LET’S GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN TOP
ISAIAH 2:3
Mental Illness
Mental illnesses are common in the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (52.9 million in 2020). Mental illnesses include many different conditions that vary in degree of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Two broad categories can be used to describe these conditions: Any Mental Illness (AMI) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI). AMI encompasses all recognized mental illnesses. SMI is a smaller and more severe subset of AMI. Additional information on mental illnesses can be found on the NIMH Health
Any Mental Illness
- Any mental illness (AMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder. AMI can vary in impact, ranging from no impairment to mild, moderate, and even severe impairment (e.g., individuals with serious mental illness as defined below).
Serious Mental Illness
- Serious mental illness (SMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. The burden of mental illnesses is particularly concentrated among those who experience disability due to SMI.
Mental health problems can have a wide range of causes. It\’s likely that for many people there is a complicated combination of factors – although different people may be more deeply affected by certain things than others.
For example, the following factors could potentially result in a period of poor mental health:
- childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect
- social isolation or loneliness
- experiencing discrimination and stigma, including racism
- social disadvantage, poverty, or debt
- bereavement (losing someone close to you)
- severe or long-term stress
- having a long-term physical health condition
- unemployment or losing your job
- homelessness or poor housing
- being a long-term carer for someone
All of us are mental people
The normal stresses of life can build to the point where we are not able
function as we should,
You can get stressed out and that is a mental problem.
Isaiah offers a solution to handling the daily stresses of life.
Isaiah 2:3
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
Before we deal with Isaiah, let’s look at the Life of Moses
He grew up in Egypt and was educated in the king’s house
He was aware that he was a Hebrew, the son of Hebrew slaves.
He got angry at how an Egyptian was treating his Hebrew brother
and kill him.
He fled to Egypt and landed in Midian and married the daughter
of a Midianite priest. He live peacefully for 40 years until
he met God on the mountain at the sight of the burning bush.
He was commissioned to lead The Israelites out of Egypt to
freedom in the land promised to their father Abraham.
He led the Hebrew people out of Egypt and into the desert for 40
years. For 40 years Moses dealt with the nation of Israel
who complained constantly and could never be satisfied with
the blessings of God.
Finally, at the Desert of Zin, Moses lost his temper.
He had been to the mountain many times to meet with God. Yet he
appeared to be stressed to the point where he couldn’t function with compassion
and love.
There was no water in the Desert of Zin and the Israelites complained.
I guess you could Moses had “Had Enough”.
Here is where Moses loses his temper.
Numbers 20:7-13
7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 \”Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.\”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord\’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, \”Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?\” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, \”Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.\”
13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he showed himself holy among them.
NIV
Notice what happens when you lose it.
Instead of acting calmly, you act with anger dishonoring God before the public.
When you dishonor God, people can not see the God in you
When you dishonor God, you deny the people the ability to see the power of God.
When you dishonor God you show yourself as the power.
When you dishonor God you lose some blessing of God.
He worked with Israelite\’s 40 years and because he lost it, Moses was
prevented from taking the people into the promised land.
The reason we get stressed out is in the text.
We don’t trust God enough to honor Him as holy.
You do not take God at His Word
You take the situation into your own hands.
You become disobedient to God,
If you trust God, you will allow Him to handle the situation.
To honor God as holy you must have a holy attitude
Before we act under the frustration of mounting problems, I suggest you do as Isaiah requested.
Isaiah 2:3
\”Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways.
so that we may walk in his paths.\”
If you look at the text, Moses went up to the mountain
But he came down with the attitude that he had to handle the Israelites himself.
He came down and left God on the mountain.
Moses forgot that reason he came down is that God
came down with him.
That’s our problem is considering God as being distanced from us rather than
considering God in us.
We must always remember that the God in us is bigger than the problems
we face.
The mountain of God is a place where it is just you and God.
You have to elevate yourself out of the daily concerns of the
world to the comfort of the Lord.
Charles Spurgeon said this;
It would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the hills. It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening. May the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley of earth and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to mount!
(from Spurgeon\’s Morning & Evening, Biblesoft formatted electronic database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Reasons to leave the valley of the earth
Fears
Anxiety
Ills
Reasons to get the mountain of God
Joy
Peace
His abundant blessing
How do we get there?
1. When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, go to the mountain
of God.
1. Let Go and Let God
2. Realize your inadequacies
3. Take hold of God’s resourcefulness
4. Pray
Philippians 4:5-7
The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and
the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
a. Know that God is near. He is in you
Since God is in you He is more than the whole world against you
b. See your problem as solved.
c. Pray
d. Make a specific request to the Lord
e. Thank God for your situation
Benefits
a. The peace of God will overcome you.
b. God will guard your heart against negativity.
c. God will guard your mind with the hope of Jesus.
4. Have faith in the promise of Jesus
John 14:13-14
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to
the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
5. Act on the promise of Jesus.
To act on the promises of God you have to first believe them for yourself.
6. Fear, anxiety, and frustrations show up when you take your focus off God.
Elijah knew the power of God.
Had such confidence in God that He called on him to
light a fire in wood that was water-drenched.
He had 400 of Baal’s prophets killed
He became afraid when Jezebel threaten to kill him.
1 Kings 19:1-3
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, \”May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.\”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.
