MOUNTAIN MEN!             GP B             12/69

         1. MATTHEW 5--GREAT DIFFERENCE IN MOUNTAIN & MULTITUDE. MOUNTAIN IS OPPOSITE OF MULTITUDE. Jesus left the multitude behind. The mountain peaks are never crowded. I climbed many mountains & I was almost always alone. Why?
                 1) It's hard work.
                  2) Not very many people desire to climb mountains.
                  3) It's lonesome.
                  4) You have to forsake all to do it.
                  5) It is apt to cost you your life.
                  6) Lots of scratches & bumps.
         2. LONG AFTER THE VALLEY WAS IN DARKNESS I COULD STILL SEE THE SUN. THERE IS MORE LIGHT ON THE MOUNTAIN. The valley is almost always dark--full of people & things, but usually in darkness. The mountain is windy & cold but thrilling! You really have to have the feeling that it's really worth dying for!--ANY MOUNTAIN--THE MOUNTAIN OF THIS LIFE, THE MOUNTAIN OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, THE MOUNTAIN OF OBSTACLES, OF DIFFICULTY--IF YOU'RE GOING TO CLIMB THEM, THEY HAVE TO BE WORTH DYING FOR, to brave wind & cold & storm, symbolic of adversities. But on the mount alone you feel so close to the Lord! The voice of His Spirit there is so loud it's almost like it's thundering! The voice of the multitude is so loud in the valley, you can't hear the voice of God. The silence on the mountain peak is deafening! You get a real "high" on top of a mountain! It's a thrill! It's almost terrifying!
         3. OF COURSE, IT'S EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. YOU'RE NEVER SO NEAR THE ABYSS AS YOU ARE WHEN YOU'RE ON THE BRINK! One little misstep will end you right down at the bottom again. You'll hit bottom so hard! Strange thing about mountain climbing--ONE REASON THAT IT'S SO DANGEROUS IS IT'S MUCH EASIER TO CLIMB UP THAN BACK DOWN AGAIN. Once you're up you may never get back--one of the prices you pay for climbing mountains. Most mountain climbers who were lost were lost in the descent because when you are going up you can see where you're going but when you're going down you can't see. How many people who go back really see what they are getting into? They think they're going back to the easy way but they never realise what they're getting into by going back.--A terrible let-down! You have a peculiar feeling like you don't want to leave the mountain. No inspiration in it. There is a certain drive--almost a spiritual thing going up. You'll risk anything. But going down?--No inspiration, no goal, no accomplishment. You're just sliding back down into the morass of humanity & mire of the multitude.
         4. ONLY PIONEERS CLIMB MOUNTAINS--people who want to do something that no one ever did before--people who want to get above the multitude--beyond what has already been done & accomplished. PIONEERS MUST HAVE VISION--VISION TO SEE WHAT NO ONE ELSE CAN SEE; FAITH--FAITH TO BELIEVE THINGS NO ONE ELSE BELIEVES; INITIATIVE--INITIATIVE TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO TRY IT; COURAGE--THE GUTS TO SEE IT THROUGH! On the mountain you are the first to see the Sun rise & the last to see it set! You see the full circle of God's glorious creation! You see the World in its proper perspective with range after range to be conquered & a World beyond the horizon of normal men! A World beyond their vision & beyond their horizon! You see distant peaks yet to be climbed! You see distant valleys yet to be crossed. You see things that the men in the valleys can never see.--Can't even comprehend because they can't see it. And you can see the 360o circumference of the total horizon-the entire scope! It's like seeing all of life from its beginning to its end & understanding. YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE LIVING IN ETERNITY; WHEREAS DOWN BELOW THEY'RE LIVING IN TIME.
         5. YOU GET OVER HERE IN THIS LITTLE MULTITUDE & THIS LITTLE MAKE-BELIEVE OF MAMMON & YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING BUT TIME & CREATURES OF TIME & THINGS OF TIME, WHICH ARE SOON TO PASS AWAY, BUT YOU THRUST YOUR HEAD ABOVE THAT OF THOSE AROUND YOU IN THAT MULTITUDE & YOU YOURSELF BECOME A MOUNTAIN IN THEIR MIDST & THEY RESENT YOU & they resist you & they fight you because they can't understand you & because they don't want you. They don't even want to KNOW there are mountains! They don't want their children to HEAR there are mountains! But when you appear to be on a mountain while they are in the valley, they hate you because it's obvious you are above them & they don't want anyone to be above them. They want to keep you stuck in the mud like the rest of them. THEY DON'T WANT IT TO BE KNOWN THAT THERE IS ANY PLACE ELSE TO GO. They don't even want their children to know there is anything else or any other place to go or a way to get there! They want to keep them shut in down in the valley & in the mud & in the mire!
