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Voices In The Mountain
These articles are written by men and women of God who are directly related to the ministry at Mountain Top International. They are divine expressions of the kingdom of God. They are the young and the old. They are voices of perseverance and endurance. They are the voices of trials and tests. They are watchmen of the Spirit. Each in their own unique way are an expression of the Father's heart...they are the "Voices In The Mountain ****************** Visions & Dreams 
When I was asked to write an article about visions and dreams, my first though was "am I having visions and dreams? Holy Spirit, have you been speaking to me in this way?" Honestly, God speaks to me in multiple ways, but the main thing is that I pay attention when He's speaking. So lets talk about visions and dreams from God, how many of you out there are experiencing some kind of unique communication that you feel is from God? How often is He speaking to you? What is He telling you to do? These are the kinds of questions that need to be answered in order to understand why God speaks in mysteries sometimes. Lets start out by defining what visions and dreams are... Joel prophesied that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters would prophesy, old men would dream dreams, young men would see visions (Joel 2:28-31). God was saying that a time in history would come when He would begin to make His power and presence known to all humanity, both Jews & Gentiles. It has always been the desire of God to have fellowship with sons & daughters, as God is pouring out His Spirit, there will be no shortage of revelation and communication from Him. The Father so desires to communicate with us, He takes the time to speak mysteries that are not always easy to understand. Think about it, why would God speak to you in a dream or in a vision? Why not just tell you plainly what He wants to say, I mean come on God, I know you want me to understand your language, but why the symbolism, why the mysteries? Can't you just give me a clear understanding without all the hidden meanings? Let me take a crack at that question, I think part of the reason God speaks to us the way He does is so we will take the time to seek His face for the correct interpretation. Sometimes He can be very clear, God might be telling you not to go a certain direction in your life, while other times it doesn't seem to make much sense, but in all of it, He has given us the ability to understand His mind in these matters. Daniel is a perfect example of someone who understood the importance and power of visions and dreams. The bible says that an excellent spirit was upon Daniels life, he was given wisdom to interpret dreams and visions (Daniel 1:17). King Nebuchadnezzar was a wicked pagan king, yet I find it interesting that God wanted to communicate with him, and chose to give him a dream. God already made provision for Nebuchadnezzar to understand his dream through Daniel. God loved King Nebuchadnezzar enough to speak to Him about the future of his kingdom, even though King Nebuchadnezzar was ruling his kingdom in direct opposition to Gods law. God was wanting to communicate with Him and give Him an opportunity to do right in Gods sight. Daniel was placed in the court of an evil king for the purpose of reveling the wisdom and power of God, all because of a dream. (Sounds like dreams are important). Joseph was given a dream that would only come to pass after he went through a process of pain and betrayal by those closest to him. Joseph spent 13 years of his life living as a slave in a foreign land until Pharaoh had a dream. God prepared Joseph through the trails and tests he went through , as he continued to exercise the ability to interpret dreams while in prison, Joseph didn't let his surroundings keep him from being used by God. Joseph walked with integrity when no one was looking, and in one day he was promoted to second in command over Egypt, all because Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret but Joseph. We are now at the end of an age where God said He would open up the mysteries of heaven and make them known to His church. The angel told Daniel in a vision to conceal the words he was given, and to seal up the book until the time of the end (Daniel 12). The apostle John was about to write down what the seven thunders of the Lord uttered, but he was told by the angle to seal up the book, (Revelation 10). We are now living in the days that were prophesied of thousands of years ago. God promised that He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. He said He would cover the earth with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). This is an exiting time to be alive, and what an opportunity God has given us to partner with Him through fellowship with His son Jesus. We have been called by the Father to live in this world with an intimate awareness of the Holy Spirit active in our day to day lives. To those of you who are out there in the world, you are the called and chosen of God. This is your opportunity to embrace the voice of God how ever He chooses to speak, whether through dreams, visions, prophecy, or face to face encounters with Him, this is your opportunity to hear His voice and enter into a kingdom without walls, without limitations. You were born for this hour, I challenge you to embrace a relationship with God that is beyond the borders of mere religious activity and step into the supernatural impact of Gods love toward your life. Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. In Christ, Josh Crofton www.croftonhouseministries.com ******************************************** "TUNING INTO THE SPIRIT" .jpg)
