The sermon emphasizes the importance of being in the place God has appointed for us, which is a place of spiritual elevation, joy, and experience of God's presence.
This sermon focuses on the importance of being in the spiritual 'mountain top' place that God has appointed for us, symbolizing a close and vibrant relationship with Him. It emphasizes the need to examine our spiritual state and ensure we are not in a low or lukewarm position but rather on fire for God, experiencing His joy and presence. The message highlights the call to be in the designated place where Jesus wants us to be, not in a state of spiritual depression or isolation.
Full Transcript
I will read from Matthew 28, from verse 16 to the end of the chapter. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. The first point I want to speak about is where it says the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. Brethren, there is a place God has appointed for us where he wants us to be.
Jesus told the eleven disciples to go to that mountain in Galilee. The life of a Christian must not be down at the bottom, on a low level. In a spiritual sense, our lives must be on the mountain top.
God does not want you to be down in the dumps. Spiritually, he wants you in a high place. No man is sent away in the dumps.
So I wonder, you who are here today, spiritually, where do you stand? Are you in a high place on the mountain top, or are you down in the dumps? Exactly. The Lord Jesus does not want you to be down in a low place where you are cold and isolated. He does not even want you to be halfway up in a lukewarm place.
He wants you in that place right on the mountain top. Examine yourself. Are you on fire spiritually? Are you on the mountain top where your heart is burning and experiencing God's joy? Or are you just People that take part in sports or enjoy sports, they look on.
When they see their team, their athlete or their team, even if it's rugby or whatever it is, or soccer, if you see your team winning, they rejoice. They are happy. But if their team loses, they are disappointed.
Now, in a spiritual sense, are you on that higher place on the mountain top? There's a hymn, a song that goes, Lord, lift me up to the mountain top. Lift me up all ways that I will be climbing upward. It's said when you are on the mountain top, it's said when you find a Christian in a depressed state, when he's down in the dumps, he's got no joy.
He doesn't experience the Lord's joy. He doesn't experience what a calf experiences when it's let out to pasture. I don't mean that you dance, but know that you experience that joy of the Lord.
So when Jesus left them, he said, I will go, but I will come back. I want to find you, meet you there on the mountain top in Galilee. This is after he had died, he had been crucified, and then he had been raised from the dead.
And that angel came down like lightning from heaven, saying to Mary and them to go and tell his disciples about it and saying that they must now go as I had told them to be there at that mountain and I will go ahead and meet them there. They had locked themselves behind closed doors. They were afraid.
They feared for their lives. But Jesus said to them, I don't need you here. I need you there on the mountain top in Galilee.
If you read the Bible, you will see in the Lord explains to us the place that he wants us to be. Are you in that place where God has taught you and told you where you should be? Woe to you if you are just in any other place and you are not in that place where Jesus has pointed you to be. So the eleven went to that place which Jesus had pointed out to them.
Woe to you if you found just any other place and not the one Jesus has pointed to you. If you are just in another place, woe to you. You've got to be there where Jesus pointed to.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Place God Has Appointed for Us
- A. A place of spiritual elevation
- B. A place of joy and experience of God
- C. A place of being on fire for God
- II. The Importance of Being on the Mountain Top
- A. Not being down in the dumps or isolated
- B. Not being lukewarm, but fully engaged with God
- C. Experiencing God's joy and presence
- III. Jesus' Invitation to Meet Him on the Mountain Top
- A. A place of meeting and fellowship with God
- B. A place of obedience and following God's plan
- C. A place of spiritual growth and development
Key Quotes
“God does not want you to be down in the dumps. Spiritually, he wants you in a high place.” — Erlo Stegen
“He wants you in that place right on the mountain top.” — Erlo Stegen
“Woe to you if you are just in any other place and you are not in that place where Jesus has pointed you to be.” — Erlo Stegen
Application Points
- We must examine ourselves to see if we're in the place God has appointed for us.
- We must seek God's guidance and follow His plan and instructions for our lives.
- We must be willing to leave our comfort zones and follow God's call to be in the place He has appointed for us.
