The Consider Podcast

A Haircut on the Summit of Rainier

• The Consider Podcast Hosts Timothy & Jacob

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A haircut on the top of Mount Rainier sounds like a stunt, but it turns into a sharp picture of what discipleship really costs. We walk through Jacob’s climb from Paradise to Camp Muir, then into the roped-up glacier route where the mountain “makes its own weather” and small mistakes can end everything. Along the way, the trek exposes the difference between talking about faith and living it, when silence, fatigue, and fear make every step matter.

We keep coming back to the same themes that show up in real spiritual growth: shedding weight, listening to your guide, and refusing to treat Christianity like a set of rules you control. A 49-pound pack becomes a lived metaphor for dragging sin, pride, and distractions uphill, and the guide’s gear check becomes a wake-up call about what you cannot carry higher. We also dig into pace, rope tension, and the “rest step,” those micro-moments where you conserve energy and stay alert, like learning to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.

Then we connect the summit push and the dangerous descent to Romans 5: suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. If you have ever wanted the hope without the suffering, this conversation presses on that nerve, and it does it with a story you can feel in your lungs. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs endurance, and leave a review with your answer: what “extra weight” are you ready to drop?

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Wisdom, Folly, And The Trek

SPEAKER_00

Let's consider Jacob's trek. Welcome to the Consider Podcast, where we turn our minds to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. Join the host Timothy and Jacob on a quest to have God enlighten the mind, according to verse 25 of Ecclesiastes chapter 7. So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. Ecclesiastes 7.25. The Consider Podcast, examining today's events and tomorrow's realities at www.consider.info.

SPEAKER_04

Well, today we're going to discuss Jacob's trek. He survived and he's back, and we're going to talk about that. He climbed Mount Rainier, but he did a little event at the top of Mount Rainier. We'll discuss that here in a moment. Mount Rainier is about 90 miles from, well, really sinful unrepentant Seattle, where if you're a pastor there and you're reading scripture in public, they will take you into protective custody just to protect you. Now I don't know where you've heard the term protective custody, but prosecutors there have decided that you're not allowed to read scripture in public if it offends other people standing around. But let's press on to some little more exciting things today. Jacob's, without giving his exact age, is it kind of the end of his youth, and he went on a nice track. In Ecclesiastes eleven, verse nine, God says, Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. I'm obviously an old man, and I look back on the days of my youth, and I'm so thankful that I saw God and used that energy and strength, because by the time you're my age, uh strength begins to wane a little bit, and the amount of d love and devotion you can express outwardly gets a little more limited because your body just is giving away. I'm reminded of this Mount Rainier climb that you took, Jacob, of Moses, who is always climbing mountains. Um in fact, when it was time for him to die, God didn't even make it easy. Uh he had him climb

Why A Summit Haircut Matters

SPEAKER_04

up the mountain for that to happen. Fortunately for Moses, he was doing a lot of walking before he got there. But so Jacob climbed Mount Rainier, and what is it that you did up there, Jacob? And tell us a little bit about the events and what you learned in the Lord and things like that.

Jacob

Uh so the whole the whole uh purpose was to go up there and do a haircut. That was the goal, get to the very tippity top and do a haircut. You know, I've thought uh multiple times recently that for sure if I was alive when Jesus was alive, he would most definitely turn to me and you know when he turns to his disciples and he at one point, you know, he's like, How dull are you? And then he also, you know, he goes, Ah, how long am I gonna put up with you? Right? These are the actual disciples. And the reason I say that is because any of the the lessons or the scriptures that I had, you know, had thought about on this climb is nothing really new, right? Like these are things that you have preached for years, these are things that I have read for years, and I can't tell you why, but I don't know, they seem more alive, they seem to have like more kind of context. They some of these things seem to be more real after you climb up a mountain.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, what you're saying is if you live Christianity, the word becomes alive, and the more we do that, the more God can make it alive.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, I've often thought of our God likes walking.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

He created us to do that. Jesus came and he traveled around um walking. He didn't do it in chariots or people carrying him around. The only time he actually rode anything that's recorded is when he rode the donkey in to before it's going to be crucified. So walking allows you to think, to observe, to stop, to contemplate, allows God to visit. But I'm also impressed with the humility of God. He who made the whole universe and can be anywhere instantaneously, and really is everywhere instantaneously, will humble himself enough to just take the time to walk, to talk to the disciples by walking and teaching. We miss an awful lot because we're too busy being distracted with our phones, we're too busy distracted with entertainment. Um and Satan loves to get us distracted, but it's in that walking that discussion and contemplation happens. We just don't do it enough. Why don't you play the video showing the actual haircut and then we can start talking about uh the trek and what went on?

unknown

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

I heard one guy say he saw it done once. Okay, but I'll beat it because who's ever seen two?

SPEAKER_04

I actually did two haircuts. Yeah, so I did two haircuts. You know, those are gorgeous, just absolutely gorgeous pictures. Yeah. I'm amazed. Uh I used to do a lot of hiking before I came to the Lord and became a disciple of Jesus. In fact, I before all they had all the fancy equipment, I had serious expense equipment.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Surrendered that all and gave it up. Uh, never went back to it, uh, too busy with other things. So uh I can appreciate and go ahead and show some of those pictures because again, they are absolutely gorgeous. This is a different kind of mountain. This mountain is actually treacherous. Uh,

Walking Slows You Down To Hear

SPEAKER_04

I never did this kind of hiking. Mine was always more controlled. But this is some beautiful stuff.

Jacob

So, do you want me to kind of just I'll just kind of tell you a little story, I guess, of the trek up? Because we can go, you know, with the pictures here.

SPEAKER_04

Why don't you tell the whole story from even starting and going up? I think you went to a base camp by yourself for an evening before you even started. So this is a serious climb. It is it's amazing. It would take somebody young or in really good shape to give it a haircut once they got to the top.

Jacob

Yeah. Oh, I yeah, there was no guarantees I was gonna get to the top. I even thought, you know, it was like a 50-50, right? So, like this shot. Oh, and you can see, so the clouds that are up on top, that pretty much means the weather is absolutely horrible up there.

SPEAKER_05

Okay.

Jacob

And it was so talking to people, so I'm going up from the Paradise Parking lot. Um, this is you know, the east.

SPEAKER_04

Let me interrupt you, but is is the wind blowing over that? Is that what's making it rough, or is that just everything, whether uh rain, snow, whatever, unpredictable?