By Sheryl Jones I have something on my heart and I can't shake it so I am going to try to articulate what I feel in my heart is the Father's heart for this season. I feel like it is the time to walk by the Spirit like never before. The Lord is going to show us things in a timely manner that will save lives and bring Him glory. I have had some things shared with me and also happen to me in the last couple weeks that has given me a higher perspective than I had before. (Just like the Lord promised.) On Sunday during worship I saw the Lord in a Kingly attire with crown, robe and all the garments a King would wear in a formal manner. He was ushering the bride to be presented to Jesus and to the world. This is the season for us to be introduced to the world as the King's chosen. We are attired for this season. This is the season for us to step up and be what He has designed us to be. We are to have our oil filled and our lamps ready. This is the season of prayer. I have been feeling that in my spirit for the last few weeks. This is a season to be in tune so you can pray the heart of God for our community, for one another, for all the situations you are going to be the Light in. This is the season you will be called upon to encourage those that are down heartened, Last week I got hit with discouragement, I didn't even really realize what was wrong it has been so long since I have experienced anything like this spirit. It came on me and all I could see was the negative side to things. I felt like giving up. I did not want to face one more situation to me that seemed dishonoring to the Lord. It was ugly and I felt shame for even feeling that way and at the same time baffled by what was going on. Sunday during our prayer time I repented for even letting this spirit have any kind of dominion over me. I recognized what it was and what it was trying to do. It manifested to distort the image of God in me. It was distorting the image of others around me also. Later Michael Danforth got up to speak and the first thing he addressed was a spirit of discouragement that he said would hinder us from being courageous. This week I have had testimonies of people who have either considered suicide, committed suicide or were throated in their attempt of suicide. Why? Because the enemy comes in and distorts the image of what is going on and people are discouraged and falling for the lies. As "the Chosen" we are called to rise up and be the salt and light to the world. We have Christian people thinking and committing suicide; they are believing the charade the enemy is presenting that their is no hope. Sunday I had another vision and that was the Lord pouring us out. He showed me Himself pouring out packets of salt; scattering the salt over the earth. I want to share one of the testimonies of suicide. A man's family left him, he was a Christian but he was so discouraged that he took his life. A friend heard of this suicide and she couldn't get another friend off of her heart. She knew her friend had company and plans and yet she felt so led by the Spirit to call this friend and share this man's death. So she followed the Lord's leading and when she called her friend she already had a group of people at her house as she shared this sad story of this man tragically ending his life everyone in the group was affected. One person more than all the others. This one person in the group had already purchased a gun and was contemplating suicide themselves. This person over the course of the weekend confessed the place they were in and the lies the enemy had been telling them and I believe the enemy was exposed and a life was saved. This is a season to be in tune; follow the leading of the Spirit. As I shared above this woman felt she needed to call a friend and share this tragedy but she fought her flesh in not wanting to disturb her friend. If she had not followed the Lord's voice the enemy would not have been exposed. The Lord speaks to us to activate His plan's for other's lives. He positions us to be his voice, his extensions in seasons of oppression We are the antidote to discouragement when we are led by the Spirit to pray or reach out in love. God is divinely orchestrating encounters for our lives. I believe we will find ourselves helping total strangers as well as family members. I am praying for each of us to be put in strategic places to pour out the love of Christ in any situation the Lord brings us to. This is the time to be the salt and light. This is the time to pray in the Spirit, lift up others as they come to your heart. Check on friends that seem to have fallen off the face of the earth. Come against discouragement and start celebrating the victories. This is the season when people are noticing the ones who will not walk in fear, who are courageous and the Glory of the Lord is shining through them. Love to all,
Sheri
In Christ ALL things are possible. **************** "SO DOING" By Ron Stoothoff 
“Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” (Matt. 25:21) I’ve always been intrigued by the passage in Luke 12:42-44 that says: And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” “Good and faithful servant!” I bet that’s what we all long and hope to hear when the Lord returns! You know, Jesus told many stories about stewards, servants, workers, vinedressers, etc. that had been placed in charge of things while the lord, master, or landlord “went away” – sometimes even to “a far country.” In all these stories, there does come a time when the master returns, of course. Returns, and “settles accounts” with those He had entrusted things to. Some of the servants were so totally unmindful of what they’d been entrusted with, that they were actually destroyed upon the masters return! But those that had been faithful servants, faithful stewards, faithful vinedressers, or whatever, were