Climbing Higher

Exodus 24 shows Moses looking at a raging fire on top of the mountain, then walking right into the cloud where God is. The mountain carries one clear call: keep climbing. God did not bring Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and feed them in the wilderness so they could stay stuck at the bottom looking up scared.

The glory looks like fire from far off, but the closer Moses gets, the clearer God becomes. Fear sees danger, smoke, shaking, lack, trouble, and all the reasons to turn around. Faith hears God say, “Come here,” and starts climbing anyway. Faith sometimes means walking toward what everybody else is running from.

The eagle does not have to fight the crow pecking at its back. The eagle just climbs higher until the crow cannot breathe at that elevation. Distractions, drinking, spending, sex, food, and all the stuff used to numb the pain cannot stop the pecking. God’s presence changes the altitude. The climb is not about getting a car, a house, a better job, or more money. The stuff is just tools. God has Himself waiting at the top.

Moses also leaves people at different places on the mountain. God calls some people higher before those around them are ready to go. That call is not permission to look down on people at the bottom. God transforms a person up the mountain so that person can come back and help somebody else climb. A saved life carries a responsibility to reach for somebody still at the foot of the mountain.

The climb requires patience because higher ground has thinner air. God slows a person down, lightens the load, changes the breathing, and teaches intentional steps. New territory brings new pressure, new opposition, and greater responsibility. The appearance of the mountain cannot counsel against the voice of God that called a person up.

Moses does not merely observe glory. Moses enters it and stays forty days and forty nights. Forty marks preparation, testing, transition, and new beginnings. God is not just giving information in that waiting room. God is forming a person for an assignment. A microwave spirit wants it now, but time with God is more like a crock pot: rough places get tender, bland places gain flavor, and the whole house starts to smell different.

Christ also went up the hill carrying the weight of the world. Christ came down from death with all power and put good news in His disciples. The climb ends in God’s presence, and God’s presence sends changed people back down with hope for those still looking up.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Keep climbing beyond fear and appearances. Fear reads the mountain as a warning sign, but God’s call turns the same mountain into an invitation. The fire that looks dangerous from the bottom becomes glory when a person draws near. Faith does not require every detail to make sense before it obeys. [63:59]
• 2. God Himself is the real prize. Cars, money, houses, and open doors can bless a life, but none of them are the reason for the climb. God gives resources as tools, not replacements for His presence. A person who gets the stuff but misses God has stopped short of the top. [67:23]
• 3. Higher ground requires slower, wiser steps. New levels cannot be handled with old habits, rushed decisions, and careless movement. God often develops a person’s capacity before releasing the next assignment. The slower pace may feel frustrating, but it can keep a person alive where shallow breathing would fail. [70:53]
• 4. Waiting with God forms the assignment. Forty days in the cloud show that transformation takes more than a quick visit. God works on the heart until a person can speak with love instead of animosity, wisdom instead of impulse, and power instead of empty noise. The delay may be preparation for somebody else’s deliverance. [100:34]
• 5. Changed people return for those below. God calls a person up the mountain, but God does not intend that person to stay proud and isolated. The encounter becomes useful when a changed life reaches back toward somebody at the foot of the mountain. Christ went up, came down, and carried good news to people who needed hope.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [33:20] - The Glory at the Top
• [34:47] - Higher Calling, Deeper Transformation
• [37:03] - Not Everybody Can Go Higher
• [38:12] - The Eagle and the Crow
• [40:14] - From the Bottom to God’s Presence
• [43:36] - Another Level of God
• [46:42] - Exodus 24 and the Covenant
• [50:44] - Called Up to Bring Others Up
• [54:09] - Walking Into the Cloud
• [57:08] - God’s Glory Is Greater Than Fear
• [67:23] - The Climb Is Not for Stuff
• [70:53] - Higher Ground Changes the Pace
• [75:19] - Elevation Changes Perspective
• [83:02] - The Benefits of Climbing Higher
• [90:53] - God Wants More Than a Visit
• [97:22] - Forty Days of Preparation
• [113:20] - Christ Climbed the Hill for Us
• [116:57] - Come Back Down and Help Others

1. In Exodus 24:17–18, how do the Israelites view God’s glory from below, and what does Moses do in response?
2. What details show that Moses did more than look at God’s glory—he entered God’s presence and remained there for a significant time? [01:31:20]
3. What does Psalm 34:8 invite God’s people to do, and how does that invitation connect with seeking God more deeply instead of settling at a distance? [43:54]
4. What examples are given of “crows” that keep pecking at people, and what kinds of things do people sometimes use to numb that pain? [38:48]

1. Why might God’s glory look frightening from the bottom of the mountain but become clearer as Moses draws nearer? What does this suggest about fear, faith, and obedience when God calls someone forward? [57:17]
2. Moses leaves others at different places on the mountain before entering the cloud. How can someone follow God’s personal call without becoming proud, isolated, or dismissive toward people who are not ready for the same step? [51:06]
3. What does the forty days and nights in God’s presence suggest about the difference between receiving quick information and being formed for an assignment? [01:42:14]
4. Jesus fasts forty days before beginning His public ministry. How does that help explain why seasons of waiting, testing, and preparation may be necessary before greater responsibility? [01:41:20]

1. What “mountain” in your life currently looks more like fire, smoke, fear, or uncertainty than an invitation from God? What would one faithful next step of climbing look like this week? [01:04:18]
2. Is there a distraction or coping habit you have used to numb pain—such as spending, scrolling, food, drinking, relationships, or something else? How could drawing closer to God address the deeper hurt instead of only quieting it for a moment? [39:38]
3. Are you tempted to measure spiritual growth mainly by getting more stuff, more money, a better job, or a bigger opportunity? How can you keep God Himself as the real goal while still receiving His gifts with gratitude? [01:07:23]
4. Where might God be asking you to slow down, lighten your load, and take more intentional steps rather than rushing ahead? What is one decision that needs more prayer, wisdom, or patience? [01:10:53]
5. Are you in a waiting season that has made you frustrated or discouraged? How might God be using this time to shape your character, prepare your heart, or strengthen you for someone else’s good? [01:46:11]
6. Who is someone near the foot of the mountain—struggling, discouraged, distant from God, or new in faith—whom you could encourage without looking down on them? What would it look like to reach back with hope this week? [01:57:04]