Introduction
At the time of first writing this book, I lived in a town (Huntsville, AL) full of rocket scientists, and I grew up in a town (Cape Canaveral, FL) where astronauts took flight on the rockets they created. Rocket scientists know everything there is to know about propulsion, except the actual experience of it. Astronauts, however, know propulsion by experience—they have found out. Not many scientists have the courage or the heart to actually experience propulsion. There is a much greater sacrifice required to find out, but there is also a much greater reward. And so it is in the Christian life. If an astronaut must put on his suit before he or she can experience deep space, we must intentionally and diligently put on the words of Christ before we can experience the deeper life.
We may not like to hear it at first, and we may have some poor misconceptions about the word, but God has tied every good thing we need to obedience. True salvation is evidenced by it (Matthew 7:21-27,Hebrews 5:9), answered prayers (John 15:7, 1 John 3:21-22), freedom from sin/addiction (John 8:31-36), sensing his presence (John 14:21-23), knowing Him (1 John 2:3-6), feeling loved by Him (John 15:10), having peace (Phi 4:9), gaining wisdom and understanding (Psalm 111:10, Mark 4:23-25), knowing His will for your life (Ps 25:12-14), gaining his favor (Psalm 5:12), protection and warning (Psalm 19:11, Isaiah 54:17), and being fruitful and joyful (John 15:5-11).
It is costly to follow Jesus, but please trust me; there is a world of difference between suffering for Jesus and suffering apart from Him as a carnally minded and/or disobedient “Christian”. Once you finally break through the veil of self and enter the holy of holies with Him, you will no longer remember any so-called sacrifice. On the contrary, you will experience a love and a peace from the Father so intimate and personal that it will soon float you above every single trouble and circumstance you face in life. Do you believe it? It is my actual experience!
My friend do not let unbelief rob you from experiencing God’s deep love for you. He gave you a personal will and you can hinder His love in your life by exercising your will against His. God will not force your hand; you must choose to let go of your will and trust His. I am experiencing God’s indescribable love for me, His presence, and His guidance daily, not only because I desired it, but because I believed it was possible. Do you?
A mountaintop experience with Jesus, where you find life to the full, is the climax of the Christian life on earth. However, one only needs to read the Beatitudes to realize that the journey is impossible, in your own strength. We have a better chance of climbing Mount Everest on our own, than we do of living up to the demands of Jesus Christ. God made it this way intentionally. If we could do it on our own, we most certainly would. And that would bypass God’s purpose for creating us—relationship with Him. Climbing to the top of God’s Mountain must be done in daily dependence on Him, not apart from Him. If you handed me a list of Christ’s commands and I set off to go obey them on my own, I am on my way to guaranteed failure like those under the law. I found two major keys to a successful mountain top climb. First, daily humble and prayerful dependence on Christ (the true vine). Second, the faith to obey and take the hard or risky action of doing my part first (like Peter lifting his own legs out of the boat). God rarely gives His grace (enabling power) to “walk on water” until He sees your faith to start moving, knowing that you cannot do it, unless He intervenes. I can trace every failure along the way back to the absence of one of these. More importantly, I can trace every spiritual treasure I now possess, back to them.”
If you are ready my friend, grab my hand and it will be my greatest joy to lead you through the wilderness and to the mountaintop where He is surely waiting for you. He is ready and willing for you to find out, and so am I! May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, as you trust and obey Him all the way to the top!
These are untouched sticks I came across on a secluded road, while on a prayer walk, after a storm. I was asking God what to focus on to convince more people of Him. His answer was clear! Everything you and I need comes from the Cross of Christ, on the hill of Golgotha.
