The Path (Fire on the Mountain Series) (19 page)

“Were you told this or is this from biblical prophecy?” William inquired.

“Both. The Lord has saved His best wine for last, for the end of this age. Even if we get to walk in the fullness of what is coming, to presume glory or position after seeing Him would be more profane than anything I could think of. As I said, I’ve met many of the world’s great leaders and successful people, and I try to give honor to whom honor is due, but it is hard to be impressed with anyone after you have seen the King. It is even more difficult to be impressed with yourself.

“I also want to be candid about my own flaws and mistakes to those I’m leading. We must build everything in this fellowship on truth. What I share about myself is true. It may be a lack of self-esteem or self-worth that makes me cringe when people give me too much attention, but it is also feeling that they are not seeing the Lord if they are looking too much at me. I understand that this may be natural for a time, but if it continues I am failing at the main thing I am called to do—to lead people to the King.

“One leader of a large movement once told me that I would never be a successful leader because I did not have ‘warm fuzzies’ that would attract people to me. That may be true, but I do not want to attract people to me. That is actually an appalling thought to me. My goal is to be successful at the job I’ve been given, and that job is to prepare them for the King’s service and to follow Him. My personal goal is to hear on that great Judgment Day, ‘
Well done good and faithful servant
.’

“I know that may sound severe, but when I saw the King, I knew there was no higher calling than this—to prepare the way for the Lord and to lead His people to Him. There is no greater joy or fulfillment than this. I may at times chaff under the pressure that comes with always being in a place beyond my ability, but I know very well that this is the greatest job anyone could ever have. Since He put me here, I know He will supply what I need. I’ve also learned that my identity and value is not in my position before men, but my position in Him.”

“So you are never threatened by those who want your position?”

“I assure you that I would probably give it away too easily if it were mine to give. Because this has been assigned to me I can only give it up when instructed by the One who gave it to me. If I do my job well then this will come sooner rather than later, so I will rejoice when it comes.”

“I’m sorry to keep pressing you about this, but this is a kind of leadership that is so foreign to my whole experience that I cannot stop thinking about it. I see the wisdom, peace, and rest that would come from this. I see how this type of kingdom authority centered in the King could be the only way that true power could be given to men that would not corrupt them,” William stated.

“This path will humble us all. If you stay on this path your veils, facades, pretenses, and selfish ambition will be removed. Then we can see His glory. When we see His glory with an unveiled face, we will be changed into His same image. If we see Him with the veils still on He will be distorted, and we will try to change Him into our image. This path is to get us ready to behold His glory by removing the veils.”

I felt a presence and turned to see both Marys, Mark, and a number of others standing nearby listening.

“Please come join us,” I said.

“Tell us more about seeing His glory,” the older Mary said.

“I am happy to do this,” I started. “These are my greatest memories, and I love to recount them. I have seen the Lord twice in person. I have seen Him numerous other times in dreams and visions, but seeing Him in person is different.”

“How is it different?” The older Mary asked.

“It would be like the difference between watching someone in a movie and seeing them in person. You are seeing them act in the movie, but you are not really in their very presence.

“Even though I have seen the Lord twice with my physical eyes, you don’t have to see Him with your physical eyes if your spiritual eyes have been opened. Even when He does not become visible to our natural eyes being in His manifest presence is the greatest experience we can have. Nothing else on earth can ever satisfy you like being in the manifest presence of the Lord. Because we were created to have fellowship with God this is the deepest yearning of the human heart, and nothing else can ever compare to it.”

“I think I’ve had tastes of that, but not like you are describing,” the older Mary continued. “I would like to. Sometimes I think that if I could just see the Lord or an angel, then I would not have so many questions.”

“Mary, that may be true, but I think He wants you to have those questions. I think you are called to know the deep things of God, and He has put in you a searching heart that will not accept superficial answers.

“I don’t think the things I’ve experienced happened because I am special. I think just about anything I’ve experienced can be received by anyone who wants them enough to seek Him for them. I started asking for these experiences when I was a new Christian. When I read about them in Scripture, I yearned for them so much I could not help but beg God for them. I did this for years before they started to happen, but it was worth the wait. It does not have to be years for you, but you have to want this enough to seek, to knock on His door, to pursue Him without giving up.”

“Are you sure this does not happen to you because you have a special calling?” the younger Mary interjected.

“Some of it may be, but I also know this is something you can desire, and pursue, and receive. God wants the most intimate relationship with everyone, but He will only draw near to those who want Him enough to draw near to Him.

“As Mark can affirm, with prophetic experiences there are levels. There are visions that are so faint that you see them with the eyes of your heart so gently that you wonder if they are your imagination. Then there are those that are like watching a cinema screen.

“Likewise, I’ve felt Him come in a very subtle gentleness, seemingly just to comfort me or give me peace. Then I’ve felt His presence like a nuclear fire. It burned so much I do not think I could have lived much longer in it.

