The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-02-11
JESUS ON THE MOUNTAIN
AND IN THE VALLEY

JESUS ON THE MOUNTAIN
AND IN THE VALLEY
| LESSON TExT-Mark 1928, 1927
GOLDEN TEXT believe; help thou mine
unbelief. Mark 1924.
The vision of the mountain top
prepares the believer for service
down in the valley. "Where there is
no vision the people perish" said the
wise man of old prov. 29:18). For
want of a true vision of God, a
knowledge of His truth, and the God
given constraint which makes men
give themselves in sacrificial serv-
ice, the people will perish in their
sins.
But let men come to know the
truth as it is in Christ, learn to know
Him as the Son of God glorious
and powerful, and then let them
translate their knowledge of Chris
tan truth and their personal spiritu-
al experiences into the daily minis
try to the needs of their fellow men,
and there will be songs of salvation
and joy.
1. Knowing wv. 2-7).
The TRANSPORTATION of Christ
doubtless meant much to Him in
preparation for His coming death
and resurrection. It was a fore
CLEAN of His kingdom glory.
In this lesson we are concerned
with the experience of the disciples
rather than the feelings Of our Lord.
Fundamental in both Christian life
and service is clear understanding
of the person and work of Christ.
One may come to Christ knowing
little more than that He is the di-
vine Saviour, and one may enter
into Christian living with meager
knowledge of the doctrines of the
Bible. But the Christian who fails to
grow in knowledge will not grow in
grace as he should.
God sets no premium on igno-
rance, in fact it is quite evident that
the great blight on the Christian
church tolay is the appalling lack
of understanding of Gods Word.
The disciples came to fuller con-
viction that He was the Son of God
as they saw Him TRANSPORTED and
heard the Father say, "This is my
beloved Son." They learned more
plainly the truth of His coming death
for the sins of all mankind. They
saw in the indescribable beauty of
that moment the foregleam of His
coming glory. What important truths
these are-His deity-His redemp-
tion-His coming kingship. Do we
have clear grasp of these truths?
If not, let us search the Scriptures.
III. Growing ". 81.
"Jesus only" He filled their
vision and their hearts. They had
made spiritual progress as they had
seen His glory and heard the COM
nending voice of the Father.
Great experiences of spiritual re-
newing and power are necessary to
effective life and testimony. They
may not be in outward manifesto
tion, in fact they are more often in
the inner recesses Of the soul; but
they transform men and send them
forth to magnificent living for God.
One wonders if much of the dearth
OF power in the Christian church is
not to be attributed directly to the
lack of such experiences with God.
The disciples had an unforgettable
mountaintop experience. Even so
have many others found the secret
of power.
Let us remember that such privi-
leges are not reserved for a few,
they are the birthright Of every
Christian. Power without knowledge
is dangerous and destructive thing,
but knowledge without power is
dead thing.
Let us study Gods Word, but let
the truth be baptized in the over
flowing spiritual power of personal
experience with God.
In regeneration all that Christ is
and has for us is made available.
If we have not taken out our inheri-
lance let us do it at once.
iii. Serving wv. 17-2T.
One of the lessons that seems hard
to learn and to keep constantly eff
fective in the life of a Christian is
that mountaintop experiences of
spiritual uplift are not an end in
themselves, but preparation for
service. All too often we come to
regard such times of peculiar bless
ing, whether in the privacy of our
own room or in the great confer
ence of Christian workers, as some
thing which should glow warmly in
our own hearts, making us glad in
the Lord, and not as a preparation
for ministry to others.
Jesus and the disciples went up
to the place of prayer, into the place
of glory, and down to the place of
service. How fitting is that Sc
quence.
Much confusion exists in the
church because those who have fool
ishly abandoned Gods Word and
substituted the energy of the flesh
| for SniritlIaI y,nwer have haan ynoc+