Jacob

They say that you can you they have these forecasts that they put out because it's a constant, like, what's the weather gonna be? But like, because it's the real deal up there, right? Like it's important. But they say they'll say the the mountain makes its own weather. Okay. And so that day, like I actually met a guy who I know on the way up. He was coming down with the group, and he said, Yeah, it was like 50 mile per hour winds, then there was some rain, so not snow, and then so that turns into white out conditions.

SPEAKER_04

This is actually a pretty hazardous climb. Yeah, that's why I guess you hired a professional guide kind of thing. Yeah, I oh yeah, I'm not going up there just and you know, God likes walking and he likes to talk a lot about mountains. Yeah. So there's a lot to the story. I don't want to keep interrupting you. Keep going.

Jacob

Yeah. So this is just a view on the way up going to Camp Muir. Camp Muir is the the spot where I was gonna stay the night. Well, actually, spent two nights. Okay. Um, and so as we're trekking up to Mir, just another cool shot, but and eventually the clouds will clear out later on, and I actually had really good weather going up. This is pretty much as soon as I hit what they call the the Mir Snowfield, so it changes from like kind of nice paths to just uh arduous trek.

SPEAKER_04

Now, who is that in the picture in front? Uh just some random guy. Okay. And again, this is a serious mountain climb. You were just telling me somebody died, what, yesterday or yeah, like two days ago. Yeah.

Jacob

Two days ago, somebody somebody died, and ultimately they well, they did something foolish, right? They weren't roped up right. That's the story I heard is they weren't properly roped up and and it cost them.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, we'll get into all that. Yeah.

Jacob

But you know, it was uh right about here, like you're kind of starting out, you're like, uh-huh, you know, there's an actual kind of path, and you know, it goes up and down, ha ha ha.

SPEAKER_04

Little deception, the beginning of the Christian life.

Jacob

Yeah, pretty much. Well, because in a lot of a lot of people will reach Pebble Creek, and then that's when it you pretty much hit the Mirror Snowfield snowfield, and there's a lot of people who will either stop at that point, right? Or a lot of them will be like, oh, let's keep going. Like they think they're gonna get to Camp Muir. A lot of people think we're heading to Camp Muir, they hit Pebble Creek. That's when like the kind of the the more or less it's not dangerous, it's not dangerous at all right now, but sort of the climbing, the hard part starts.

SPEAKER_04

I hear you. It reminds me when Moses brings the people out of Egypt. If you read the story, uh God's answering miracles back to back. I mean, it's it's very intense, very quick, very fast. And then as they start walking in the desert and God begins to test them, the miracles get further apart and it becomes more difficult. Again, we've got these mountains, we've got walking. Um, there's a lot of parallels here to how God leads the Christian life.

Jacob

And and it's the at first, it's fun, right? Like you're starting this climb, and you're like, oh hoo, da la la. And I don't know, about here is when it starts to what I call a slog. It starts to just become like, ooh, okay, here we go.

SPEAKER_04

You're better shaped than me. I uh this well, driving up there and getting out and visiting the visitor centers would probably be my slog, but go ahead.

Jacob

Well, I

Overpacking, Heavy Burdens, And The Cross

Jacob

also I don't even quite know how. I like I uber packed for this thing. I packed too much food. I packed, I just I don't ever my pack was heavy, so we weighed it before I left, and I had a 49-pound pack. And uh the average pack is like 30 to 35. Sure. So I don't even quite know what happened, but I had even the guy I texted him, I'm like, yeah, I got a 49-pound pack, and he's like, he goes, the guide who I was going with, he goes, yikes, he's like, yeah, take it slow.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and you tend to, it doesn't sound like much, but it's huge. And I can remember my backpacking days in young same thing, way overpacked. Yeah, people did in the Christian life, they go to evangelize and we take our commentaries, we take this, we take that, we take this and that. Anything but really but the Holy Spirit. I think part of the mountain climb is for God trying to get us to shed all this other stuff so that we're totally dependent on Him.

Jacob

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And about I'd say I don't know where, but as you're trekking along, you can kind of see how like there's just this little path, right?

SPEAKER_05

Mm-hmm.

Jacob

And uh it really, I don't know why. I mean, I would sit there and have flashes of like just even the physicality, the physical side of Jesus carrying his cross, right?

SPEAKER_05

Mm-hmm.

Jacob

It was like, wow, this pack is getting heavier and heavier and heavier as you're trekking up. And uh and just even the concept we've discussed many times, right? But you know, Luke 9 23, Jesus turns to them and he says, and he said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me. And just even just the the the direct connection of this physical weight that's on my back, and you're you're you're carrying this pack, and how every day we should be carrying our cross.

SPEAKER_04

And you bring up another point, you keep going, you're not getting stronger and stronger as you go, you're getting weaker and weaker as you go, and you become more and more dependent on God. At least that's the hope. A lot of people just turn back.

Jacob

Yes, a lot of people just turn back. And I think it really, you know, I wanted to go on this climb, right? I wanted to do this, and there is a huge amount of suffering involved. Um, you know, you can there's some people that I guess are are just almost like not affected by it, right? Or maybe phenomenal shape, but it's a suffering. There's nobody, you know, who's it's like, oh, this is so easy, or you know, and you know, they just fly up the mountain, unless you're these guys who are in Uber shape.

SPEAKER_04

But well, there those that are mature in the Lord that can take suffering much better than those who begin and those who persevered. I know your guide was it's just a walk for him. I'm sure there's some suffering involved, but he's used to it. He knows what he's doing, the the fear angle. There's so much learning from God, get rid of fears and sins and you know, extra weight, whatever that might be, endurance, perseverance, but once you've attained those, then walking up a mountain isn't that difficult. Moses was able to what climb the mountain, and I don't know how old he was. He was, I want to say a hundred something.

Jacob

Yeah, he was a hundred plus, I think. Yeah. Yeah, you bring up an interesting point, you know, just like me who I overpacked, so I have this heavy pack, and then you, you know, I'm also reminded of the the scripture where Jesus talks about like his yoke is easy, his burden is light. And even like in the Christian life, when people, especially like if you hold on to sins, right? And you're like, I can you either you think I can do this, or you're just blindly gonna trudge forward and you're just carrying all this weight that you should have confessed, got rid of, ditched, and you're just gonna trudge along, and it makes the journey a lot harder.

SPEAKER_04

You bring up a good point. You lightened your pack, so Jesus' burden is light, but that doesn't mean the walk is not requiring endurance. The air can get a little thin, you can be on your own, you're gonna need to watch the guide more carefully. You're getting into more dangerous territory, but it would be those who continue to carry the heavy burden of sin and self, then they're not gonna be able to do this climb. If you were trying to bring up all the gears and and gizmo by yourself, you wouldn't have made it.