“When I experienced Him as the burning fire, it was not His anger but His holiness. We are told in Hebrews that He is a consuming fire. It hurts, but it hurts good. It was both painful and wonderful beyond description. I’ve had to beg Him to leave me at times because it was too much for me to take at the time. I was too carnal to stay in His presence long and not be consumed.”

“Were the experiences you had seeing Him in dreams and visions like that?” Mark asked.

“Some were to a degree, but they were all different. Some dreams were gentle and subtle, and some were so real that I still remember them as if they had been an actual experience and not a dream.

“The experiences I had on the mountain, and in the mountain, were very impacting to me. The one on the top of the mountain was all glory, beauty, and a feeling of love and oneness like I had never experienced. When you get there it will make all of the battles and problems of this journey seem insignificant.

“The experience I had in the mountain when I witnessed His crucifixion was possibly even more impacting, but also one of the most painful and difficult experiences I’ve ever had. Even though I knew He was now risen and seated above all I grieved for days as if I had been there at His real crucifixion. I still marvel that the disciples who were there, and His mother, could have endured this. I know they were much stronger than I am.”

“So we will all get to see His glory?” several asked at once.

“Yes. You will all see His glory, if we stay on this path. We are going to the mountain of the Lord. Even with all of the battles and conflicts there it is like no other place because His presence is there. Fighting for truth and the greatest cause is inspiring, but even these cannot compare to fighting for the One you love.

“The greatest reward we could ever receive is to be close to Him. That’s why even the apostles disputed who would be the closest to Him. They did not want those positions just for the authority or the renown, but to be as close to Him as possible. It may have been selfish, but not self-centeredness. There is a difference.

“It is not wrong to seek to be great or to do great things for Him, which is why most begin this journey. But once you experience His manifest presence, once you see Him, everything changes. Then it becomes all about serving Him because He deserves it, not for what we get. Yet, we do receive more than we can even dream of. To bring Him joy for one moment is worth a lifetime of suffering many times over. When you see Him you will understand this.”

“There is a weight to your words that could only come from you having been with Him,” Mark offered.

“That’s an interesting way to put it, Mark. The anointing has been described as the weight that comes from His glory. The Word says that all things are held together by Him. Weight is gravity, and gravity is what holds all things together. There is a weight to glory, and the more glory you experience the more weight your words will have.

“As you will see, just one moment in His presence will make all the battles of this wilderness worth it many times over. It will compel you to keep going through the many battles in the future. Even so, you are called to more than just battles. You will not only see His glory, but you are called to dwell in His presence and to manifest His glory in the earth. You are called to carry the glory of the Lord just as the priests carried the Ark of His Presence.”

By this time, the rest of the group had all gathered and were listening. As I looked at them, I could not help but consider how unimpressive most of them were by just their natural appearance, yet they could all end up being some of the greatest souls to ever walk the earth.

“It is your calling to carry the glory of the Lord in the time of greatest darkness. Regardless of how dark it gets, we know that the glory will prevail. It is written, ‘
the nations will come to the brightness of your rising
.’ I might share more later about my own experiences, but I am here to help get you ready for yours,” I continued.

“Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote that ‘Earth is crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes—the rest sit round it and pluck berries.’ We are here to have our eyes opened and to see. You will see His glory and know His manifest presence, but His glory is all around us now, and He is with us now. We are not here to look for Him, but to look at Him. He is not in the creation as He is its Creator, but creation reveals Him, and we can see Him in everything when we learn to see.

“Jon Amos Comenius said that nature is God’s second book. This may be true, but He has other books too. Seeing Him is more than seeing Him in creation; it is seeing Him in every experience. It is also seeing Him in one another. Everyone here is a letter from God to the rest of us. That is why our goal is not to just hear the words of the Lord, but to hear the Word Himself as He speaks to us through whomever or whatever He chooses.

“Jesus is the Word. He is the communication of God to His creation. If we were sensitive enough we would know that there is a communication between all living things. As we come to abide in Him we will start to know this communication. More important than hearing the creation is hearing the Creator speaking to us. He said in John 10 that His sheep hear His voice, and they follow Him because they hear His voice.

“Our purpose is to see Him, hear Him, and feel Him. Great lovers can feel the presence of their loved one when they come close, regardless of whether they can see or hear them. Love is spiritual gravity too. It is a force greater than gravity because God is love. Love between human beings can be magnificent, but there is no greater love than God’s love, and loving God in return. This is why there is no person on earth more attractive or compelling than one who is getting closer to God.

“Jesus is the true desire of every human heart. When He is lifted up all men are drawn to Him. For too long we have tried to lift up the things of God rather than the God of all things. We have, at times, lifted up truths about Him, above Him. Those are coming who will lift Him up, and they will carry His glory so that He is seen. You could be the ones.

“The most common question that people have is about their purpose in life. The answer is that we are here to see Him, know Him, love Him, become like Him, and to reveal Him. If we do this we will fulfill the greatest purpose one can have on the earth. If we do this we will be the most successful human beings to ever walk the earth. Those who do this will be celebrated by the whole earth because they will have the power to help restore the earth to what it was created for. This is why it says ‘
the creation groans and travails waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.
’