It commands avoiding them who preach the gospel for their belly sake and for filthy lucre sake; who make merchandise of men; who with good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple; who suppose that gain is godliness; and who have run greedily after Balaam’s error for reward. Fleeing all appearance of evil; and traditions of men within and without the church so-called (and their many damning wine of fornications) is part of it!
This most serious and earnest pleading which came to us by the mercies of God must always be ours to hearken to: “I beseech therefore, brethren, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable will of God” – Romans 12: 1-2. This is the generation that seeks the Lord! These are the candidates for the rapture.
We shall take the classic hymn of Jane Catharine Bonar (1821-1884) “Jesus is Mine!”
1. Fade, fade, each earthly joy, Jesus is mine!
Break every tender tie, Jesus is mine!
Dark is the wilderness, Earth has no resting place,
Jesus alone can bless, Jesus is mine!
2. Tempt not my soul away, Jesus is mine!
Here would I ever stay, Jesus is mine!
Perishing things of clay, born but for one brief day,
Pass from my heart away, Jesus is mine!
3. Farewell, ye dreams of night, Jesus is mine!
Lost in this dawning bright, Jesus is mine!
All that my soul has tried left but a dismal void;
Jesus has satisfied, Jesus is mine!
4. Farewell, mortality, Jesus is mine!
Welcome, eternity, Jesus is mine!
Welcome, oh, loved and blest, welcome sweet scenes of rest,
Welcome, my Savior’s breast, Jesus is mine!
This is the generation that seeks the Lord here revealed in few lines.
Christianity as Mountaineering
Only those living for Heaven or living with eternity in view really knows that hymn. The more we climb up the spiritual mountain – for Christianity is actually a mountain walk – the more earthly joy fades, earthly tender ties breaks, perishing things of clay pass from the heart away, and the more Jesus is ours; and if we remain in our climb upward and make it at last in the rapture, picture that redeemed, that finally redeemed – that manifested son of God – with these words rolling out:
Farewell, mortality, Jesus is mine!
Welcome, eternity, Jesus is mine!
Welcome, oh, loved and blest, welcome sweet scenes of rest,
Welcome, my Savior’s breast, Jesus is mine!
There is mountain-top Christianity! There is spiritual mountaineering. And we must all be in it. It is glorious getting to the end of this walk. The end of it takes us in that glorious flight with the Lord Himself. For now, we must be walking up there, to be near enough to hear the Last Trump of God; we must be walking up there to be light enough to be caught up in that flight that is like none. A journey upward is carefully taken. It is only those things needed in the journey that are allowed. To be overloaded is failure from day one. You lighten yourself!
And because this is a spiritual walk, we are referring to the overloads in our hearts; the unwanted things in the climb that the flesh excuses, lust justifies, the eye is enticed with, the will cannot resist and the mind for its weakness is prey to. The love of the world, the love of the things that are in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” – 1 John 2: 15-17. The more we go up in the mountain, the more all these things fade, and the more of heaven is ‘introduced’ to us, the more our chances of making it there by and by; but the more Satan wants us not to press upward; also, the more the grace of God, the presence of God and the vision of Heaven is ours.
As we progress in our climbing we would come to discover that certain things we allowed way back should be gotten rid of now. That is the Christian walk. There is always a letting go. As we go ahead, and we become weary and tiresome, that simply could be suggesting that there may well be some thoughts or opinion that we have held tenaciously to that may be wrong which we may let go; or some character, attitude or habit not befitting your present level of Christianity that must be dealt with and conquer; or some objects or possessions we hold dearly to your heart that we may let go; and depending on what they are, they may be what we may out rightly destroy or give to others who may have better need of them. Openness to the Spirit is crucial in knowing what to let go. Remember, it may not only be what is bad and evil that may be let go! And remember, it comes continuously and thus helping our walk, for the more we let go the more of Jesus we receive and the more easily our walk with Him.
There is mountain-top Christianity. Those that walk there are the generation that seek the Lord. They are the violent that take it by force. They are the holy ones by grace who resolve to always look up. The lighter we become the better and more focus our mountaineering. And we can only get there when we are as light as we should be. We must be as light as possible for the greatest flight in history: the Rapture, to accommodate us. We must be all outstretched with nothing behind, nothing of the world dragging us backward.
In this mountain walk we don’t compare ourselves with ourselves. Jesus is the only standard. The more of Jesus we see the more we know we must let go. And there is much we must let go as we go up higher and higher in the walk, in our Christian walk. Others because of the love of the world and the love of the things of the world may tolerate their much baggage and remain at one stop or even starts moving steps downwards but not those that really seek the Lord; not those who are expecting the rapture.
“Who shall ascend into the Hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of salvation. This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek Thy Face, O Jacob” – Psalm 24: 1-6.
Mountain walkers must know fear and trembling; and carefulness and caution must be the watchwords. More so with spiritual walk! We must resolve to live for God, for His pleasure. We must ask for grace always and trust in same to lead us in both our walk with Him and work for Him. It behooves pilgrims to keep heavenly charges while on this side of eternity we still see ourselves.
Mountaineering needs more than the ordinary. Spiritual mountaineering needs a lot of spiritual resolve, a propelling force to keep you going and a stamina that keeps you pushing: And that is the Holy Spirit and the grace that come from Him, and total and complete trust in Him and that grace.
Many have descended down from their spiritual mountain walk. They have turned their backs to that Mountain Sublime, the blessed hope of all redeemed. Many who have trod the path that lead to eternal life have made shipwreck of their most precious faith. They came down because they refused to let go their loads. They came down because they thought it is a difficult journey. They came down because they tried to continue with the arm of the flesh. They came down, a
nd some even crash-landed because they got the whole concept of Christianity wrong in the first place.
And there are even others who have not even climbed at all but talking and preaching ‘Christianity’ at the base of the mountain which is nothing different from the world; and so they actually preach worldliness, their flesh excusing them and not even allowing them to lay it to heart that Paul and Barnabas and others hazarded their lives for the gospel; and Peter and John and others forsook all for the gospel; and Stephen and others died for the gospel! Yes, we may not all become martyrs but we are all supposed to be violent, holy violence: in getting off sin, worldliness, lust of the flesh, pride of life, appearance of evil, filthy lucre. We are supposed to be violent, holy violence: in resisting Satan and surrendering all to Jesus and presenting our bodies a living sacrifice acceptable by Him and consequently becoming choice vessels in His Hands for His work: Lost in Jesus! That is violence, holy violence. This is the generation that seeks the Lord. It is only the violent, those taking it by force that shall be manifested on that day as sons of God. These are the ones ‘the earnest expectation of the creature’ points: Those sons of God, eternal sons of God, to be manifested.
Since the days of John the Baptist there is a mammoth holy struggle, a surge to get into the Kingdom of God. True: Many are called and so there is a spiritual traffic. And also true: Few shall be chosen. It is a race with terms that qualifies or disqualifies. This is where ‘many are called and few are chosen’ comes in, for, indeed, as the Scriptures put it, many shall seek to enter in but cannot.
But may we be among the few, the chosen: The manifested sons of God! In this wise the next part of our series: “Saintly Counsels on making it at last!”, sub-divided into ‘The Rapture: Meditations for life’, ‘A Charge to Keep!’, ‘Taking Heed to our Ways’, ‘The Rapture and two Prayer Points’, may be very rewarding as it draws from scriptural and godly counsels by saints of God on how to stay on the path that leads to Heaven or eternity with God!
