Well, I'm glad to be here this
morning. I know you are. On a rainy Sunday morning, Mother's
Day, it's a good place to be in the house of the Lord. We
want to look this morning at from the book of Exodus, chapter
33, and the title of my message is, A Place to Stand. In Acts,
chapter 7, we have the story of the story of Stephen who was
really the first deacon of the early church and his confrontation
with the religious leaders of his day and how he learned firsthand
what it meant to take up one's cross and follow Christ. Listen
to what they said in Acts chapter 7 verse 55. He had told them
of their sin against God and of course they didn't believe
him but The scripture says here, when they heard these things,
they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on Stephen with
their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up
steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God. And what was
that glory? And Jesus standing at the Father's
right hand. I see heaven opened, he said,
and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. What man
could stand on the right hand of God? Well, there's only one,
that's the God-man, the Son of God. He who glorified his Father
here on the earth. He who finished the work. He
said, Father, I finished the work you gave me to do. I've
glorified thee on the earth. I fulfilled everything you sent
me to do completely. Stephen, in other words, beheld
the glory of God, and he beheld it in the face of Jesus Christ.
He saw God's faithfulness, his justice, his love, and his mercy
and grace toward a people of his choosing and how Christ paid
the redemption price in full for that people. This vision of Jesus standing
on the right hand of the Father is a comfort to us today, too. It's comforting to know that
our advocate, our surety, our mediator, our representative
to God's satisfaction has accomplished everything that God intended
for our complete redemption, and he even stands now and ever
stands to plead his righteousness imputed on our behalf. Of course,
this is a gift only to God's people, only to the elect of
God, only to those who have experienced Christ in their life and they
see Christ standing for his people. For we know, if we know anything,
that we need someone to stand for us who's capable, who's able,
qualified, and has an ear with the Father to stand for us. And we know that no matter the
station of life or any center, whether he be great or small,
great in power or in the squalor of poverty, he is still a sinner
in need of a salvation of God's making and not his own. And the
Bible is replete with those people who Seemingly were great people,
and were to people of renown who evidenced their state of
nature and some of the things that they did. And we remember
Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, and some of the stupid
things he did, yet he was the wisest of men. David, a man after
God's own heart, had within himself a wicked heart. He did some awful
things. And Moses, the man that we're
going to look at this morning, a man of like passions as we,
though great in the eyes of Christendom, this man revealed himself to
be a sinner with all the infirmities common to you and me. And though,
as was Moses, God's people were raised up and made to sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, but in our sojourn here
on life, in life, God has given us a place to stand. And I've
titled this message this morning, a place to stand based on exodus
chapter 33 in verse 21 really let's read that verse exodus
20 33 21 and the lord said behold there is a place by me and thou
shalt stand upon a rock god has appointed for his people a place
to stand the psalmist rejoiced in this place in psalms 1 in
verse 1 he says this Blessed is the man who walketh not in
the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But you know this,
such is the way of all by nature, even God's elect. And it is from
his net that he cast into the sea that all kinds are brought
together. And from that net, God chooses some. And he has
prepared a place for them, a standing for them. It's already filled. already prepared and standing
in full, out of a number which no man can number, whose names
are written in the Father's Lamb's Book of Life. So the question
is today, for you and me, where do you stand? Where do I stand? Is it in the way of sinners?
Or is it, in Psalm 1-2, is your delight in the law of the Lord?
And in His law do you delight day and night? Do you delight
in the law of God which curses where sin is imputed and blesses
where righteousness is imputed? It was Peter Marshall, chaplain
of the U.S. Senate in 1947, who coined this
phrase, unless we stand for something, we'll fall for anything. And
this statement requires some qualifications because we can
stand for something and still fall. God says this of us in
1 Corinthians 10 and verse 12, Wherefore let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall. Take heed means to pay
attention to where you stand and on what you're standing.