Jacob

Oh, yeah. So this is we're going up to Muir. The next shot is I'm at the top. I'm at Camp Muir, and you're looking down.

SPEAKER_04

Wow. Again, those are mountains I never got close to kind of climbing. That is beautiful, beautiful stuff.

Jacob

Yeah, it is cool when this. Oh, uh actually, I this is actually the next day. I got up there, it was like windy, the conditions were miserable. I pretty much just went to sleep.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, yeah.

Jacob

So this is actually the next morning, but yeah, you look out, it's cool when it's got that like cloud layer. So everybody down below, right, is it's all socked in, but up top it's clear. You're up above the clouds.

SPEAKER_04

What do you know what the mountain is in the far left-hand corner there?

Jacob

Yes, the far left is Mount Adams. Okay. If you go to the right, you can barely see it. That one is Mount Hood. Okay. And then this one is Mount St. Helens, the one that's shorter because it blew up.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Oh, there, right in the I see you're bringing it up, yeah.

Jacob

Right there, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Wow. Again, I'll probably say it way too much, but God does good work.

Jacob

Yes, he does. So there's multiple stages where I dropped weight. So at Camp Muir, I hiked up

Camp Muir Gear Check And Shedding Weight

Jacob

all this stuff, and then I met the guide up there, the guide and his buddy. So we meet up at Camp Muir, and he actually goes through my bag. He goes through everything. He's like, What do you what do you have? In fact, man, there are so I'll keep talking, just talk over me because there's so much that he he uh uh he we were supposed to do a technically a gear check, I don't know, before and just schedule wise, he was actually still in Seattle, so yeah, he physically did drive from Seattle out to out to paradise and and move up. But yeah, so no, he he was like, What do you have? And we went through everything, and it was literally like, okay, take this, don't take this, take this, don't take this. And that was stage one of lighting the pack because the higher you go, the less oxygen there is. I'm already huffing and puffing.

SPEAKER_04

I can just sit there and I'm just kind of like Minds of Jesus comes to us in quiet times. This has to go, this has to go, you can't take this, you can't have it's just a maturing process that the more you climb closer to God, the less you're gonna be able to bring with you. I mean, you begin with Hebrews where it says throw off every sin that so easily entangles. That's certainly in the beginning as a Christian, you're just throwing off everything. I mean, I gave away TVs, um, got rid of backpacking equipment, started throwing, and there was tons more. That was just to get started. Yeah. Um, eventually the Holy Spirit or your guide comes along, says, This goes to, this goes to quite interesting.

Jacob

So this is looking down from Camp Muir. So we still have a very arduous climb up. Camp Muir is right about 10,000 feet.

SPEAKER_04

I'm just tired looking at it.

Jacob

Yeah, there's like a little of those little guys. So this is Camp Muir looking up, and you can see the little path right there. Okay, and the little little windy path that goes all the way up. So at this point, uh there's a lot of day use. A lot of people go to Camp Muir. You know, it's not dangerous. I mean, you know, I mean, you don't do anything stupid, but you're not gonna die. Okay, from here is when we rope up. And so you're physically tied to the guy. I was in the middle, the guide guide was in the front, he sets the pace, and then there's a guy behind me. And this was the first real you know, this is when it gets real, you rope up. We went over some basic techniques of what we're gonna do, and this is only like a 45-minute trek. We're gonna go up the hill and we're gonna go to the Ingram Flats, they call it.

SPEAKER_04

You mentioned this wasn't too dangerous walking up. These are the people that would be taking selfies that would fall off the cliff, just folly would take them down.

Jacob

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And let's keep pressing on.

Jacob

So uh we lighten the pack, we're gonna head up to the Ingram Flats, and this was the time I think I had the most doubt whether I was gonna make it because I also just don't do as well. I think when the sun's beating on you. This is like 2:30, this is the hottest part of the day. At this point, the weather has cleared out, there's no more clouds, there is no wind. So then as I'm trudging up this hill, I'm just sweating, right? You're just like dripping sweat. And at that point, it's kind of like, oh boy, uh, will I make it up? Because this is getting really hard.

SPEAKER_04

Now I'm gonna ask you a question, just certainly you would be honest anyway, but having the guide and somebody else with you would help keep you from the grumbling and the whining to want to give up. Am I correct?

Jacob

Oh yeah, there's um I already went into it. Oh, because the guide even told me, actually, he told me this at the flats, but he certainly you can't be all super prideful and egotistic. He told me, you know, if there's at any point he said, if there's at any point you feel like, like, whoa, I'm not gonna be able to get down, or I can't do this, he's like, you have to tell me. And the guide is there certainly to set the pace. A good guide is gonna there's a certain amount of gonna kind of push you. And then of course, obviously, you know, he's there to protect you. He's there to, you know, to to ensure that the route's gonna be.

SPEAKER_04

But what if you don't want to follow a man? What if what if you don't want to, you know, be taken in by a man and uh you just you just want to hear from God? Couldn't you just got rid of the guides and just you and God prayed and pressed on?

Jacob

Yeah, if you want to die. Okay, that's what I thought. Exactly. Well, and the other the other importance of the guide being in the front, right, is simply that he sets the pace because he knows so there's certain spots, for instance, even along going up to the top. So this stuff on the snow, easy, easy, easy, easy, easy. And then when you get up here, or you know, it's a track.

SPEAKER_04

I know I'm giving.

Jacob

So then, but it is not that hard. But then, like when you get to this rock area, anytime there's rocks, it's more serious. There could be rock fall on you. You have to be careful that you don't push a lot of rock if there's another group behind you. So the guide will set the pace. There's times when it's not as bad, and then there's times when he says, Okay, we need to move through this section. There's no stopping for the safety of us. You push forward, and there is no, you don't get to whine, right? And he'll kind of prep you. He'll be like, Okay, this next stretch, there's no brakes, there's no stopping, you move because you do what he says.

SPEAKER_04

So you mean a bunch of legalistic rules as you're walking along? The the dynamics are the environment is changing, rocks could fall, storms could come, you you have to be alive in the situation. So a bunch of legalistic rules, or even turning Jesus into a principal, is not gonna cut it. You have to actually follow your guide, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and walk and go where he tells you to go without a bunch of questions and one. You know, one good thing about this is I I'm sure as you're getting worn out, there is. Isn't much energy for whining, grumbling, complaining, and go, well, why this? And why are we going over here? And what's this mean over here? It's like, well, I don't see any rocks falling. You're seriously moving forward. Those are the kind of workers God is looking for. They're too busy working to do all the whining and all the discernment and all the nonsense. They're just listening to God and moving forward. Sorry, I kind of sidetracked that.