rewarded – richly rewarded. They were made rulers over the master’s household, rulers over his goods, rulers over “many things”. Some were told they would be rulers over cities and even given power over the nations! Unfortunately, there has been a big void in our traditional church teachings about what it will be like when the Lord returns. And I’m not going to try to remedy that here. I wish I could! But it would be a long study, from Daniel’s vision of “the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven” and being given an everlasting kingdom and dominion which is “given to the people, the saints of the Most High,” on through Colossians which speaks of our appearing with Christ when He appears, -- through Thessalonians which tells us that God will “bring with Him” not only those “who are alive and remain”, but also those “who sleep in Jesus,” so that those who are in Christ, whether dead or alive, will be with the Lord as He descends from heaven, -- and on through Paul’s and Jude’s mention of the Lord coming with “ten thousands of His saints.” And Paul and Jude also make it clear that we will not just be “coming along for the ride” but will have plenty to do. We will be coming with the Lord, Jude says, “to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” In Corinthians, Paul had asked (rhetorically), “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” And in 2 Tim, Paul speaks of “the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.” I think we have been living with some sort of picture of Jesus’ return where He comes down here to earth and takes all his faithful followers off to Heaven with Him – to dwell forever in eternal bliss. But “Heaven” is God’s Kingdom. Jesus told His disciples to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Remember, John saw the Holy City, “coming down out of heaven from God.” (Rev. 21:2) And remember, also, that when John was carried away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and was shown “the great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God” that, first, he had been told: “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” (Rev. 21:9-8) That wonderful Holy City, to put it bluntly, is a people – a people that is wholly indwelt by God . His dwelling place, His resting place. A people that will be ruling and reigning with Christ. A people that will have been conformed to His likeness. Well, sorry, I have been racing through a lot of major theological points here. All these points could use a lot more explanation and a lot more scriptural support. It would take several articles to do these points justice. Right now, I just want to bring out two points: one, when Jesus returns, we will be with Him, and, two, we will have a lot to do! And I’ve really said all this just to provide some background for the point I want bring out in that passage in Luke 12 that I quoted in the beginning. It speaks of the servant being faithful to provide the households with the food they needed. They “ruled over” the households by seeing that they were properly fed, so to speak. They “ruled” by serving. Now what’s really neat, I think, is that when the Lord told the faithful steward that He would make him “ruler over his household”, his job,as ruler, was the same as it had been as steward!!! “To give them their portion of food in due season.” What an important verse it is where it says, “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” The steward will be promoted to ruler---- so he can continue serving! “Ruling and reigning with Christ.” What will that be like? Rulers over households, rulers over many things, ruler over five cities, ruler over ten cities! To the church at Thyatira, Jesus told the overcomers he would give them “power over the nations!” All this power and authority will be given to the good and faithful -- servants. Ruling – by serving. That does sound just like Jesus, doesn’t it! The Lord of all the earth – servant of all! You know, for most of us, our main ministry will begin when the Lord returns. The greatest ministry anyone has now will pale in comparison to the ministries we will have after His return! Our life here on earth is basically just a time of training, of learning. So that when He returns, we will be ready to serve with Him – to bring the pure water of life to the thirsty, to feed the hungry with the fruits from the tree of life, to bring healing to the nations, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke, to bring justice to the nations – and much more! Who will get to do this? Those that have been “so doing”. "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve , and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matt 20:25-28) Ron Feb. 16. 2010 “CHILD OF PROMISE” by Ron StootHoff 
Promises, promises, lots of promises. God is a covenant maker. Throughout scripture, there are many, many promises, many covenants, that God makes. So some more thoughts about the “child of promise”. In my earlier article, “Ishmael Activities”, I had talked about the child that God had promised to Abraham. For Abraham, the promised son was not Ishmael, but Isaac. Isaac was a truly miraculous, supernatural fulfillment of what God had promised. Yet Isaac was only a precursor of the much greater promised Son that was to come later. (And since we’re speaking of promises here, let’s remember that God had not only promised Abraham a son, but had also promised him that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed.)The greatest promise that Israel looked for, of course, was, the Messiah. It was the Messiah, the Son of God, that all Israel hoped and waited for. At different times there were those that appeared and claimed to be the Messiah, but were not. And we know, that in God’s appointed time, the true