What a tragedy that many who think they stand will eventually
fall. And Jesus says of their fall
in Matthew chapter 7 verse 32, great will be the fall thereof. So the question this morning
I want us to look at is this. How can such sinners ignorant
of where they stand, who know not where to stand, and who know
not for what to stand, how can these sinners access the place
provided wherein they must stand and shall surely stand? Well,
these scriptures this morning answer that question for us.
Look at Exodus 33 and verse 13. Moses talking with God here,
he says, now therefore I pray thee, If I have found grace in
thy sight, show me now thy way, that I might know thee, that
I might find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation
is thy people. Moses, you mean you don't know
God's way? You who led the Hebrew nation in excellence from Egypt,
and you don't know the way? You who participated in the Passover
ceremony in Egypt, you don't know the way? You don't know
God? You who witness the power of God and deliverance from bondage,
Moses, you don't know the way? Yes, even Moses, because no man
by nature knows God and his redemptive glory. One of his adversaries in John
chapter eight and verse 19 said this, where is thy father? or who is thy father, or where
is thy father? Jesus answered, you need to know
me nor my father. If you had known me, you would
have known my father also. Until taught, all are ignorant
of the redemptive glory of God in Christ Jesus as a just God
and a savior. And consequently, we're ignorant
of his works also. Our level of knowledge of God
is in proportion to our understanding of his way. You can't separate
Christ's person or his work. It's his works that give validity
to his claim to be the Messiah of God. Well, we know that Moses
knew something of the glory of God. In his first encounter with
him, you remember the burning bush. What did God say to Moses? He said, take off thy shoes from
off thy feet, for the ground on which thou stand is holy ground. And then look at Exodus chapter
33 and verse 11. The scripture says here that the Lord spake
to Moses face to face as a man speaketh to his friend. Even
with the miracles and the manifestations of the pre-incarnate Christ,
Moses was desirous to know more. Look at Exodus 33, 18. And Moses
said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. I've seen the miracles. I've seen the powerful displays.
I've seen the elements obey thy voice. But I want to see again,
and in greater clarity, the glory of God, how God can be just when
he justifies the ungodly. And what did God say in Exodus
33, 17? I'll do this thing for thee,
for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know you by name. And Moses said unto him in Exodus
33, 15, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up, Here
in this man, Moses, the servant of the Lord, we have a picture
of God's salvation. Moses was charged with leading
the people, the Hebrew nation, to the promised land. You remember
the story of how God sent the spies out, and 10 of the 12 spies
came back with a negative report. They talked about walled cities
and giants for men. And Moses counted the cost of
what it would take to conquer the promised land, and he knew
he couldn't do it in his own strength, so he says, Lord, if
you don't go with us, don't take us up, because it would be impossible
to have victory unless you go with us. He saw his only hope
of victory in possessing Canaan was for God to go with him. He
learned the lesson that every justified sinner learns, that
we can plan, we can work, we can do, we can pray, we can do
all kinds of things, But unless God goes with us, we can't go
up. We can't save ourselves. To attempt to enter into God's
rest without God's presence is a dangerous and futile work. Moses' faith looked to God to
carry him up. And the question came to my mind,
what does it take for God to carry up a sinner into his rest? Simply this, stand him in his
place. So the question is, where are
you standing this morning? Stand in your place. God's people shall stand by him.
How do I know if I'm standing by God or in Christ? Well, from
where you stand, do you see Jesus standing at the Father's right
hand? If you don't, you need to stand somewhere else. You
need to move your stand because God's people can see by faith.
Jesus standing at the Father's right hand. If we're standing
with God, we can know that the world stands against us. And
if we stand, we know that it's not in our strength, but in his
strength. Look at Exodus chapter 33 and
verse 14. For wherein shall it be known
here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is
it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated,
I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face
of the earth. We define grace as all of salvation conditioned
on and accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord our righteousness. Grace reveals this one, Christ,
whom Stephen saw standing in heaven as he whom God elects
stand eternally justified. who as our advocate stood for
us in the court of divine justice and was declared guilty by imputation
and sentenced to death, die the death that we deserve. He suffered
the wages of sin, which is eternal death, and that by crucifixion.
