The Path (Fire on the Mountain Series) (11 page)

“Do you want to ask any of your questions now?” I asked, stopping.

“No. I don’t think so. The anxiety I had about my questions is gone. I still have the questions, but I’m okay to wait. Just knowing He cares about me like this is so wonderful I just want to enjoy this for a while. Can we wait?”

“Of course,” I replied. “But I would like to say, it is one of the greatest blessings to have so many great teachers in our time. However, our biggest questions, the deepest issues of our heart, we should inquire of God rather than men. Although He will usually teach us through the teachers He has given to His people, He wants to be our Teacher. Only when we know Him as our Teacher will we be as strong as we need to be for what is before us. This is the Rock that He said He would build His church on—revelation that we receive straight from the Father. Of all the adventures we are going to experience, this is the best.”

“For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE LIFE

I
knew we needed to get moving to try to cover some ground before dark, but the peace of God was so present, and everyone seemed deep in communion with Him. I decided this was more important, and it was not a bad place to camp, so I relaxed.

As I sat surveying the group, I could not help but be inspired. They had such passion, such depth. They were alive, not just existing the way so many were. Before, I had entered the wilderness alone because I could not find any who would go with me. Everyone was so focused on the things of this world that they had little interest in going to the mountain I described. I was obviously looking in the wrong place. Who would have thought that such a group as this would have been on that luxury ship?

These had built a strong fellowship around their vision. Then they acted on it, not being content to just talk or dream. I was so thankful to be with them.

I turned to see Elijah sitting next to me. As if reading my thoughts, he began:

“In these times it is rare to find Christians who are interested in learning anything that is not about them personally, their benefits, how to prosper, etc. It can be important to know these things, but few are maturing beyond this. Self-focus and self-centeredness are the nature of the immature. It is hard to find those who care about the deeper things of the Lord. Of those who do care, few are able to resist worldly distractions to actually pursue this knowledge and a relationship with the Lord—to be taught by Him. Those who do will pursue the city He is building.”

“Thank you again for bringing me back to help this group,” I said. “They’ve given me hope again.”

“You had to come back for them. You were close to falling to what caused me to stumble at the end of my sojourn,” Elijah reminded me. “I thought I was the only faithful one left. There are always more.”

“Is the Lord going to appear to us here?” someone asked, as they saw Elijah sitting next to me.

“He is in your midst now,” the prophet replied. “When the eyes of your heart are opened you will see Him. Do not be concerned about seeing Him with your natural eyes. It is more important that you see with your spiritual eyes. This journey will help to open your eyes so you can see.”

I was impressed how Elijah had said this to inspire, not to condescend. I could feel the affection in him growing for this group. I began to think that he could have been a very good pastor, when he turned to me, raised one eyebrow, and looked at me as if he knew something I didn’t. I started to ask him what he was thinking when he turned back to the people who were gathering in front of us and began to speak to them.

“You are going to the mountain of the Lord—that is, His kingdom, but the kingdom is already in your midst. The kingdom is His domain. As you learn to live in His domain you will be more at home there than you have ever been anywhere. When you get to the mountain you will be coming home. That’s because the kingdom is where the King is, and He is your home just as you are His.”

I thought about how many times I had taught this, maybe even using the same words, but listening to Elijah share them was like me hearing them for the first time. I was as captivated as anyone. His words did not just teach you how to know the Lord, but they made you want to know Him more than anything else. When I looked up, he was looking at me as if he was listening to my thoughts again.

“Please share what you are thinking,” Elijah said to me.

“I was thinking about how many times I have said what you just said. But when you said it, there was a life and power that compelled and drew you to pursue the Lord,” I answered.

“Do you know why?” Elijah asked.

“I think it is because you are sharing words that are Spirit and life, because they are your life,” I answered.

“Truth that is life is truth that is lived,” he continued. “As you live what you learn, your words will have the power of life. You will not just teach the truth, but you will impart a love for the truth when it is your life.

“When the Baptist preached he drew all Judea out to him. They did not come to see him because of how he dressed, or because he used powerful and beautiful words. They did not come out to him because of who he was, because they did not know who he was. They came because of the anointing. He had words of life that would lead to the path of life, the same path you are now on. You are not here just to learn the truth, but to live the truth. Then your words will do the same as John’s—compel men to follow the Lord. This is how you must prepare the way for the Lord.

“When the Lord told His disciples about the signs of the end of the age, He said, ‘
Woe to those who nurse babes in those days.
’ He was speaking literally, but as you have interpreted this as ‘Woe to those who keep their people in immaturity,’ this is also true. They are still immature when they only want to learn things that are about themselves. There is a lot of teaching today that keeps people self-centered rather than Christ-centered. This keeps them in immaturity.