Messiah, the true, wonderful, world saving, child of promise came forth. And, like Isaac, Jesus was born “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man , but of God.” Mary had been told: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Overshadowed by the power of the Highest! Overshadowed by the Holy Spirit! “Not by might, not by power but by my Spirit sayeth the Lord!!” That’s how the promises of God are fulfilled! The promises of God can neither be fulfilled, nor thwarted, by the works of men. And when Jesus came, He had a gospel to preach – (“gospel” = good news, glad tidings) -- for all mankind! Hallelujah! He preached the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus Himself, the true fulfillment of God’s promise, brought more good news, more promises. He brought good news of an even greater fulfillment of God’s promise that was still to come! And part of the good news that Jesus brought is that there is yet another child of promise that will come, that will appear on earth! I’m thinking here of the church that He said He would build. A church that would be one body. One body, led by one Lord, one Spirit. Jesus’ coming brought the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, and it also ushered in the New Covenant – which is still in the process of being fulfilled. There’s more to come! The thing is, Jesus came to earth to be the firstborn among many brethren. He died on the cross, gave His life, so that we mere mortals could share in that life. Jesus put it by saying, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain .” He died to reproduce His life in others. Jesus is coming back, this is part of the good news he brought. But He’s not coming back to remain alone – or to reign alone! Those who are called (the true church, i.e. the church that Jesus said He would build, and is building) are also “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.&rdqu
Ron Stootoff...RECONCILIATION
“Reconciliation” By Ron Stoothoff 
For the past several months, the Lord has been opening up -- and emphasizing to me -- scriptures relating to reconciliation. What He has been showing me has given me a whole new perspective on what Jesus has done for us and what doors He has opened for us in this new life that He has given to us. There are two main verses that the Lord has been speaking to me through. They are: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ . . . that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself . . . .” (2 Cor. 5:18-19) and: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8-9) These two passages go together like a hand in a glove. They are two sides of the same coin. Let’s first remember that Jesus was called the Christ because God was in Him. We sometimes talk of “Jesus Christ” as if that was his name, like “John Doe”. But Christ is not part of His name, it is what He was. He was “the Christ of God” – that is, the anointed one -- the one who had the very Spirit of God dwelling in Him. It was the revelation from God to Peter that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” that Jesus said was the rock upon which He would build His church. Immanuel – God with us. God was with us in Jesus. And why? To reconcile the world to Himself. That’s why God came down here and manifested Himself in human form. And what did that accomplish?? The purpose was to destroy the works of the devil. (And that is the work that Jesus said was finished on the Cross.) Destroying the work of the devil and reconciling us to God are one and the same thing! For the work of the devil was division, separation, alienation.We probably think of the devil’s work as including a variety of things – many different things that he’s doing to interfere with God’s work, and to attack the saints. He “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”, he tempts, he sets snares, he shoots “fiery darts,” he lies and deceives, and never ceases his work of battling against the saints. However, what I’ve been seeing is that Satan’s work is basically one thing. What he did back there in the Garden is the very same thing that he is working at today – all day, every day, in all of us! Yes, he caused Adam and Eve to disobey God, caused them to sin. But there is more to it than that. That was very important, of course – but why?? Because it had one truly awful result. An awful result that has caused all of mankind, and even the creation itself, to suffer and be in bondage ever since. What the devil accomplished, by getting Adam and Eve to eat that fruit, was to bring an end to the close relationship that they had had with God – with their Father. The devil caused a separation, a division, between man and God. The close relationship, the fellowship, that Adam and Eve had with God, was broken. And that’s what Satan will still try to do today – everyday!! All of his efforts and all of his different devices have the same goal: to keep us separated from God – to keep us from enjoying that blessed fellowship with the Father that is our rightful inheritance through our new birth as sons of God. Just as in the beginning, Satan wants to keep us out of the Garden where we can walk with the Lord in the cool of the day. But Jesus destroyed this work of the devil. He made it possible for us to enter into the Kingdom of God – the realm where God dwells --through our new birth in the Spirit. He shed His life so that we could share in it – share in His life. Jesus was One with the Father, and that same spirit that was in Him can now be in us – that same spirit that raised Him from the dead! As that new life in us grows, we, too, can be one with the Father! Reconciliation! Hi Daddy! I love you! Glory! As John says, “truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” We can have fellowship again because we can now return to the Garden – to God’s paradise! We can, to put it differently, walk in the kingdom. This kingdom is, of course, a realm in the spirit. God is spirit – that’s what He is – that’s His essence. So His kingdom – the realm where He dwells, and where His will is done – is a spiritual realm. And the “good news”-- the gospel -- that Jesus preached -- was that the Kingdom of God is at hand! “At hand”: within reach, available! Now! To all that believe on Him! “To them He gave the right to become the children of God.” Children! Back home with the Father! Can you hear it??? One thing that always grates on my ears is hearing Christians saying things like, “I hope to go to heaven when I die,” or, “Of course, as Christians, our goal is to go to heaven when we die.” “When we die!!!” Hey, somebody isn’t listening!! Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And, “if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” “Has come”, not “will come”. The point of all those miracles he did was to demonstrate that He – a flesh and blood man – was walking in the Kingdom of God. Jesus was able to do all those miracles because He was walking in the heavenly realm where the limitations of this physical, temporal realm do not apply. In Him God’s will was being done – right here on earth. Jesus was walking right here on earth in perfect fellowship with the Father. Satan was not able to separate Jesus from this fellowship – this oneness – with the Father. And by destroying the work of the devil He opened the door for the rest of us to enter into that same realm. This reconciliation – this ability to walk in the Kingdom --is not something that only takes place after we die. The scriptures are clear on this. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Romans 5) “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”(2 Corinthians) “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight . . . .” (Colossians 1) Now, of course, we are not yet experiencing the fullness of God’s realm – the fullness of heaven. We are still seeing through a glass darkly, still knowing in part. We have been received back home by our Father. We are part of the family of God. But we are yet children. Children who are being brought to maturity by His work in us; “From glory to glory He’s changing us – from earthly things to the heavenly;” From walking according to our own fleshy nature to walking according to the leading of His Spirit. Not the fullness yet, but we have begun. We don’t have to wait till “the next life” for this to happen. Death is not the key to entering heaven! Life is! “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus said. He wasn’t speaking this in a graveyard! He was speaking this to the living! He was speaking this to people who already had a life – our temporal, earthy life, our life in the flesh. He was talking about a different life, a new life! The life He came to give us – which the enemy had stolen – was a new life in the spirit; a new life where we can resume fellowship with our Father. A much, much more abundant life!!! Praise God! Amazing grace indeed! So this is the main point that I want to make: that because of the work that Jesus did in destroying the work of the devil, we can now have fellowship with God our Father, we are now able to walk in His Kingdom where there is righteousness, peace and joy. (Will we go to heaven when we die? Yes. When we die to self.) God’s word says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.” Our mortal bodies — that’s the one we have now!(make alive) But I also want to add another point. This concerns that divisive work of the devil. Even though He has been defeated, he never gives up. Because Jesus laid down His own life, God forgave us for turning away from Him. But the enemy knows that while we are still here on earth in this fleshly body with our natural desires and our natural mind, he can still trouble us. He knows that one of the features of this world that God has placed us in is that we can make choices. Just as in the Garden in the beginning, where Adam and Eve had a choice of which tree to eat of, we can continue to choose. Every day, all the time, there are always choices open to us. We can now hear the voice of God, in a way that we couldn’t do before, but we can also still choose to ignore it. Every day we still have that choice of life (that new life!)or death! And the enemy will still continue to try to get us to make the wrong choices! Because of Jesus’ work, we can now know the peace and joy of the Lord. And the enemy hates that! He will try to interrupt our peace and steal our joy whenever he can. Every day! That’s why Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” It’s a daily battle! “Take up your cross daily”, Jesus said. Yet we have all we need for daily victory! When we have lost our peace, when we are fearful, when we are worried and filled with anxiety – we can know that that is the enemy working. He is trying again to interrupt our fellowship with the Father. He is attacking our faith – attacking our trust in God – attacking our belief in God’s word. Jesus has told us that He will be with us always, that He will never leave us or forsake us. He is our peace. He has broken down the wall of partition between us and our Father. By our faith in Him we can resist the lies of the enemy which continually try to build that wall back up. Actually, saints, it’s not even our faith in Him but His faith in us! We live (that new life) by the faith of Jesus Christ. As Paul said: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”Truly, truly, truly, it is Christ in us that is our hope of glory! “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Ron Sept. 23, 2009
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