The Path (Fire on the Mountain Series) (3 page)

“I was taken up so that I would not see death so that I could return to prepare the way for the Lord. The Baptist loved the people enough to warn them. He loved them enough to risk his life to tell them the truth and to stand for the truth that could set them free. Where are those that can be used to prepare the way for the Lord in your time? Where are those who will even risk being rejected for the sake of the truth?”

“There are some,” I replied, “but not many. They are not well known because not many will listen to them, but there are some.”

“We do not need many. If they have courage and a resolute heart, it will be enough. If they have courage and a resolute heart, they will find this path,” the Voice continued.

“Many think they are on the path of life, but have long ago departed from it. Only with the foundation of repentance can one find and stay on this path. Where the foundation of repentance is strong, there will be a victory over sin, not just remorse about it. The deadly trap for your generation is that they hardly know what sin is, much less how to turn from it.”

“Everything you say is true,” I admitted. “I may be the chief of sinners in this time. I have taken comfort that I have not committed the major sins since I have believed, but I have committed one that is worse. I have seen the Lord. I have seen His glory and His throne, and I have still become lukewarm. I have become frivolous and wasteful of my time. I should be walking in much more than I am, but as you witnessed, I did not even have enough spiritual sense to seek the living water in the wilderness.

“I know I have fallen far short of the devotion that the Lord deserves from me. This is the most difficult part of all—I am the most zealous for the Lord that I know of, and I am lukewarm. The King deserves better.

“You are right to be disappointed that I was not stronger when I got here, but it may not get much better with others who come. They may all arrive here in bad shape, but they will listen to you. They will repent, and they will walk this path with great courage.”

“You are right in your judgment of yourself and your generation. The flock of the Lord is in very bad shape. As Jeremiah lamented, the sheep have become lost sheep because their shepherds have led them astray by making them turn aside to the mountains and hills, to things that will keep them excited and keep them moving. They are being led to the things of the Lord, but not to the Lord Himself. Many are now lukewarm because they have so much, so many distractions. Others are lukewarm because they are worn out from all the hype and continuous running to and fro.

“You are right about your generation. Even so, the biggest victories can only come with the biggest battles. Your generation has failed, but it does not have to end in failure. Those who repent will be given the grace to change. Then they will be given one of the greatest honors of the ages—they will be allowed to fight in the last battle. All of the prophets and righteous ones have been waiting to see these days. You are living them.

“I was surprised by the condition that you, and the few who have made it this far, have come in. But now I see strength. If the others who come have this and can keep it, then you will prevail.”

“What is that strength?” I asked.

“You are quick to repent. You are not afraid of an accurate evaluation of yourself. You do not try to hide your faults or make excuses for them. That is a foundation that victory can be built upon. Only with this accurate evaluation will you fully embrace the cross as your hope. The power of God is the cross, and those who live the life of the cross will live in power.

“To be changed into the image of the Lord, you must see His glory with an unveiled face. Excuses are the biggest veil that keep people from seeing Him as He is, and from seeing themselves as they are. Those with this veil do not change. Even if they see His glory it is distorted through the veil they wear, so they are not changed by it. If you keep this humility it will not take long to get you ready for your purpose.”

“What is my purpose?” I inquired.

“You are a forerunner of the forerunners. You are to help prepare those who will prepare the way for the King. They are the mighty ones that have been prophesied since Enoch spoke of them. They are alive now. This is their time, and you are called to help prepare them.”

“Since Enoch did not see death, does he also have a part in preparing the way for the Lord?” I asked.

“After the Fall, Enoch was the first to recover the most basic purpose of man—to walk with God. The message of Enoch has been for every generation. He too was taken up as a testimony that this is the victory over death—to walk with God. To walk with God is to eat of the Tree of Life. The mighty ones he was shown that come at the end of the age were given their authority because they will walk with God as Enoch did.

“Enoch has a special part in these times. Those who stay on this path and make it to the city of God do so because they learn what Enoch learned. After you have learned from me you must learn from him. Those who do not learn repentance first almost all fall to pride. The worst pride can be thinking you are closer to the Lord than others. Repentance has to come to prepare the way for the Lord so that you can walk with Him and not stray.”

The Voice then motioned for me to follow him on the path. I followed. The living water and the thrill of the journey made me feel young again. I was thankful to have been able to talk to someone about the poor leader, teacher, and shepherd I had been. I knew it was true, and this gave me hope. I had the exuberance of starting over again, knowing I was being given another chance. I had found grace. I wondered if there could be any gift more wonderful than being given another chance.

As if listening to my thoughts, the Voice turned and said, “The gift of being born again is the great gift. It is the gift of starting over.”

“Very true,” I acknowledged. “I feel that I’m being given a whole new beginning again, almost like I’m being born again, again. Even if I failed again it would be better to die trying, to die in this wilderness, than to not try at all.”

