, the ark was filled with the supernatural love of God. How else could a lion lie down next to a lamb or a wolf by an innocent doe? These animals of the wild did not attack those who fed them and directed them to where they were to stay. Love is a vital necessity for everything we do. 1 John 4:7,8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Without love, nothing else matters.
Mt. Moriah should have a special place in the heart of every born-again believer for it was here that Abraham took his young son Isaac to offer him up as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham had a living covenant with a living God and since Abraham was willing to offer up his son then God also had to be willing to offer up His. Christianity was built on the sacrifice of a Son and Heb. 9:28a says “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” Gal. 3:14 tells us “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Mt. Moriah brought blessing to every person on the face of the earth. It was there that Abraham saw the revelation of having a substitute in death. On the way to the sacrifice the teenage Isaac asked his aging father, “‘Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’ And the two of them went together” (Gen. 22:7b,8). Notice also what Abraham told his servants earlier in vs. 5, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
Twice Abraham confessed that if he would be obedient to God then a substitute would be provided. Sure enough, after he lifted the knife to slay his son and the Angel of the Lord stopped him, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by it’s horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son” (vs. 13). We also have inherited the Abrahamic blessing because Jesus was a Lamb caught in the thorns which were wrapped tightly around his head. He paid the ultimate price for our sins and when we believe God we will be delivered up to a state of righteousness in Christ Jesus. Gen. 22:14 says, “And Abraham called the name of that place The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, ‘In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’” Many years later Solomon built his temple on Mt. Mariah (2 Chron. 3:1) where God also had appeared to his father David (2 Chron. 21,22). Mt. Moriah was a sacred place for them and so also should it be for us.
“In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai” (Ex. 19:1). The peninsula of Sinai has a triangular shape and is 150 miles wide at the north and is 250 miles long. It is a wilderness area with many thorns and thistles growing there. There is a mountain there called Mt. Sinai and it was on this mountain that God met and talked with Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments. Read carefully the words of Ex. 19:17-20, “And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. It’s smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” Moses obeyed. He didn’t miss the day of visitation.
God came down and Moses went to the top of the mountain. Mt. Sinai was consumed with the fire of God and so also should the Word of God burn in our hearts. After His resurrection Jesus appeared on the road to Emmaus and talked with two men who were traveling there. Afterward these men said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). Pentecost was celebrated because God came to Mt. Sinai (Ex. 23:16; 34:22) and God completed the work in the upper room. Five hundred people were told to be there but only a hundred and twenty were present when the fire of God through the Holy Spirit came and consumed their hearts (Heb. 8:10). At Sinai God spoke to the people through Moses but now He speaks to each of us one-on-one! The key is to be attentive to His Words and not to miss the day of visitation. When God speaks, His people listen!
Many more holy mountains are found in the pages of God’s holy Word. Mt. Hor was the mountain where Aaron died and was buried (Num. 20:22-29). Aaron was a high priest before God and at Mt. Hor there was a transfer of priesthood. His garments were put on his sons and today we have inherited the privilege and ability to minister to God personally. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Two more mountains are found in Deut. 27 and 28. Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim were found when the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land. Ebal was a barred mountain whereas Gerizim was fruitful. When the Israelites first entered the land Moses commanded them to erect on Mt. Ebal a monument of stones on which the law was inscribed and a stone altar. The law, with it’s blessings and curses, was recited by the people. The blessings were spoken on Mt. Gerizim and the curses on Mt. Ebal.
There was a valley between these two mountains and we read in Joel 3:14, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” There is a decision each of us has to make. God said in Deut. 30:19, “I call heaven and earth as witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Joshua said it all in Josh. 24:15, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Amen.
Mount Nebo was the name of the mountain from which Moses beheld the Promised Land. Although Moses did not cross over the Jordan River into the land of promise he was able to see it and beheld it’s glory. Mt. Nebo represents hope and promise for the future fulfillment of God’s blessings and the call He has for your life. Faith sees the future and calls those things that be not as though they were. You will never know if you’ve reached your destination unless you first know where you’re going. This is the inherited blessing we all can receive symbolized by Mt. Nebo.
