Lessons From the Mountain - Part 1

Recently I was privileged to go on a hike to the Colorado Rockies with some of the men from our church. The experience was an unforgettable one. The trip was primarily planned and organized through one man in our church, to whom I am forever grateful. It was the experience of a lifetime. Originally, the offer to come was announced in each Sunday school class, and several men responded with interest. By the time we were a month out from the hike, due to work and other obligations, only seven men had confirmed their attendance, which is still a sizable group for a hike. With ages ranging from twenty years old to forty-five years old, our group was comprised of fathers and sons, business professionals and college students, beginners and seasoned hikers. The beauty of the hike was not only in the mountains and streams that surrounded us but also in the comradery that developed and the life lessons that could be learned if one was paying attention. With everything we needed to survive on our backs, the Rocky Mountains before, behind, and all around us, the setting was perfect for God to work. There is something about being lost in the immensity of His creation that reminds you not just how small you are but also how big He is.

Upon returning to Christchurch my first lesson in our teen Sunday school class was what I believed God taught and reinforced in my life while we were on our hike. I have had many people ask me how the hike went, so my goal is to describe the awesomeness of the hike and hopefully make a spiritual application along the way (I am a youth pastor after all…what did you expect?) I hope you enjoy and are encouraged in your walk with the Lord from the lessons learned during our walk in the wilderness.

Lesson #1 – Use the tools that God has given you

There is no way that words can describe to you the excitement that we experienced in preparing for this hike. We left on a Sunday night after church and arrived in proximity to our trailhead on Monday evening. Our final destination was the Lost Creek Wilderness of Colorado, so we spent Monday night in a hotel close to our launch point and woke up Tuesday morning, got our gear together, and then made the drive into Pike’s National Forest. One of the guys had brought a camera with a timer feature on it, so we all posed for a group shot before beginning our 4 day, 3 night trek into the wilderness.

The hike started off with a lot of enthusiasm, good-natured laughs, and breathtaking views. The wonderful part about being around Christian men is the fact that more often than not the conversation will find its way to pointing to the glory of God. All around us was the evident work of the Creator of the universe. There is something about knowing deep in the core of your being that you were created. It gives you purpose in life. It gives you the promise that the One who created you must also care for your and have a plan for you. The beauty of the creation speaks of the beauty of the Creator, while the intricateness of detail speaks of the attentiveness of Someone who must love His creation, like a Father loves His children.

With four days ahead of us we took our time, stopping occasionally for a rest and to take a few pictures. Only a few miles into our hike, without our even being aware of it, our first lesson began. The trail split, with the left trail heading off to a grouping of rocks and an apparent campsite, and the right trail continuing to skirt the tree line of the valley that we were hiking. We were doing well on time, so we took the left trail and then cut out to the rock formation for a quick break and a few more pictures. As there were no signs or markings where the trail forked, we assumed that the left trail led only to the rock formation where we were now enjoying our time. When we finished our break, we cut back across to the trail that had veered to the right and continued along the trees, not thinking twice about the direction in which we were headed. A few hours later, after having descended several hundred feet into a canyon, we came to a point in the trail where the overgrowth was so thick that the trail virtually disappeared. It was at this point that we knew something was wrong. Sunset was less than two hours away, and with this being our first night on the trail we didn’t want to have to make camp in the dark. I had borrowed a tent that I had never used before, so my knowledge of it was limited at best. We knew that we would have to make camp soon, so we pulled out the GPS and the map. After a little head scratching and a few laughs at ourselves, we realized that somewhere over the last couple hours, we had made a wrong turn. We hiked back to the base of our previous descent (which would now be a climb out) into the canyon we were now in, and there made camp for the night. Our first lesson learned, albeit a simple one, was this: we needed to make sure that we used our tools.

Simply put, if we had pulled out our map and GPS earlier, we may have realized our mistake and have lost less time. We all enjoyed the side trail, we had time to spare, and the scenery was incredible, but ultimately it did not bring us any closer to our final destination, so I couldn’t help but make the application to the Christian life. The truth of the matter is, when we get off track in our Christianity, often it’s not because the temptation was too strong. 1 Corinthians 10:13 clearly states that, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." More often than not our “side trails” on the Christian life happen because we forget to pull out God’s positioning system and align ourselves with the truths found therein.

Can I ask you something? Are you utilizing the tools found in your arsenal? Or have you become so distracted by the sights of this world or the relationships around you that God isn’t even a part of your day, much less the focus of your life. Let us be reminded from the Word of God in Ephesians 6:11-18 of a few weapons that we need in our spiritual warfare.

The Belt of Truth – “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth...” In today’s society there is so much fake, phony, and plastic…isn’t it nice when someone is real? I think about the statement, “You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” How true that is! But do you know where you can believe everything you read…God’s Word! As a Christian we need to realize one of the biggest turn-offs of this world to Christ is the attitude of a Pharisee. Probably one of the easiest definitions of a Pharisee would be a hypocrite. But do you know why those two names became synonymous? The Pharisees had become unbalanced in the area of grace and truth. They were so impressed with there own ability to keep the law that they forgot about the grace of God. The only way to keep that balance is to spend time with the Word, who is “…full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

The Breastplate of Righteousness – “…and having on the breastplate of righteousness…” I thank God for the imputed righteousness of Christ! Romans 3:21-22 teaches us that the righteousness of Christ is only obtained by faith in Christ. Adrian Rogers said it this way, “Holiness is not the way to Christ, Christ is the way to holiness.” If you want to stand in the battle, you must have the breastplate of righteousness. (See also Proverbs 11:4, Jeremiah 23:6)

The Shoes of the Gospel – “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace…” Our shoes not only go everywhere we go, but they protect us as we go. More often than not if you are being a bold witness for Christ you don’t have to worry about the onslaught of peer pressure because they will know where you stand. Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace leave footprints not only in this life, but also in eternity.

The Shield of Faith – “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Paul penned these words during the Roman occupation of Israel, and the Roman soldier was an all too familiar icon for the Jews. Due to the expense and scarcity of precious metals, the majority of shields during this time were made out of one of the most available resources, wood. The irony is that Paul here states that we are to use the shield to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. We all know that wood burns (and not just because we read it on the internet). The Romans developed a tactic to keep their shields from catching fire during battle. They would soak the shield in water. When the fiery dart was launched the shield would not only protect the warrior, but the damp wood would quench the flame. Still water in the Bible is a picture of the Word of God. You see, its not just faith that is important. It’s making sure that our faith is being continually soaked in the Word of God. (See also Psalm 23, John 5:4, Hebrews 11:1-2, I Peter 1:23-25, I Timothy 1:5)

The Helmet of Salvation – “And take the helmet of salvation…”

As Christians we must aright our minds on the fact that we are not just conforming to a set up rules, but rather that God is literally transforming us on a daily basis (Romans 12:1-2). We are new creatures (II Corinthians 5:17), and we must realize that sin will not bring the lasting joy that we used to believe it would. Adrian Rogers said it this way, “We are not citizens of earth trying to get to Heaven. We are citizens of Heaven sojourning on earth.”

The Sword of the Spirit – “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…”

We cannot overemphasize the Word of God in the life of a believer. We need to get into the Word of God but even more importantly we need to let the Word of God get into us. How true it is that what you do with the Bible will determine what God does with you. We must move past the lethargy that we sometime associate with our Bible reading and into the discipline of becoming students of the Word of God who will one day give an account (II Timothy 2:15).