“And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him.” (Mark 3:13)
Jesus many times went up on a mountain either to be alone, to teach His disciples or to pray. Mountains have i n important part in the Bible. It was on a Mt Sinai that Moses met with God. It was on a mountain that Jesus was tempted. Jesus was transfigured on a mountain. When Jesus returns, He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives. Maybe because of its altitude, we relate being up a mountain to be closer to God. Or it may be because of its majesty that we feel closer to God. If you’ve ever been up on a mountain, you know what an exhilarating feeling it is. For Christians, we immediately want to worship because of the majesty of it all. In our Scripture of study, Jesus calls certain ones of His disciples to be with Him on the mountain. We know for certain that Jesus had 70 disciples. Jesus sent out 70 two by two to every place He would be going. (Luke 10:1) At Pentecost there were one hundred and twenty disciples gathered in the upper room. (Acts 1:15) I’m estimating that Jesus had at least 70 disciples when He calls certain ones and makes them apostles. Jesus still calls certain ones to be apostles. “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-12).
Apostles are messengers that are commissioned and sent to begin churches. In the church, they are commissioned by Christ. He calls apostles and those for the five-fold ministry mentioned in Ephesians. And although Jesus isn’t on the mountain, figuratively, He calls them up to be in ministry with Him. They must in prayer or figuratively spend time up in the mountain with Him in prayer. Only by keeping close to Him will they accomplish the work they have to do. It’s taxing in spirit, soul and body. The work that they do must begin with Jesus and be supernaturally finished by Jesus. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” (James 2:17) And the opposite is also true. Just works without the Lord is dead. So, it’s very important that the work they do is in line with what God wants. They can only know this when they spend time with Jesus up on the mountain.
There are some who want a ministry, who want to be a part of that five-fold ministry and go out and do good works without being commissioned. We have to be careful with that because many have ended up dead or in a very poor state. We do not want to do anything or be anywhere God hasn’t sent us. We can place ourselves in a very dangerous place. Good works are good works and will glorify the Father. But I believe we all want to first be obedient and take those steps of faith when the Lord opens up the door. And even then, it must be a confirmation of what God is already placing in our hearts. We must wait on the Lord so that it’s a work of God and not a work of man. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) This is a picture of someone who is commissioned and obedient.
If we hear the call from the Lord, we must still wait. Wait for the marching orders. A commissioned soldier doesn’t go off on his own. He has to have orders. That is what allows him to go and do what he’s been commissioned to do. Likewise in God’s service. We may be commissioned, but we may not have our orders yet. We must wait for the orders. Jesus gave His apostles the order. In the following Scriptures, after the resurrection, Jesus arranged for His disciples to be on a mountain with Him to give them their orders. “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:16-20) He commissioned them and then He gave them their orders.
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