Jacob

No, you're absolutely right. So even when you're climbing, like He He gives you a list of things you're supposed to be doing. You're constantly doing. So you're constantly watching your footwork. So it'd be the ways of God. Yeah, the ways of absolutely rules and the environments constantly changing. Footwork, proper uh distance for the pace, uh constantly putting your back

Roped Up, Following The Guide

Jacob

straight, proper breathing. There's a list of things. So you yeah, you don't really you don't even have time for your mind to wander if you're actually doing what you're supposed to do. And by the way, a lot of people don't do what they're supposed to do, they don't listen to the guide, and those are usually the people that don't make it.

SPEAKER_04

You know, I want to I could savor that. I need to go on a walk with that one. Keep going.

Jacob

And so, yeah, at this point we're so this is the real deal. You climb up, you go up above these rocks.

SPEAKER_04

Did you go up between the the gray section there?

Jacob

Yeah, right here. So you're you see this little path, you cross over, then you hit the snow again, then you head right up through these rocks.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, I see the path there, okay.

Jacob

Right up through these rocks, and there's half the time there's not even a path. Half the time when the snow melts out like this on the rocks, they just have little flags. And you're just looking for these little flags, little signs from the Lord kind of whatever. So we head up from Mirror, and this is at our camp. This is our little tent right here on the left. And there's other people up there.

SPEAKER_04

Which tent is okay. You're in the which tent?

Jacob

Uh the left, the orange one.

SPEAKER_04

Orange one.

Jacob

That's our tent.

SPEAKER_04

It looks like you're close to a cliff thing. I was looking at this earlier before we started the podcast, and that even looks kind of treacherous. You're not gonna be just out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not gonna be just out walking around sightseeing, correct?

Jacob

No, you don't walk around. In fact, when you get up there, it's like, oh, you kind of establish like where do we go to the bathroom, right? And and he's like, Oh, yeah, just kind of right over there, blah, blah, blah. And he says, Don't go too far.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, you're you're not on vacation mode. No, not along with self-there's no self-indulgent moments, there's no downtime.

Jacob

No, I'll go. So this is looking down from our tent, and you can't see it very well, but there are crevasses. And he's like, Yeah, you know, just kind of head that way, and he's like, Well, don't go too far.

SPEAKER_04

So are you down in I guess you're avoiding the crevass at that point?

Jacob

You just want to come, but you could legitimately just start walking and easily either misstep or not see, or just and yeah, so you don't wander too far.

SPEAKER_04

No, concentration levels 100%.

Jacob

Yeah, you're still you're still up here and the air is getting thinner.

SPEAKER_04

Reminds me of waiting on God. There, there's when God brings you into a place where you have to wait on him and there's nothing else going on, you can't fill time. That that requires a great deal of self-discipline for the mind and the body and to just kind of do quote unquote nothing but wait on God. Sweet stuff. Uh by the way, that that panoramic uh picture that I saw, I'm able to see it, of course, on the big screen. That is um that really gave a picture of what was going on. Now, what is that peak there?

Jacob

That is the Little Tahoma. Okay. And you don't see it very well from the Ashford side, but if you're from the Seattle side and you look at the mountain, it's the little tiny pokey one that points out.

SPEAKER_04

Gotcha.

Jacob

And yeah, you can see this from you know miles and miles away.

SPEAKER_04

I'd say you can see, I don't know how far you can see in the horizon there. That is way out there.

Jacob

It's really far. The other guys knew all the peaks. I mean, they go, Oh, there's this and that, and I don't even know what they're called.

SPEAKER_04

They're annoyingly in shape. Yeah. I never prayed it, but it's like, Lord, I'd like to just be that in shape just to see what it's like. Yeah.

Jacob

Uh yeah, that was our little stick. You kind of didn't really want to go past the little flag.

SPEAKER_04

No. Okay.

Jacob

Yeah, I see that it's like. See the little flag? Yeah, but you start wandering past that, and it's kind of like, eh, maybe not.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. So the flag is a what? A warning that you're heading into more serious stuff, or just to follow to the flag?

Jacob

Uh the the idea actually was like, hey, the flag is kind of where you can go to the bathroom if you need to go number one. And then like don't wander past it. That's literally what the flag is. Wow. So then the next okay, so there's actually a jump in pictures because we headed out, it gets like then even more serious because then you get into the like actual climb. So we left at 1245 in the morning, and the idea really is that you're so focused. I didn't take pictures till we were at the very top.

SPEAKER_04

Is that because probably both? You were too worn out or too concentrating, or just too busy climbing?

Jacob

Too busy climbing. So I'll show you the route just a little bit.

SPEAKER_04

And again, this is great sermon material, just because that is the Christian life. There's just moments when you're you have to be able to you reach the flag. At that point, just nothing but pure perseverance. Reminds me when Paul says that he despaired of life, he felt the sentence of death, but this happened that he might rely on God who raises the dead. So God likes to bring us to that point when it is beyond our capabilities and beyond what we're able to do, so that he might put in our hearts the perseverance, the strength, the love, uh, the grace of God. Go ahead.

Jacob

The guide told us and he even prepped us because we talked the night before. You kind of have a game plan. And so we go, you kind of go up the side.

SPEAKER_04

It reminds it sorry, Proverbs, you know, man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps. So yeah, you you have to make the plan. This you you over plan this thing, you overpack, but then you have to listen to the Lord like each step, each very step. And I bet you're gonna tell me that's gonna become very important.

Jacob

Yeah, so again, uh footwork, footwork is very important. Um from here, you kind of you know I don't know if you kind of follow my mouse, but it's super kind of roughly here, but it gets real, you kind of go along this edge, where then you cut up on the rocks. I don't even know exactly where, but you cut up on here. This whole this whole chunk is called disappointment cleaver. Also, this is like pretty much the easiest route. So dis disappointment cleaver? Disappointment cleaver.

SPEAKER_04

And I assume it's called disappointment because a lot of people can't make it, and so you're disappointed and have to turn around.

Jacob

Uh, it was named that because when the people were first, like hundreds of years ago, trying to climb Rainier, they were climbing in white out conditions. They got to the top of Disappointment Cleaver, and they thought they were at the top of the mountain.

SPEAKER_04

Out chill.

Jacob

Yeah. So then they come down and the storm clears, and then they can very well see, well, wait a minute, we only got to this spot, which by the way, if you follow my mouse right up here, that is the top of Disappointment Cleaver.

SPEAKER_04

Gotcha.

