Free The Path (Fire on the Mountain Series) by Rick Joyner Page A

stand on ‘it is written,’ how much more do we need to do this?”
“Is your understanding of these issues established in the Scriptures?” Mary asked.
“Yes, but that does not mean you will see it. There is something else more basic required to understand the Scriptures.”
“What is that?”
“You have to be willing to accept the conclusion and obey it, regardless of whether you like it or not. Jesus said, ‘ If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself .’ So to be able to understand the truth we must be willing to obey it.
“There was a dispute between Aquinas and Abelard about whether we need to understand in order to believe, or do we need to believe in order to understand. According to what Jesus said, we must not only believe, but be willing to obey Him in order to know whether His teachings were from God.”
“That can be a challenge,” the young Mary said.
“It is meant to be a challenge,” I responded. “We have to see the Lord’s glory with an unveiled face to be changed into His image. Our own prejudices, our good or bad experiences, can be veils that cause us to distort His teachings. Before we are trusted with the ultimate truth we must settle in our hearts that He is God, He is the Creator, and has the right to do what He wants with His creation. That is basic, but to trust Him we must also establish that He is just and will never do anything unjust.”
“So you don’t think He would condemn to eternal damnation those who never had a chance to hear and respond to the gospel?” the young Mary said quite loudly.
“I know that our God would never do anything unjust. Neither do I think we have to distort our concept of justice to make it fit what He does. Everything He does and everything that He will allow in His kingdom will be both righteous and just because ‘ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne ’ or His authority. You can count on this,” I offered. You can also count on His love for all men.”
    That is when I saw Elijah again, standing nearby. I was obviously facing the questions he had warned me about. I looked around at the group. I knew that some might not make it past this point if they were not satisfied with the answers to some of these questions. Some would only make it past this point because of what I was about to say to them. I do not remember ever feeling this kind of pressure while feeling this inadequate. I prayed earnestly in my heart for the help of the Holy Spirit.
“Amen,” I heard Elijah say. As I looked up, I was surprised to see him walking toward us.
    That is when a loud noise came from the direction of the path. Two of the watchmen came running into the open, breathing hard while trying to yell:
“There’s a lion after us!”
Elijah turned and swiftly grabbed both of the watchmen, saying, “Why are you running? There’s a much bigger lion in you!”
    Then he entered the woods walking, but resolutely moving toward the lion. The questions were no longer the most important issue for anyone.
“Let’s go,” I said, and we entered the path behind Elijah.
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
    THE TEACHER
    N either Elijah nor the lion could be seen or heard. They seemed to have just vanished into the wilderness.
“It was the biggest lion I’ve ever seen,” one of the watchmen said. “I can’t believe Elijah would just go after it like he did.”
“Did you hear what he said?” Mary asked.
“What did he say?” the watchman replied.
“That there is a bigger lion in us,” Mary answered.
“What did he mean by that?” someone asked.
“But that lion was real!” the watchman declared.
“So is the lion in you,” a familiar voice said.
    Elijah was standing beside the path in front of us. He turned to the still shaken watchman, and continued:
“If you do not learn to face the lions, you will be running from them the rest of your life. If you do not chase them