         6. DO YOU REALISE THAT SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL WARS HAVE BEEN FOUGHT BETWEEN THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE VALLEYS & THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED ON THE MOUNTAINS? There have always been wars between the mountain people & the valley people. The mountain people are always tougher, huskier, hardier, but fewer. But they always survived, because they always had their mountains to flee to & the valley people could never follow because the valley people weren't tough & husky enough to climb, so they would chase them up a little way & let them go. They just wanted to get rid of them. They didn't want to conquer mountains. They just wanted to get rid of the mountain people. The mountain people were just thorns in their flesh & pricks in their side. They proved someone could live somewhere other than in the valley, something THEY said was impossible.
         7. HISTORY IS FULL OF EXAMPLES OF MOUNTAIN PEOPLE CONQUERING VALLEY PEOPLE, but seldom of the valley people conquering the mountain people. But the danger has always been that when the mountain people had conquered the valley people, they themselves settled down in the valley. So therefore it is better for mountain people to be at war with the valley people--unending, continuous, inflexible war with the valley, lest the valley get them too. THE DANGER IS WHEN YOU MAKE PEACE WITH THE VALLEY, WHEN IT BECOMES SAFE FOR YOU TO GO DOWN INTO THE VALLEY, the greatest danger is safety & securi ty, because then you lose that wild freedom & liberty of the mountain!
         8. THE VALLEY LAND IS MAN'S COUNTRY--THE HIGH LANDS ARE GOD'S COUNTRY. Man dominates the valley--only God dominates the mountain, & the men living on the mountains know this. But men living in the valleys--they think they are God, because they dominate themselves. But those on the mountains live so close to the things which are so frightening & terrible & dangerous they have to live close to God. The men in the valleys have become so secure they don't need God because they have forgotten there is any God.
         9. IT'S A ROUGH & RUGGED ROAD, A HARD & A HEAVY LOAD, & THE PEOPLE YOU MEET AREN'T ALWAYS KIND--on the way up. But they're even worse down in the valley & IN THE VALLEY THEY WILL DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO DISCOURAGE YOU FROM CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN. There aren't many places to live on the mountain--little rugged shelters, lean-tos. Not much to eat, cold & windy, but it's a thrill even to die there. BETTER TO DIE ON THE MOUNTAIN THAN TO LIVE IN THE VALLEY! Because whoever read in the newspaper about the man who slipped & fell on the city street, but the man who dies on the mountain even in far-off Switzerland, you'll read about in the newspapers here! Because at least he dared to try. BEATEN PATHS ARE FOR BEATEN MEN, but mountain peaks are for the mighty pioneers!
         10. YOU TAKE THE MOUNTAIN & YOU'LL LEAVE THE MULTITUDES BEHIND & THEN YOU'LL KNOW WHO THE DISCIPLES ARE! Only Jesus' DISCIPLES came unto Him. When He went up into the mountain, the only ones who had the priceless privilege of hearing the World's most famous sermon--the only ones who really heard from Heaven that day were the ones who left the multitudes and took the mountain--the ones who followed Jesus all the way!
         11. YOU NEVER HEAR ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO WAIT TO SEE IF IT CAN BE DONE. You only hear about the people who either made it or died trying. BUT WHEN YOU MAKE IT, THE MOUTH OF GOD WILL BE OPENED UNTO YOU. He'll speak to you face-to-face. He Himself will teach you & reveal to you the greatest of His secrets!
         12. SO WHAT DO YOU HEAR ON THE MOUNTAIN? YOU HEAR THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO ECHO AROUND THE WORLD! WHAT DO YOU HEAR IN THE STILLNESS? WHISPERS THAT ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY! Eight people came down from one mountain--Noah & his family from the Ark on Mt. Ararat--& they were never the same & the World was never the same! One man, Moses, came down from a mountain & a whole nation was never the same & they changed the World! And JESUS & HIS DISCIPLES CAME DOWN FROM THIS MOUNTAIN IN MATTHEW 5 & CHANGED THE WORLD!