Elijah became afraid when he took His eyes off God and focused on himself.
In Summary, How Do you get to the mountain of God?
1. Know your stress level
2. Go to God in Prayer
3. Keep Focused on God
4. Focus on His promises
5. Ask God specifically for what you need.
5. Be Thankful
6. Consider the problem solved.
7. Walk in confidence that God will make your situation
work in your favor.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET TO THE MOUNTAIN
” Zion, “the mountain of the house of the Lord” (v.2), will be established above all others. At Zion, confusion would give way to clarity, half-truths would be overshadowed by revelation, misdirection would succumb to guidance, and veiled motivations would be exposed by the truth of God’s Word. (Larrin Robertson)
Stress overcome by peaceful
Fear overcome by confidence
The unknown become known in Christ
Weakness overcome by the power
Sadness overcome by joy
Hopelessness overcome by hope
How do you Stay on the Mountain Top
1. Start your day off in prayer
2. Meditate on His Word
3. Set aside time to study God’s Word
4. Find you a go-to scripture in troubling times
Such as I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
No weapon formed against me will prosper
5. Treat everyone with kindness, which includes your enemy.
6. Pray for the one that causes you stress.
6. Be obedient to God’s Word
7. Praise God throughout your day
Remember every situation does not require you to act or respond
Every criticism does not require a response from you.
See criticism in a positive light
See failure as the road to success
Above all, Put God first before you act.
Your Testimony will help others.
How do you handle troubling situations?
Rev. M. Mitchell
Great message!
Wrong verse or at least I do not see how Isaiah 2:3 has anything to do with stress. But again I would like to say great message Rev Mitchell.
Here is the way I see it in Ver. 3.—Many people; rather, many peoples. Shall go; or, set forth. The prophet means to represent the nations as encouraging one another on the way. There is no jealousy among them, for the “mountain” can hold them all. He will teach us. The nations feel their ignorance of God, and their need of “teaching.” God alone can teach them concerning himself (Rom. 11:33, 34; 1 Cor. 2:10, 11); and “he will teach” them, either directly, as the incarnate Son, or indirectly through those whom he has appointed to be “teachers” (1 Cor. 12:28). Of his ways; i.e. “some of his ways,” not “all of them;” for at present “we know in part” only (1 Cor. 13:9), and the greater portion of his ways are “past finding out” (Rom. 11:33). The “ways” here spoken of are, no doubt, rules for the conduct of life, which are practically inexhaustible. God, however, will teach every man, who honestly seeks to learn, enough to enable him to “walk in his paths.” out of Zion shall go forth the Law; rather, instruction, or teaching. The word (torah) is without the article. The instruction intended is that of the Church of God.
I just wanted to share this:
2:2b–3. When these events take place many nations will be attracted to Jerusalem (cf. 14:1; 27:13; 66:23; Zech. 8:23; 14:16) and to God’s house (the temple, Isa. 2:2a). The attraction will be the Lord’s ways … paths … Law, and Word which will be made known from that place. In fact the LORD Himself will give forth the Law (51:4). (Zion, referred to dozens of times by Isaiah, more than by any other author of Scripture, is here a synonym of Jerusalem; cf. 4:3; 40:9; 52:1; 62:1. See comments on Zech. 8:3.) In the Millennium, people everywhere will realize that God’s revelation is foundational to their lives. They will want to know it (He will teach us) and to live according to it (walk in it).
2:4. This is one of the more familiar verses in the Book of Isaiah. God will have a worldwide ministry of judging and settling disputes. He will require nations and peoples everywhere to abstain from warfare. Universal peace, with no military conflict or training, will prevail because the implements of warfare (swords and spears) will be turned into implements of agriculture (plowshares and hooks; cf. Joel 3:10). At this time of worldwide peace the nations will go to Jerusalem to learn from God (Isa. 2:2). Peace will come not by human achievement but because of God’s presence and work in Jerusalem. At that time Israel will be filled with God’s Spirit (Ezek. 36:24–30) and her sins will be forgiven (Jer. 31:31–34).
2:5. Isaiah closed this short section with an exhortation for his readers to walk (live) in the light of the LORD.
The prophet called Israel the house of Jacob, a reference to Jacob’s descendants. Isaiah used this term eight times (vv. 5–6; 8:17; 10:20; 14:1; 29:22; 46:3; 48:1) whereas it is used only nine times by all the other prophets. When great truths about the future are given in the Scriptures, readers are often reminded of how they should live in the present (e.g., 1 Thes. 4:13–18; 5:1–8; 2 Peter 3:10–14; 1 John 3:2–3). In view of the fact that in the Millennium all nations will stream to Jerusalem to learn God’s Word, it would be sensible for Israel, already knowing that Law, to follow it (walking in its “light”) until the Lord sets up His glorious kingdom.
Martin, John A. “Isaiah.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. page 1038.
Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart is often the best medication and help one can receive. Sometimes all a Christian wants and needs is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is just to talk it out. And, we should be there to listen.
We often hurt ourselves and others when we rush in to offer help that isn’t needed. We need to trust that Just as God is with us so is God with other Christians! Have faith in God and the in the Holy Spirit that dwells in the hearts of all Christians.
Amen and Amen!
Sometimes people do not care how much you know ….until they know how much you care!