For sure, supernatural strength and power from on high will be needed to defeat the enemies in our own personal Promised Land. Paul wrote in Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” The intervention of God on your behalf is seen in the story of Elijah at Mt. Carmel. This mountain was on the Mediterranean Sea and it was here that Elijah stood against 850 heathen prophets of Baal and defeated them (1 Kings 18). In life there is always a showdown between good and evil and Mt. Carmel shows us that good will always triumph over evil. Yes, there will be giants to defeat in your promised land but “thanks be to God Who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14a). Sing along with Moses and the children of Israel the song they sang after passing through the Red Sea, “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and it’s rider He has thrown into the Sea! The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name” (Ex. 15:1-3).
There are three mountains in the New Testament that all believers must give special attention to. The Garden of Gethsemane was on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Presses were on this mountain to crush the olives into oil and it was here that Jesus was pressed beyond measure. Fulfilling the will of God is no easy matter and Jesus sweat blood in agony. He asked His disciples to come and watch with Him. He wanted them also to pray, surrender, agonize, travail, and become a living sacrifice for the purpose of serving God but they fell asleep instead. In life you have to go to the Mount of Olives before you go to Calvary. The enemy was defeated at the Mount of Olives when Jesus surrendered His will to that of the Heavenly Father. Not long after this Jesus was taken prisoner where He faced the enemy at Calvary. The lesson learned here is that you defeat the enemy before you face him. The Mount of Olives prepares you to meet the enemy. Because the disciples slept on the Mount of Olives they fled when the enemy came to take Jesus away.
There are two words that Jesus says to every person born on planet earth. “Follow Me!” Where does He want us to follow Him to? Mount Calvary. Called “the place of the skull,” Calvary represents a dying to self. Paul wrote in Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” At Calvary your sins are forgiven, wiped away, and remembered no more. At Calvary you receive the benefits of Christ’s death but you also take on the re-possibility to be transformed into the image of Christ. Christianity is not a one-time confession but rather is a life-style of dying to self and being alive to God. It is interesting to note that several days after His resurrection Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives where He ascended to sit at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. He went back to the place of His greatest trial and said, “I have conquered it! I put the pain and agony under My feet.” Likewise, don’t ever run away from your pain and trial. Face it head on! Go to the place of pain and ascend to the throne room of God where you will rule and reign with Him. Like Jesus you also are seated in heavenly places.
Lastly, there is the greatest mountain of all. Mount Zion speaks of the future glory that is available to all of us. Zion was one of the hills on which Jerusalem stood. David captured it and called it the “City of David.” He brought the ark to Zion and the hill henceforth became sacred (2 Sam. 6:10-12). When his son Solomon later moved the ark to the temple on nearby Mount Moriah, the name Zion was extended to take in the temple. The word “Zion” means ‘fortress’ and those who climb and conquer this mountain inherit a mighty fortress, a kingdom that cannot be shaken or moved. The tabernacle of David was put on Mt. Zion and it served as a place of worship for the Israelites. It typified God dwelling with His people and the presence and glory of God radiated out of this sacred place. We are called “children of Zion” (Is. 51:16; Heb. 12:22) because God now lives in the hearts of His people. Ps. 125:1 says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” We are invincible and unshakeable. Satan cannot scale the walls of Mt. Zion and he is fighting a losing battle. On Mt. Zion “we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). Today Mt. Zion is a spiritual mountain where all of God’s people ascend when they worship God. The glory of God envelopes you when you ascend Mt. Zion with a pure heart and clean hands. When Jesus returns at the Second Coming He’ll rule and reign from Mt. Zion. Until that glorious event happens He’ll instead reign on Mt. Zion in the hearts of all His people. Indeed, He is the King of glory and with Him in our hearts we also are partakers of the glory of God. Hallelujah!