         13. WHAT CHANGED THEM THAT CHANGED THE WORLD?--WHEN THEY HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD TEACHING THEM THINGS THAT WERE COMPLETELY CONTRARY TO WHAT WAS BEING SAID IN THE VALLEY!
         14. THE POOR IN SPIRIT ARE A MOUNTAIN PEOPLE. They that mourn dwell on the mountain. THE MEEK ARE FROM THE MOUNTAINS. "Blessed are they which do hunger & thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." THE PEOPLE ON THE MOUNTAIN HUNGER & THIRST & ONLY GOD CAN SATISFY THEM. The people down in the stinking valley can't see any further than the end of their nose & are satisfied with themselves & are full--& He sends them empty away!
         15. "BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD." Peacemakers with whom? Make peace with the enemy? Peace with the valley people? Peace with the Devil? Peace with the liars? Peace with the deceivers? How can you be at peace with the valley when the valley refuses to be at peace with you? You come to make peace & preach peace, but what happens? They are for war! YOU CANNOT MAKE PEACE WITH THOSE WHO WANT WAR! WHO THEN CAN YOU MAKE PEACE WITH?--PEACE WITH GOD & PEACE WITH THE PEACEMAKERS.--Peace with those who want peace, as the Angels sang, "Peace on Earth toward men of GOOD will." How can you have peace toward evil men & men of evil will? With them it is impossible. NO PEACE TO THE VALLEY PEOPLE.--JUST WAR. THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO IS CONQUER THEM. THE EASIEST WAY TO CONQUER THEM IS TO LET THEM ROT IN THEIR OWN INIQUITY--become weak & lazy, fat & sick with their own sin. Then they're no match for the mountain people!
         16. YOU ARE PERSECUTED BECAUSE YOU ARE RIGHT & THEY CANNOT STAND THE RIGHT! THE VALLEY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN IN DARKNESS SO LONG THE LIGHT BLINDS THEM & THEY CANNOT STAND TO FIND OUT YOU ARE RIGHT & THEY HAVE BEEN WRONG. They don't want to be exposed. They don't even see things like you do. To them confusion is peace. That's the kind of peace they understand. THEY HATE FOR YOU TO COME ALONG WITH REAL PEACE BECAUSE IT REVEALS TO THEM THAT THEY DON'T HAVE REAL PEACE. It disturbs their peace. So they'll lie & deceive & say all manner of evil against you falsely. But "rejoice & be exceeding glad for great is your reward in HEAVEN!" Not HERE always. Of course, if you live in the continual Heaven of His peace & joy you get a lot of that reward right now! You're already in Heaven in Spirit. The Kingdom of Heaven is within you, so great is that reward of Heaven in your heart, & great is your reward in the Heaven hereafter.
         17. DID YOU KNOW WHAT NATIONS HAVE STAYED FREE LONGER THAN ANY NATIONS IN THE WORLD?--Switzerland in the top of the Alps, & Afghanistan & Nepal in the top of the Himalayas! Other civilisations have come & gone & they are still here! One reason they are still free is that they don't have much anybody else wants. Nobody wants their mountains but them. "I'll take the mountain!"--Eze.17:22-24.
         18. POWER & GREATNESS WERE SYMBOLISED BY MOUNTAINS, never valleys in the Scriptures. "MOUNTAIN of the Lord's House." God's House is a MOUNTAIN. YOU are a MOUNTAIN. He speaks of the KINGDOM OF GOD as a MOUNTAIN that becomes so great it fills the whole Earth! It speaks of Zion as a mountain. "Out of Zion shall go forth the Word of the Lord." The Word of the Lord shall go out from the MOUNTAIN of the Lord's House--Zion. Jerusalem is in the top of the MOUNTAINS, believe it or not. It was one of the rare MOUNTAIN cities of the World & the Hebrews were a MOUNTAIN people. Where are the Phoenicians today? They were rich & powerful but they lived in the valleys. All those who lived in the valleys are GONE, but those who lived in the mountains live TO THIS DAY! Are you a MOUNTAIN MAN or a VALLEY VILLAIN?--THERE'S DEATH IN THE VALLEY! LIFE IS ON THE MOUNTAIN! GET OUT OF THE VALLEY!--"Flee as a bird to the mountain, ye who are weary of sin!"

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