Jacob

And they thought they were at the top of Rainier, so then they it was called disappointment because they didn't make it.

SPEAKER_04

It would be easy, and you'd want to think you did.

Jacob

You'd want to think. So first you climb up to right over here, they call it the nose.

SPEAKER_05

Mm-hmm.

Jacob

That's just what they call it. And at this point, though, like it's it's dangerous, so you move from the flats to the nose with no break.

SPEAKER_04

Can't stop. Got it.

Jacob

Nope, you can't stop. And uh it's interesting, just like the Christian life where you always want to be moving forward. The guide said we will adjust the pace, but it's more important to set a pace than to stop and take more breaks.

SPEAKER_04

That's just James says we all stumble in many ways, and I've always wanted to stumble forward, never backward. So you're moving, you you know, if you're stumbling forwards, a lot of times you can pick up your feet and keep going. Uh there's a difference between stumbling and falling. That's what we remind us of just keep going. You at least have the momentum of moving yourself forward, and you might be able to take an extra step and catch yourself before you actually fall.

Jacob

And there's uh constant adjustments. So um you're supposed to practice what they

Rest Step And Micro Moments

Jacob

call the rest step. And the rest step is a con it's it's hard to describe. It took half of the climb before I even figured it out. I kid you not. I pretty much trudged up Disappointment Cleaver, got to the top of Disappointment Cleaver, and it wasn't till you know the maybe half of the rest of the climb that I actually figured out what he was talking about.

SPEAKER_04

Hebrews, where it says, make sure that we enter God's rest. I know so much of um the my Christian walk has been learning that secret. Just what you just said, I can't quite grasp it. What is the Sabbath rest? And you know, you can debate whether it's Saturday or Sunday, but that's not the Sabbath rest. Somehow in the walk, there are moments when you rest even as you're walking or standing still. I don't know. It's just when he comes along and says, do the Sabbath rest walk, or however he wants that walk to come out, you do it.

Jacob

So yeah, the the rest step is this tiny little rest in between each step. So you take a step, you take a step, and then you rest. There's a there's a it's it's like a micro pause, and the whole point is you're all of your weight, you're supposed to keep your back straight because all of your weight is shifted to the back leg. So each step, every other leg, right, you you get a each leg gets a tiny little break instead of a constant tension on your muscles.

SPEAKER_04

And is that the purpose to give the body that moment of rest to press on?

Jacob

Yes, it's all about conserving energy. You can't you don't climb mountains the way you run or walk or bicycle. All of those are good activities, physical activities, but it's different than climbing.

SPEAKER_04

That is so much the Christian walk where you grab and uh you don't your mind doesn't go off wandering, you don't think about the last TV show that you saw or the fun thing that you did. You really are just resting for that moment, and that allows the Holy Spirit to talk, to correct, to encourage, to rebuke. Whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do, there's that just that that microsecond of silence so you can hear his voice. I can't tell you how many times God has changed my course or direction or give me words on how to answer somebody or to be prepared because somebody's coming up to attack me or to do whatever. It is in those micro moments, but there's no downtime. You're you're you're not gonna be able to sit in your easy chair and go, oh, well, this is my Sabbath rest. That's not a Sabbath rest. I don't think you pulled out a portable TV at that point and started watching anything.

Jacob

As you're climbing, you also are watching your footwork depending on terrain. So you will at times speed up or or slow down, right? It's not a perfect rhythm because you still have to constantly adjust your footwork and and and if you turn a certain way or you do a certain you know maneuver, then you might get you might get a smidgey off, and then you the whole goal is to get right back into the rest step pace that the guide is setting. By the way, the guide is always setting the pace as you continue to go. There's parts that uh flatten out a smidgey. You can go a little, you'll he'll walk a little physically a little bit faster. If it gets to be really steep, he will physically slow down, and each step, the rest step is even more important.

SPEAKER_04

Uh I'm just eating this up. The Christian life is there's people that grow up in a particular church, and you you can predict their emotions, what they're gonna do, what they believe. There's kind of a cookie-cutter Christianity, but those move by the spirit can be in one moment one thing, and the next moment another thing. You can't lay down these big rules and principles about oh, he's a quiet person or he's a talkative person. Those move by the spirit that can change in microseconds. You saw Jesus all the time is all over the place, depending on what was needed in love for the other person. Good. But you got to pay attention to the guide at all times.

Jacob

So then when you when you do get to a break, because there are breaks, um, there was a mini break on what they call the nose, and we paused for food and water. Um I'm just kind of telling the story. He calls it Oh, even by the way, when you're climbing, you're always doing something. So even when you pause, you he calls it self-care. You then have to have self-care. You you have to consume calories and you have to consume water. But you're always doing something. That's what he says.

SPEAKER_04

There's always something that needs to be done. Yes. That's productive to the walk. And anything that wouldn't be productive to the walk you're doing would be not doing that.

Jacob

Not doing that, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

By the by the way, Jacob had given me a whole list of scriptures here. I'm interjecting a lot, and you're telling the story, but I'm not telling Jacob anything he hasn't already told me, and we've fellowship back and forth.

Jacob

Yeah, well, this is uh it was it's very exciting. The climb made it so much real. I don't know to listeners, it's it's extremely hard. Like in the Christian life, you have climbed many mountains, and so like you get exactly what I'm talking about. And again, I I I can't describe it other than climbing the mountain makes the Christian walk more alive because there's these connections. So even I don't know for people listening, they may not even get it. I I don't know. They won't. Yeah, those are exciting to me.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, yeah, it you know, and that's the sad part. The people that whine and complain are enemies of the cross, they'll whine about this, whine about that. If they would just go live it, they would understand. Or if somebody said, Why do you have so much slander against you? Well, just go live it and you'll find out yourself. So, yes.

Jacob

The only thing I'll say real quick before I move on. So, we also you lighten

Narrow Routes And Rope Tension

Jacob

your pack again at the Ingram Platz. All right. So when you when we're down at all the tents before we head out, the only thing you take is food and water.

SPEAKER_04

No wonder Jesus said, remember Lot's wife. There they'll come those moments when you just have to leave everything behind. Period. There's no taking anything or even looking back to get something in your house. Everybody's sensing the world's headed um to ruination and the economy's gonna collapse. There's gonna come that point in time when there's no point trying to grab onto anything. It's time to move forward in a much different way, to go on to the peak of sufferings in Christ, to bring glory to God, uh, to be filled with his presence. And that means in an instant, you have to leave everything behind. I've experienced that several times in my life and expect it to happen again.

Jacob

You know, and if we if we use the analogy that Jesus is our guide, by the way, the guide has more stuff than me.