“You must all come to know the Teacher’s voice, regardless of how He speaks or who He speaks through. Obviously, many of you have, at least, begun to learn this. But this is just the beginning. You must also learn to obey Him. To obey Him almost always requires risk and the disregard for self-interest.

“You would not be here if you were not learning this, but more than seeking to die to your own interests, you must seek the interests of Christ. Then your own selfish interests will begin to seem as small and petty as they are.”

Elijah abruptly stood up, walked into the bush, and was quickly out of sight. We were all looking in the direction he had gone when a terrible roar came from the trees nearby, sending the entire group scurrying together, and screaming.

“Where did that come from?” I asked.

They all pointed in the same direction.

“Then turn and face it. There is nowhere to run.”

The group had hardly finished turning in the direction of the roar when a massive black lion leapt into the clearing nearby. It scanned the group as if choosing a victim. Then it locked eyes with me. It started to crouch as if it were about to pounce when Mary stepped right in front of it, causing the big cat to almost fall backward in surprise. A moment later it vanished into the trees.

A terrible fear had gripped me when the lion locked eyes with me. I could still hardly move when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Elijah. The group was busy congratulating Mary, who was visibly shaken too. After a few minutes, they turned to see Elijah standing with me and quieted down. He began:

“Mary just saved you from a great tragedy. That lion was here to kill and had a person in mind. As I said, if you face the lion and resist it, then it will flee from you. Never turn your back to the lion or to any attack. You all did well to at least face it. Mary, you can expect to be its next target. But you did well, and you do not need to fear being its target. When you face the lion he will see the Lion that lives in you.”

I was thinking of how I would likely have been devoured by the lion if it had not been for Mary and wondered why it had not attacked me when I had gone through this wilderness alone. Elijah, who had just stood by and watched the entire event, turned to me and said:

“There could be only two reasons why the lions did not attack you when you were alone. Either you somehow slipped past them unnoticed because they did not expect anyone to come through here alone, or because they saw you but did not think you had a chance of making it alone, so they did not bother. They will not likely make that mistake again. For them to so brazenly attack you in a group like this is a sign of their desperation. This is a good thing. They are threatened by you, as they should be. From now on, they will be looking for any opening to attack.”

“What kind of opening?” someone asked.

“The biggest opening the lions have is a division among you. Any who begin to separate from the group will be easy prey. They will not waste any time attacking stragglers or those who go off on their own,” Elijah answered.

“Am I endangering this group by being with them?” I asked Elijah quietly, thinking about how this lion was obviously after me personally.

“They would be in greater danger without you,” he answered. “Now, continue with what you were doing before the attack. You must deal with attacks, but do not let them sidetrack you. If the lions cannot devour someone, then they still win if they can turn us from something important that we’re engaged in. For them to have attacked right then, and so brazenly, you were doing something crucial.”

“We were discussing knowing the Lord’s voice and the cost of obeying His voice,” the young Mary said. “We were also enjoying a wonderful presence of the Lord.”

“The timing and manner of the enemy’s attack is important to understand. It is the lion’s nature to hide and stalk until there is an opening. It is most uncommon for one to attack openly as that one did. It was desperate, and it was desperate because what you were doing was such a threat,” the prophet continued. “The three things you were doing are the greatest threats to the enemy, and they are like the chord of three strands that can bind you together so that your unity cannot be broken. This is what you must have to make it to the mountain.”

“Knowing the voice of the Lord, obeying Him, and dwelling in His presence,” William recounted.

“Seal these three things in your heart,” Elijah replied. “Resolve each day to get to know His voice better, to do His will, and to abide in Him. These will keep you, and they will lead you to the kingdom.”

“You came to sit with us, and then abruptly disappeared just before the attack. You knew it was coming, didn’t you?” the older Mary stated.

“Yes.”

“Why did you leave just before the attack?” Mary persisted.

“Because it would not have attacked while I was with you.”

“So you left so that they could attack us?” Mary said in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“So that you would learn all that you’ve just learned.”

“But we could have been killed!”

“Every day you are on this path you are in danger of that. The enemy is constantly prowling around you seeking someone to devour. You have to learn this, or you will not make it,” Elijah replied.

“Some of you are now thinking about the safety of the luxury ship, even longing for it. Soon you will learn that there is even less safety on that ship than there is here. You are in the will of the Lord, and there is no safer place than being in His will. The Lion who is with you is much greater than those who are seeking to devour you. You must see the Lion who is in you, and you must, above all things, follow Him. You must not fear the lions that are seeking to destroy you, but you must resolve to make them fear you because of the One you abide in. That is the only safe place you can be.”

“What did you mean that we would soon learn that the ship was not as safe as being here?” the young Mary asked.

“Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. Only the kingdom cannot be shaken. Those who are not in pursuit of the kingdom will be in increasing danger every day. Right now you are in the safest place you could be in this world,” Elijah responded.

“Did something happen to the ship?” the young Mary asked again, even more resolutely.