Of course, this truth is hidden from sinners by nature. We don't
know that God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And though eternally
chosen and justified, which is our standing before God, it's
all based on the satisfaction rendered by him to law and justice
at the cross. Though fallen in Adam and sinners
by nature, our state does not change our standing with Christ. Those names written in the Lamb's
book of life can never be unwritten or expanded. God's people are
blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, and that before the world began. From the moment Christ
was appointed our mediator in surety, the burden of our sin
became His. And Christ entered into covenant
with the Father even before creation. Therefore, the guilty and deserving
of God's wrath Their sin was laid on Him, and He bore that
sin in His body on the tree. And His success at the cross
affords sinners a place to stand. Look at Exodus 33 and verse 21. And the Lord said, Behold, there
is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall
come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put thee
in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand, So let's look at this life of
this man and see how God blessed him to glorify and exalt our
Savior in his standing with God. If you remember, Moses was a
benefactor of Pharaoh's daughter, and he grew to manhood in the house of Pharaoh. At 40
years of age, he had to flee Egypt because he killed an Egyptian
man. And for 40 years, he wandered
in Midian, the land of Midian. And he served his father-in-law
Jethro by being a shepherd for his flocks. And at the age of
80, from the burning bush, God commissioned and called and commanded
Moses to be the deliverer of Israel from Egypt's bondage. And at 120 years of age, God
buried him in the land of Moab. But during this last 40 years
of his life, God wrought by Moses many blessings
and miracles upon the Hebrew nation. As mediator of the Mosaic
economy, he received the law from God. He constructed the
temple, I mean the tabernacle, and he gave instructions as a
mediator of the Mosaic economy to the nation Israel, and he
is thought to be the author of the Pentateuch, or the first
five books of the Bible. He was himself a type of the
antitype, Christ. And yet, with all these qualifications,
all these powers, and these blessings that God gave him, he was a sinner
in need of the grace of God, just like we are. He needed a
place to stand, and God provided him that place. And we want to
look at that this morning. A place to stand, first of all,
is set by God the Father. Secondly, it's secured by God
the Son. Thirdly, it's sealed by the Holy
Spirit of God. Let's look at the first one.
It's, first of all, a place set by God the Father. He says, there is a place set
by me. Already said, it's always existed.
It's by me. This place is where God is. And
where is God? Well, God's omnipresent. He's
everywhere at one time. God cannot be boxed into a particular
place. To those he sends to preach the
gospel, he says, Lord, I'm with you always, even to the end of
the earth. To those who would serve in the church, he says,
we're two or three gathered in my name. There I am in the midst
of you also. And what is that name? The Lord,
our righteousness. He says, there I am in the midst.
God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle to precise qualifications
and specifications because it represented and pictured in shadows
and types the Lord Jesus Christ. And why is this important? Because
this is where God met with his people. This is the place God
set aside to meet with his people. It was in the tabernacle God
met with and communed with Israel. The mercy seat in the tabernacle
is where His Shekinah glory resided, over the mercy seat. There is
only one place where sinners can meet God, and that's where
the true gospel is preached. That's where the Shekinah glory
is revealed in the preaching of the gospel of how God can
be both a just God and a Savior. There are not many places. The
world today would tell you you can worship God anywhere, but
you can only worship God where God is. And where is he? He's where his people are. We'll
see that in just a minute. Look at Mark, chapter 13, in
verse 19. Jesus warns us of this. He says,
for in those days, talking about the days in which we are living,
there shall be affliction such as was not from the beginning
of the creation, which God created unto this time, neither shall
be. And except that the Lord has shortened those days, no
flesh should be saved. But for the elect's sake, whom
he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then, if any man
shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ, or lo, there he is,
believe him not. For false Christ and false prophet
shall rise and shall show signs and wonders to seduce, if it
were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed, behold, I have foretold you all
things." In other words, what he's saying is The Methodists
say, here's where God is. The Baptists say, he's over here.