SPEAKER_05

Mm-hmm.

Jacob

His whole purpose is to lighten my load, right? So we again, what's in your pack that night? What are you taking, what are you not taking? I'm pretty much just taking food, water, and like some my little barber bag. That was it. The guide has more. The guide has a radio, he has the little in-reach SOS device, he has the med pack, so his pack is actually heavier, but I I have to follow him. If if something ever goes wrong, he's the thing that's gonna save me.

SPEAKER_04

Again, that is a there's so many times that you get all the way out there and you go, Okay, Lord, I'm all the way out here. If you don't help me, there is no help. And it increases your obedience toward God and his voice. First, you want to get past you know, self-survival, but that's the goal that God's after. But there becomes that moment when you're focused, like, you know what? I'm so far out here now in Jesus Christ, and I've done what he's called me to do, and it is so dangerous. If I go back, turn back, look back, think about going back, and not listen to him, that is extremely dangerous. I'm putting that in a negative way, putting it in the positive way. You get up on the heights with Jesus Christ, it's his voice you're focused in on, you're not taken anywhere. That is actually a very lovely, beautiful experience, and I wish that and well wish I pray and seek after that every every day.

Jacob

It gives uh a whole new meaning to the uh scripture about a narrow road. Um when you're up there, and I'm gonna jump ahead one picture just so you can see, but like it's just a skinny little path. So this is a shot too. So this is my guide right here. And if anything goes wrong, he's the guy. Okay, gotcha. He has these are called pickets, he's got the rescue gear, and yeah, I I don't get to carry anything like you're talking about with Jesus. Like you shed everything, and you're just following the guide, and the only thing that's gonna save you is this little rope. That's it. If anything goes wrong, this little rope is what's gonna save me. That's it.

SPEAKER_04

Gotcha. Your whole focus too in a weird kind of sort of way is to, you know, if I'm gonna save anything, it's gonna be the guide.

Jacob

Yeah. Well, we were joking. The guide is so experienced, we were joking that oh, I'll just tell you know the concept, which is interesting, but this rope is super important. If you look, this guy actually has so this is another team. We pause because they're coming up, and the rope tension is important. If the rope tension is too slack, okay, that would be liberal Christianity.

SPEAKER_04

Keep going.

Jacob

If it's too slack, you could puncture your rope with your boots, and that would that the integrity of the rope is compromised. If it's too tight, you could yank. So they're crossing a crevasse right here.

SPEAKER_04

It's just like that would be the legalism side.

Jacob

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So it's gotta be exact.

Jacob

It ha it and so the the whole time I'm in the middle, I'm supposed to keep pace with the guide and make sure that the and this is a pretty decent example of it's not like really hanging on the ground. Like we're paused, so the rope's on the ground. You don't want the whole thing hanging on the ground, and you don't want the thing super tight. It's supposed to be right in the middle, and you're supposed to be managing that rope the entire time.

SPEAKER_04

Let me read this scripture in Galatians 5.25. Because you one thing that's come through in everything you said is you have to follow the guide step by step. Yes. And Galatians 5.25 says, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. I'll kind of stop at the moment 'cause we're making the point, but that passage alone is crucial to being a disciple of Jesus. And when you sense the Holy Spirit further away, you get you you gotta catch up, or if it's slowing down and you're getting ahead of the Holy Spirit, there's a whole the you could take and go on a walk like this and just meditate on Galatians 5 25.

Jacob

Yeah, you could you for a very long time. And again, the guide sets the pace and he knows the route. I've never been up this mountain ever. Never. And oh, you know, by the way, even in the Christian life, like Jesus has different paths or plans for different people, there's different routes up reinier. Amen.

SPEAKER_04

And each one has its own finesses, and you can't whine, well, they've got an easier route or more difficult or whatever, or more glorious one, or whatever. You go on the route that he's called you to go on. Yeah. Peter learned that uh when he wanted to know what Jesus was gonna do with John.

Jacob

Yeah. Uh yeah, I was even I had thought of that scripture. Where was it?

SPEAKER_04

Um well I had you're talking about words of scripture you mean in John?

Jacob

Uh oh well, I yeah, in John. Well, yeah, I was thinking when Jesus turns to Peter, right? And he's he talks about where you know you dressed yourself, you went where you wanted to go, but when you're older, someone else is gonna lead you. Is that the one you're talking about? Yes, it is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Second.

Jacob

Uh it's John 21, 18.

SPEAKER_04

Yep, and I'm down to 2122 of John. Um it's interesting, you know, if the Lord came to me and said, This is how you're gonna die, and this is what you're gonna do. My I you'd think you'd be thankful at that point, but there's still too much of self in us. And so Peter doesn't go, hey Jesus, thanks for telling me that. Oh yeah. I mean, it was quite a blessing. That is that's Jesus telling Peter he will be faithful, that he'll that he'll be able to rebound. Of denying Jesus and he knows the future. But that's not what he's concerned about. He's concerned, well, what about uh John over here? And that's why in John 21, 22, Jesus answered, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. Some people might be taken to a park at Mount Rainier, and just that's all they walk around

High Point, The Crater, Columbia Crest

SPEAKER_04

and what they do. That's what God's called them to do. I don't turn and whine and go, Well, why are they allowed to go at the park? And I got to climb up here. Everybody has their mountain, their walk with Jesus that they must walk. And it's going to involve some level of suffering, some level of joy. He he is the guide for everyone's life.

Jacob

It's uh it's interesting. This is actually not the best shot, but whenever you get to what they call the crater, which sometimes people get to the crater and the weather is so horrendous.

SPEAKER_05

Oh bad.

Jacob

They actually stop. And technically, technically, they consider it's almost like a cheater's. I I made sure and told the guide even before we went up, like I wanted to go to the tippity top. I didn't want to sacrifice like a cheater spot.

SPEAKER_04

Gotcha.

Jacob

And so you pop out into this crater, and so it's way over on the right, is where you first pop out, and you take a nice big break, and then you actually shed your pack completely. There's no, you take, you know, you eat a snack, you drink some water, and then you don't really have to. Well, I we packed over some barber gear to do my haircut, but at that point, then you have no pack at all, you don't have anything, and you just have but you're not done, you still have another little trudge, which by the time you get to the top at 14,000, whatever feet it is, 1450 or something, like the air is thin. You are like you know, you're constantly trying to what they call pressure breathe because you have less oxygen and not that it's terrible, but then you still have another little stroll to go all the way across the crater up this side. These are what they call the steam vents, and then to the tippity top.

