Mountain Top Experiences ≠ Mountain Top Lives

1 Samuel 16:4–13 NKJV

4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

Mountain top experiences . We all love them. How do they equate into mountain top lives? To go from a moment and a feeling to an overcoming lifestyle.

Where to we go from here?

David went back out to the sheep.

1 Samuel 16:19 NKJV

19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”

What about the David’s brothers? In a culture dominated by birth order and here we may have a difficult family situation.

David’s brothers may have wanted to kill David also or maybe they just treated them roughly.

Look at the battle and what David’s brother said to him? I get the idea that David was not this perfect child who wrote and sang psalms. He might have rubbed the anointing in. Maybe his father might have elevated him above his brothers?

1 Samuel 17:28 NKJV

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

David started out correctly. The distance between a mountain top experience and a mountain top life is summed up this way:

1 Samuel 18:14 NKJV

14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

It is not about behaving wisely based on the world’s standards, but based on God’s standards. David had opportunities to take matters into his own hands and bring about what God had promised him.

1 Samuel 24:3–4 NKJV

3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

As we are walking towards seeing our lives mirror mountain top experiences, we need to make sure we are listening to the Lord more than other people. No matter how well intentioned people may be, they can still be wrong. The men of David saw this as an opportunity for the fulfillment of God’s prophecy and promise.

It is critical to be led by the Holy Spirit and not to be lead by ourselves. God’s time is perfect and most of the time it is not in our time.

It was going to be many years before this mountain top experience would come to pass, roughly 15 to be exact. He would have to fight for what God had called him to do. He would have to fight himself.

He would make mistakes along the road even after his life seemed to have arrived at this mountain top. Some big ones. Our mistakes, just like David’s, are not the end of the road. It may take longer to get back on track. The key to success; how to bridge the mountain top experience with a mountain top life is found in the life of David.

Acts 13:22 NKJV

22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

We must seek to know the heart of God. Why was Jesus Christ willing to suffer a horrible death for crimes He never committed? We have heard it said many times:

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Get to know the heart of God to understand what love really is. This is only part of it. If we want to have a mountain top life, then we must do His will. Not just talk about it, but actually do it.

It is not easy. You have to fight for it. You have to hold on to it even it seems it will never happen. Hold on when it seems impossible. Many times David could have given up or forced things to happen, but he waited on the Lord and it was worth the wait.

It is worth it in our own life also. In so many ways. In the face of a child. To hear a loved one, we have been praying for, for so long, has come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. To see the love and mercy of God fulfilled in someone’s life.

Conclusion:

Mountain top experiences does not equal mountain top lives.

The first mountain top experience every Christian has is when we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and make Him our Lord.

Maybe there are those who have not had this experience and want this experience. God made it so simple. He did the hard work. It just takes knowing your A, B, C’s.

A - Acknowledge

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

B - Believe

Acts 16:31 NKJV

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

C - Confess

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.