“The Lord gave us day and night so that we could wake up each day to a new day. Every day is a new beginning. Repentance is waking up again to a new day,” the Voice explained.

I was awake like I had not felt for years, and maybe ever. I was on the path again to the greatest adventure one can have in this life, seeking the city that God is building.

CHAPTER TWO

THE CALL

I
walked in silence behind the Voice for a good distance. Gradually the path got broader so I pulled up beside him. I had many more questions and did not want to waste whatever time I had with him.

“I would like to ask you about the ‘mighty ones’ Enoch prophesied of,” I began.

“You may ask anything,” the Voice responded.

“Will these ‘mighty ones’ be like Enoch and walk so closely with the Lord that they will be taken up?”

“The questions you have about them would be better asked of Enoch, but I will tell you what I do know,” he responded. “These ‘messengers of power’ will walk with the Lord like Enoch, and they will reveal His power like I did.

“Enoch was a sign. He was kept so that he would not see death for the same reason that I was—to prepare the way for the Lord by preparing His people. That Enoch walked with God and ‘was not’ was more than him just being caught up to heaven. He loved God so much that God became his life. He lived to know and serve the Lord. So it will be with these ‘mighty ones’ that he prophesied would come at the end of this age.

“I had the power, but Enoch had the greatest love for God. Enoch loved God so much that he wanted God more than he wanted food, water, or even air to breathe. Loving God is the highest purpose of man, and those who love are transformed and translated into the heavenly realms of God. At the end of this age, His messengers will have both the love for God that Enoch had and the power that I had. Their power will be the power of the love of God.”

“Will I see Enoch too?” I asked.

“Those who walk this path will see me and Enoch. You must see us to stay on the path.”

“So I will literally see Enoch?”

“Why do you care about what you call ‘literal’? What you see in the natural is not as important or as ‘literal’ as what you see with the eyes of your heart, your spirit. Only love can enable you to handle the power that is to be given to God’s messengers in these times without it causing you to stumble or drift from the path of life.”

The Voice stopped, turned, and took hold of both of my shoulders while looking me straight in the eyes, and said,

“Love combined with power results in courage. Courage is the result of loving others more than yourself. The greatest courage comes from loving God even more than we love ourselves. If we love Him we will also love His people. You must know your message and your purpose, but those alone will not keep you. All will eventually quit if they do not have love.

“Those who have love without power will fail because true love is not just a feeling, but an action. Those who have the truth will quit if they do not love the truth. It is not just love or power, but it is the power of love you must have. Love is the greatest, but true love is expressed in power. When both are present they produce courage, because love will face trials or any danger for those they love. Where you are going you will face the greatest trials and the greatest dangers. To walk this path will take the greatest courage, so you must seek the greatest love and the power of that love.”

“No one can see God and not love Him,” I said.

“How do you know that?” the Voice retorted.

“I’ve seen Him,” I answered.

“You have been given grace,” the Voice responded. “No man can see Him and not be drawn to Him, except for the sons of perdition. They too are maturing in these times, and their power comes from the evil one. They will be as consumed with evil as the ‘messengers of power’ will be consumed with God. This is the time when good and evil will both be fully revealed on the earth.”

“I have seen this too,” I responded. “The Scriptures are clear that this must come, but I have not been sure of the time. It is close then?”

“It is close,” the Voice acknowledged with a tremble that told me I had touched a nerve.

“There is much to do to prepare,” I offered.

“‘Prepare’ is the crucial word for this hour,” the Voice responded. “The children of light have never been further from being ready for what is coming upon them. Never have we had more to do and less time to do it in. It is good that we serve a God that does His greatest works when it becomes impossible for us. We are, therefore, about to see His greatest works.”

“Those who can see are all saying this. Our hope is that when Israel fell into its darkest times then the Lord raised up His greatest prophets,” I responded, pondering how the one I now walked beside had been one of these.

“Man was created to have a special relationship with God. Therefore, nothing can satisfy the heart of man like God Himself. Of the great works we are about to witness, none will be more wonderful than His presence among His people. He is going to come to His people. God’s glory will be seen by His people, and His glory will appear upon them. This is what is going to draw the nations to His light,” the Voice declared as if he was not only speaking to me.

“You have seen Him, and that is what has kept you. That is what has brought you to this path. Others have not seen Him with their physical eyes as you have, but they have seen Him with their hearts. They too will walk this path with courage and resolute hearts. The glory that will soon be manifested will cause everyone on earth to enter the Valley of Decision where they must choose.

“No man can see Him and not be drawn to Him, unless they are the sons of perdition that the enemy has completely taken over. There are many like this who will also be revealed. Those will only hate Him more the more they see Him. Is that not how they reacted to Jesus when He walked the earth?

“The immature believe that if those who oppose could just see a miracle they would come to the Lord. The greater the works that Jesus did the more those who served evil hated Him,” the Voice stated. “Before the nations come to the light they must see the conflict between the light and the darkness once again.