SPEAKER_04

Gotcha, gotcha.

Jacob

Wow. The tippity top they call Columbia Crest.

SPEAKER_04

So the the cheater spot is it technically considered a climb, or is it exactly what it says? A cheater spot?

Jacob

No. Well, it's very much a climb.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm. Well, I mean, in terms of saying, well, I did what I needed to do. I'm think what I'm trying to get at is there's a lot of people claiming they've done God's will or the first time they've faced some hardships, and okay, I'm at the peak, I did that, but it wasn't the peak he was leading to. Is it that kind of cheater peak, or is it considered kind of valid?

Jacob

It's considered valid. Okay. But there still is something for me, there was something to like, well, but you didn't really get to the top.

SPEAKER_04

It reminds me in Hebrews where people were in jail and they came to release them, and Hebrews says they refused to be released that they might gain a better resurrection. In other words, they had a good resurrection. They had been suffering in prison for Jesus Christ, but they went one step further. And it's not to say they wouldn't receive their glory and their thanks, and and I would be humbled in their presence, but I'm in awe of those who go, No, lock the key, leave me in prison. Those are people that want to go on to glorify God even more than I'm wording this sloppily, but more than what God even wants them to do.

Jacob

Yeah. In the guide service, it's a perfect acnology. In the guide service, you still get, if you only hit the crater, you still get a certificate.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

Jacob

So it's it's official, you did it, it's valid. But to me, yeah, you're not at the tippity top. Nope. So we got up at the tippity top, we did two haircuts, and then it's still a trek down.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, most people don't realize Yeah. It reminds me of when the disciples were up on a mountain and Jesus appears and angels are there and they go, Well, let's build a house and stay here. Who would want to? Now you gotta come back down to the real world and real suffering. So go back up and talk about the haircut a little bit there.

Jacob

Um when you get up there, I feel like it's not like Everest, obviously, but my brain was working a little bit slower. You reach a point, oh, uh, I don't have a picture, because again, you're like climbing at night, right? Little headlamps on. The guy told me they call it high point. And high point, I don't remember the exact measurement. High point's maybe around 13,000 feet. I don't even remember the exact spot. This guy knows the mountain like the back of his hand. You reach high point, and he said, There's gonna be a time when you're gonna be thinking or maybe saying, I don't want to do this anymore. And then you just have to push. And he didn't say this, but uh obviously you if you want the goal, if you want to reach the top, you just push. And I can I can remember just the memory of the spot kind of on the mountain, and suddenly the you definitely have this, like, why am I doing this? And the air, I would say right around 13,000 feet, legitimately is thin enough that my brain slowed down.

SPEAKER_04

Let me let me stop you there for just a moment. Yeah. Because had you not been cutting hair for as long as you have, it wouldn't be part of your character. In other words, you you could get all the way to the top, but if you'd never cut hair before, the brain would not be able to probably to perform it, not correct how it should be done.

Jacob

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04

So you're running on character.

Jacob

You're running, yeah, it's just it's muscle memory. Cutting hair at this point to me is muscle memory.

SPEAKER_04

Correct. And let's go to Romans 5 1. It's a little bit long, but I'll try and keep the sermon down a little bit. Says, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody that claims to be a Christian likes that passage. It's a great passage, don't get me wrong, but that since they only take one part of it, they're the spectators

Suffering Produces Character And Hope

SPEAKER_04

down at the mountain going, Yeah, yeah, it's a beautiful view. Romans 5 2 says, Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Everybody will rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Again, they're the spectators down at the bottom of the mountain going, oh, great job, and you know, we're living vicariously through the pictures and that kind of thing. Well, look at what he says they rejoice in next. So, to the degree you would rejoice in the fact that you're being saved and with Jesus Christ and the blood of Jesus and all the things of heaven, look at Romans 5 3. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings. Yeah, really? Again, I'm gonna ask you a redundant question. Jacob, when's the last time you found any rejoicing in the actual sufferings of Jesus?

Jacob

None. People don't even suffer.

SPEAKER_04

Let alone to be talking about on equal measure.

Jacob

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

If I bring in a balanced gospel and talk about the good things of God, I'm heralded, you know, as a great preacher. If I bring in the sufferings on the same level, well, then of course I'm a cult leader, a brainwasher of men, and so on. But look at what he says. Not only so, and the and that's why the people that claim the promises above but refuse to go down below are not true Christians. They're not disciples of Jesus. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings. Rejoice in our sufferings. You're rejoicing in this climb, you're rejoicing in the view, we're rejoicing, but but we're sensing the hard work, you're up there, your brain is not being able to function. So what's working there? Because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Everybody wants the sufferings of Jesus to go away quickly. Believe me, I'm one of those. But I persevere, I hang in there. Uh, why? Why does God bring suffering? Why does he require perseverance? Romans 5, 4. Perseverance. Let me back up there. We know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, and then once you have character, you have hope. So you're up there in character. It's ingrained, it's it's who you are. I'm much different than I was when I came to Jesus Christ when I was 19, and now where I'm at, there's a lot of character changes that have taken place that I couldn't get rid of. I'd have to work at it to get rid of them because the sufferings of Jesus, the perseverance of Christ have produced a character. And it's in that character, and this is why most people don't have true hope. Look at what it says. It produces character and character hope. You don't even get the hope till you get the character. Not an the hope I had when I was 19 was a good hope in the sense it was faith in Jesus Christ to do the work. The hope on this end is based on the fact that he has changed me. I have seen him work good, I have suffered in many, many different ways, and it's produced a hope that is alive and powerful and solid. And that's why he says in Romans 5, 5, and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us. First John says, perfect love drives out all fear. Those that claim that without the suffering Christ are living a lie, and they need to be told they're living a lie. When you get this character, when you get the perseverance, when you go through the suffering, God then is able to just pour out his love, and you can walk more closely in that love than you did a year ago, six months ago, and certainly 10 years ago. Up here, we're just kind of witnessing again. You've got these series of boots on, you're up at the top. I can just not feel the air that you're trying to breathe. And you're pulling out a thing to cut people's hair. Amazing, amazing to watch. Go ahead.

Jacob

I think uh no amen to everything you said. A lot of people have this false hope. Yeah, like you said, they they skip down to the hope part. Everybody skips, everybody skips over that word suffering, and that's where it starts. The suffering in Christ is where it starts before you ever get to the hope, and everybody wants to skip it. And just like those first climbers that went on top of Disappointment Cleaver and thought they were at the top, these people think they're at the top. Maybe they have persevered some, right? But there's not that character, there's not the real hope. It's just really interesting, yeah, how you break it down like that.

