Remember the Mountaintops: Staying Faithful Through the Valley

What's different about the ministry of Jesus though is, of course, when Jesus is tempted, he doesn't forget what the father spoke over him on the mountaintop. And you see, one of the biggest temptations of the devil for your life is to try to convince you that what God spoke over you in the light is no longer true in the dark places. So let me say it this way. What God said over Jesus, the father spoke over Jesus the son in the light is what sustained Jesus through the temptation and through the valley. So here's my question for you on this one. What word from God do you need to remind yourself of to sustain you in this current valley? [01:02:57] (42 seconds)  #RememberGodsWord

Here's why this matters. If the apostle Paul, the man of God chosen by the spirit of God to write two thirds of the New Testament, couldn't go through this life without tribulation, then neither can you and I. Because if we're not careful, we can begin to doubt God the moment life isn't a mountaintop. Culturally speaking, we have been acclimated to think that every moment should be a mountaintop and we need to run away from the valleys. If we're not careful, then we begin to think that the calling of God is a mountaintop instead of a journey that has a whole lot of deep valleys. [00:55:40] (44 seconds)  #TribulationIsNormal

The enemy wants you complaining when you walk through your valley. When you look over at your neighbor in your valley and you think, look at all that they got. Oh, man, their parents, they left them with a way bigger man, their parents gave them, like, a $100,000 or $500,000 for a down payment on a house. I I didn't get any of that. And we find ourselves complaining about what we don't have instead of realizing the fruitfulness of your life gets manufactured in your valleys. I'm preach this to myself today. So let me ask you this question. Where are you trying to avoid a valley that God wants to teach you through, that God wants to produce something through, that God wants to get fruitfulness on your life because you walked through it with faith? [01:06:04] (53 seconds)  #FruitInTheValley

So, there's a mountaintop. You see it? Now, what happens right after the mountaintop? Let's keep reading. Verse 19. But, I was here, but some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul, dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city on the next day and went with Barnabas to Derbe. In a short period of time, mountains, valleys, healing on the edge of life. [00:55:03] (37 seconds)  #PaulStonedButRises

Yes. Calling of God has mountaintops, but the call of God is not a mountaintop. It's a series of mountaintops and a series of climbs. That's why the apostle Paul showed up to these three cities and said, I'm gonna strengthen you. I'm gonna encourage you, and I'm gonna constantly remind you through many tribulations we're gonna enter the kingdom of God. If we're not careful, we begin to doubt God on the mountain. If we're not careful, we come into a worship service like we just had, and we think it's all about our comfort, and it's not also a place of absolute surrender. [00:56:23] (30 seconds)  #CallingIsAJourney

And I've taught this a bunch of times. But there's only two times in scripture where we see and hear what the father spoke directly to Jesus. There's many times where Jesus relays to us something that he had heard from the father, like I'm doing my father's business, so that that he's been spoke to by the father. But the only time we know the actual words, it's two times in scripture, what the father spoke over Jesus at his baptism, and what the father spoke over Jesus at his transfiguration. And wouldn't you know it? Both times, it's the exact same thing. It's three things. You're my son, whom I love, and with you I'm well pleased. [01:00:35] (38 seconds)  #FathersWordsOverJesus

It's funny how God presses these things on your heart when you're, like, in the best Sundays we've ever seen, and and the Holy Spirit just shows up and says, yeah, but you gotta remind them about the valley so that no one's no one gets surprised. So, Lord, we stand before you today. I think some of us actually just need just a moment. You know, the presence of God is in this room. Some of us just need a moment to repent for how we've been looking at this valley. We've been angry about it. We've been complaining about it. We've been blaming somebody else for it. [01:08:39] (36 seconds)  #RemindAboutTheValley

Strengthening, I get. Encouraging, I get. Then there's a third description of the ministry of Paul to these three different cities, and it is this. That he reminded them that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. Now that's fascinating to me. It's like that song when I was growing up, one of these things is not like the other. Well, one of these things don't belong, like, strengthening belongs, encouragement belongs, and reminding the church regularly that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of heaven. Say what? [00:48:04] (33 seconds)  #TribulationsLeadToKingdom