This morning, we are beginning a series I have entitled “Lessons From the Wild”. During a hunting trip last fall with Pastor Marcus, there were a series of events that seemed to have great application to life and our walk with Christ. Over the next nine weeks we are going to look at some practical lessons I learned in the wilderness.

The Story:
The first lesson began on the opening day of the hunt. It was warmer than expected for a November hunt. Marcus and I had been to several areas already that morning with no success. We had seen a few does, but no bucks. I made the decision to take a road that seemed less traveled to hopefully find an area away from the influence of other hunters.

We came to a spot where there was a mountain we could climb to get a better and farther view. We grabbed our packs and began the ascent to the top. When you're hunting, the ascent reminds you of every poor life choice you have ever made with your diet and exercise. Here is an actual video of me climbing the mountain.

Multiple times on the way up, you stop because your lungs are burning, and your legs are on fire. The wilderness has a keen ability to remind you that your body designed by Taco Bell needs adjustment. Then there is also the addition of your hunting pack, rifle, and whatever else you need. Needless to say, it adds up to carrying an additional toddler up the mountain on top of the body designed by Taco Bell.

Now this may not hold true for everyone else, but for me, in moments while I climb, thoughts can begin to creep into my head that make me question my life’s choices and what I do for fun. Depending on the size of the mountain, I occasionally think, why do I do this to myself? Wouldn’t it be easier to just hunt from the truck? This is hard. My legs are burning. Are my lungs going to explode? Why do I eat so many tacos?

I am sure some of you in this room know exactly what I am talking about. Maybe we will start a fall support group.

All kidding aside, a simple observation I made during the ascent is how our flesh always desires ease. To take the easy road. To give as little effort as possible, BUT IT STILL WANTS THE SAME OUTCOME OF CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN.

The truth learned in that moment is that in order to gain the needed perspective, to see more clearly, and accomplish our objective to be successful in the hunt, we needed to climb the mountain. The same holds true for other areas of our lives. There are many mountains we will need to climb in life. If we are to climb successfully, we will have to harness our minds.

The mountains of life bring doubts and objections, and if not stewarded well, the mind has a tendency to magnify the doubts and objections. If we allow the doubts and objections to be magnified in our minds, we will never make the climb and reach our objectives.

Life is filled with mountains to climb. Mountains of conflict, brokenness, uncertainty, and also mountains of opportunity and possibilities. Each mountain beckons us to face our deepest fears, and to develop new skills and understanding. Each journey up a mountain will teach us trust and dependence on God and reveal who we are.

Turn with me to the book of Joshua 1.

This book begins with the commissioning of Joshua as the successor of Moses. This is mountain #1, Joshua is following a mountain of a man.
He is the successor of Moses. You know the one who led the children of Israel out of Egypt through the wilderness. He wrought miracles by the power of God. Crossed the Red Sea by dividing the waters. Talked with God face to face on the mountain as a man talks to a friend. He was given the law and the design for how God was to be worshipped. He, through obedience to God’s instruction, brought water from a rock. He knew God, talked with God, and had deep relationship.

Joshua has to follow the example of this man to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. There is now a mountain of leadership in front of him. Until now, Joshua had served faithfully. He was the right-hand man for Moses, but now it is a different time.

This would without a doubt be a bit overwhelming from a practical standpoint. You go from helping to leading, and what you're leading is a directive from God for an entire people group. So, no pressure. To climb this mountain, he would have to harness his mind, and not only his, but the children of Israel. Remember, they spent 40 years in the wilderness because of how they thought.

There are three keys I see in this chapter to harness the mind. They are promise, presence, and perseverance.

The initial key to harnessing the mind is knowing the promises of God. What does God’s word say about the mountain in front of you?

Promise #1: God tells Joshua, every place the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you. God then defines the geographical territory to Joshua. (* Note that this was not a name it and claim it moment; this was defined by God. What He says about it matters. It is not just saying what I want and calling it a promise.)

Promise #2: No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Why?

The Second Key: Presence. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you, nor forsake you.

The strength and success of Joshua climbing the mountain rests in the reality that God has given promise and will be with him. The success of the climb is not rooted primarily in your individual effort, but in the promise of God and His ability to work out His promise in your life.

God begins with promise, accompanies it with presence, and then strengthens it further with promise. He says, be strong and of good courage, for to this people you will divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. In this we see the next key.

The Third Key: Perseverance. Only be strong and courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. The Book of the Law was not to depart from his mouth. He was to meditate on it day and night so that he would observe to do all that was written in it.

Joshua’s commission to lead would require courage and strength. I want you to see that the strength to persevere comes from promise. (The Word God has spoken).

If we are to climb the mountains of life successfully, we will need these keys. To know His promise, to become more aware of His presence, and to determine that we will persevere because He has promised and is with us.

And when the climb gets hard, we remember the instruction of Joshua 1:13: “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.”

Remember the word that God has spoken. The word strengthens and increases your faith. His presence calms your heart and mind to remind you that He is near and hasn’t left you to do it on your own.

A final thought for this lesson about climbing the mountain is this: Remember that God goes before you. In Joshua 2, two men go to spy out Jericho. They meet a harlot named Rahab, and what she tells them is important.

As we climb, we must remember that God is already working in our future. He is making a way where there seems to be no way. Our need is to climb and not quit. We need to hide His promises in our hearts and learn to cultivate a life of presence and perseverance.

We must harness the mind by submitting to His word and anchor our hope in what He has promised. We don’t need to be dismayed in life by the climb; we need to reframe it. To see the climb as an opportunity vs. a difficult task we have to do.

Understand that every season of life will require a different vantage point that only the top of the mountain can provide. Choose to climb the mountain and harness your mind.