SPEAKER_04

That's a good point. There are people different levels. There are people down at the bottom, you know, enjoying the picnic.

Jacob

Sure, there's some that are way down there. There's some that maybe are in between.

SPEAKER_04

And then you got disappointment rich, which means they get disappointed in their Christian life. They've done all this suffering. We've seen plenty of people leave and go, Well, I did suffer. I did this, I did that. They didn't press on to the top.

Jacob

Yeah. There, I had talked to when I was at Camp Mirror, uh, groups come down, and as they're coming down, sometimes you chit-chat. And I didn't I didn't know what condition I would be when I got to the top. This guy had made it to the very top, right where I'm standing or stood, and he said, But I got up there, I was so tired and gassed, I literally just kind of like laid there for a couple minutes, and then he's like, Let's get out of here because I'm so tired. So, yeah, just when you get up there, I didn't I didn't know. I'm like, what I didn't know if I would even be able to do a haircut.

SPEAKER_05

Sure.

Jacob

But yeah, get up there, and then it's just yeah, muscle memory to do that haircut to get her done.

SPEAKER_04

And we want to get past that as mature Christians, where we can get to the top. We're certainly gonna be weak, and but we're not gonna be in a hurry to leave. You're gonna be able to savor it a little bit. You're able to do the haircut is the point. To be obedient to what Jesus would have you to do.

Jacob

And then uh you start the trek down.

SPEAKER_04

Let me ask you a question. Did these guides were they like in total shape, could do this without it was like a walk in the park for them?

Jacob

The the actual guide, because the other guy was just a buddy of his. The actual guide, this is nothing.

SPEAKER_04

There are those mature Christians where this stuff is again, we're back to Hebrews where it says soled in two and refuse to be really. They're just and I I admire them. I'm humbled in their presence. I'm an American Christian. I'm just the minimum Christian, anyway. I don't want to get too sidetracked, but uh it's impressive.

Jacob

All of my effort to get up to the very top, right? This guy, he'll go, he can go up and down multiple

The Dangerous Descent And Finishing Well

Jacob

times in one day. Wow. So he like there's uh other people on these on these guided trips who don't make it. He'll like go to 13,000 feet. There's a guy who can't make it, he escorts him all the way back down to Camp Mirror and then heads right back up again.

SPEAKER_05

Wow.

Jacob

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I'm soaking that one in.

Jacob

And then uh you still have a trek down. It's still dangerous going down.

SPEAKER_04

Different set of muscles. I remember the little nothing compared to what we did here, but coming down, it was not quite as exhausting, but sore in a lot of different places.

Jacob

Yeah, but it's it and then it's all the same stuff. The same stuff is repeated. Watch your footwork, watch the ropes. It's not over yet. You still gotta get down to the car.

SPEAKER_04

Reminds me when Jesus was on the cross, and at one point he says, It's finished. Well, he was still hanging on that cross. If you look at that, you would think, if I was on there and said it's finished, okay, I'm out of here now. I want out now. But Jesus is in no hurry to leave. He's still hanging on the cross and finishing and taking care of other things while he's up there. So let's skip that for now. Go ahead and keep talking.

Jacob

Well, I was just gonna comment, you know, even me when I'm trekking up and you're you're actually contemplating, like, wow, Jesus carried that cross. Well, he carried it, carried it, carried it. And yeah, then he was actually nailed to it, technically crucified, and then the process of crucifixion is you sit there for hours and hours and hours and suffer on the cross before he gets to say it's finished. And and and yeah, everybody wants to say the prayer, and then you're going to heaven.

SPEAKER_04

And not to mention that uh I shudder, I I get mad, I get frustrated on the Lord, all the different emotions when somebody will do something, they'll stand up against something, and they get victory is even a strong word, but they get a little bit of victory, and everybody's shouting that oh, they're Deborah or they're David or whatever. It's like you haven't even begun to do the fight. Nobody's finished it, so all right. Anyway, I'll have to pass the plate here if I keep going.

Jacob

Yeah. But uh there's not much more to the story other than it's a really long slog down.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

Jacob

The only thing I will say, only just like uh even the the person that uh passed away, he was coming down when he died.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

Jacob

And I was definitely getting really tired coming down.

SPEAKER_04

Good point. Good point. So go ahead. So you know what? The the character of listening to your guide would have to carry you through. Uh if I were starting fresh, you'd be going, I really have to listen to the guide. The guy's telling me I listen. Okay, so I'm spending my time thinking about listening to the guide. But once the character is there and you're coming down and it's as dangerous, at that point you really have to operate more on character than on willpower.

Jacob

Yeah, exactly. Even even for me, the few lessons I had learned in climbing on the way up are the same lessons going down, but you still want to be careful, yeah, that you're you're not overconfident and either nothing's gonna happen or you know, and then you slip and fall. On the gentle the story I heard, the guy who had died, he ultimately wasn't roped up. Somehow, whether it was overconfidence or foolishness, I don't know. And and then he he didn't footwork, he lost his footing. He was on a lot of this rocky stuff that's really funky to walk on and and lost it.

SPEAKER_04

Again, it could have been just wore out, not character. Yeah. Alright. Very good.

Jacob

And then this last picture, it's kind of cool. I think there was a couple other ones you can barely see. The you know it's a clear day when you can see Mount Adams here, and then as we move to the right, this is Mount Hood. You can hardly see it, but this little tiny peak right there is Mount Jefferson. And then there's uh Mount St. Helens right there.

SPEAKER_04

Wow, plenty of mountains there to Jesus to take you on.

Jacob

And this is Camp Beer, this little spot right here.

SPEAKER_04

Nice, nice. Why don't you pay the play the cutting videos again and then we'll wrap it up?

SPEAKER_00

Okay.consider.info,

Final Scriptures, Warnings, And Closing

SPEAKER_00

where yesterday's folly is today's madness. In the beginning, the unrepentant sinners' words are folly. At the end, they are wicked madness. Ecclesiastes 10 13. Judgment begins with the house of God. Therefore, let everyone who loves the Lord with an undying love pick up their cross and walk the talk. As Peter the Apostle wrote, therefore, prepare your minds for action. Be self-controlled. 1 Peter 1, 13, 14. The Consider Podcast, examining today's events and tomorrow's realities. www.consider.info.

SPEAKER_01

The Consider Podcast assumes the listener has accepted the full gospel message. Individual application of the discussed materials is the sole responsibility of the listener. Nothing should be understood to be legal advice. The listener assumes full responsibility for being offended. The Consider Podcast today's events, tomorrow's realities at www.consider.info.