The Pentecostals say, no, he's over here. Who's right? God is
not where the gospel's not preached. He's with his people. So where Moses says in Exodus
33, verses 12 through 14, See now, there saith unto me,
bring up this people, that thou hast not let me know whom thou
wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee
by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore,
I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now
the way that I might know thee, that I might find grace in thy
sight, and consider that this nation is thy people. And God
said to Moses, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give
thee rest. Only in God, where God is, where
God's people are, is there true rest. And Moses was appointed
to lead the children of Israel into the land of rest. And the
only way we can get there is through God and His righteousness
alone. So where do you stand? Where do I stand? Is it by God? There is a place by me, God says,
and you shall stand. Is it there alone that just God
and Savior worship? Do we stand in his rest, in his
righteousness? It's a place set by God. Secondly,
it's a place set by God in that this place is not only with me,
God said, it's by me. There's a place by me. I have
provided the only place to stand. John chapter 10 verse nine says
this, I am the door by me, if any man enter in he shall be
saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. It was Christ
himself who said, no man cometh unto the father but by me. Where
is this place? It's God's secure place. This
place by God. It's of God's doing and his design. Where is this set place today?
It's where his people are. It's here. God is with us this
morning. He promised he would be. He says,
I'll never leave you nor forsake you. If he left us here to go
somewhere else, he would forsake us, but he's with us here where
the true gospel is preached. In Exodus chapter 33 and verse
14, God said, my presence will go with thee and I'll give thee
rest. Religious sinners seek rest. We fashion our minds around
the things we think will please God. The trouble is that everything
we think and do by nature is an abomination to God. How can
you who are accustomed to doing evil do good? We, by nature,
will always seek a place to stand other than where God's place
is. And there is no more secure place
to be than by God in Christ. Well, how can I tell if I'm in
this place? where I need to stand. Well, that brings me to my second
point. It's not only a place set by God, it's a place secured
by God. And the Lord said in Exodus 33,
21, behold, there is a place by me and thou shalt stand upon
a rock. This place where God's people
stand is upon a rock, a rock that once was to us a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense. This rock, which the builders
rejected, the same has become the chief cornerstone of the
church. It is this rock of which Christ spoke in Matthew chapter
16, when he told Peter upon this rock, I'll build my church and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Not on Peter's confession,
but on Peter's Christ, that rock. Here in Exodus chapter 33 and
verse 21, the promise of God to Moses is sure because it was
made by him who cannot lie. Thou shalt stand upon a rock,
he says to Moses. That is a promise without condition.
In fact, God says your standing has always been on this rock.
Though our state is ever-changing, our standing in Christ is fixed
and eternal. There never was a time God's
elect were non-elect. We have always been accepted
in the beloved. That's why Christ suffered, bled,
and died. Our eternal, unchangeable standing
of justification in Christ necessitated his coming and satisfying the
penalty and precept of the law against his people and established
for us the one righteousness which God is pleased with and
which he freely imputes to every sinner for whom Christ died.
It's on this basis that God could declare Moses a just and righteous
center in this site. Look at verse 17 of chapter 33. And the Lord said unto Moses,
I'll do this thing that thou hast asked of me. For thou hast
found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. This place
of God is secure because Christ fully met and satisfied every
condition and removed every obstacle to his security. Hebrews chapter
9 verse 12 says, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but
by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. So our standing is secure
because the conditions for that security are not ours to meet. They've already been met. Our hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but holy name, on Jesus' name, on Christ, the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. The third point
is that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. A place to
stand is set by God the Father, is secured by God the Son, and
thirdly, is sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. How does God seal
his people? Verse 19 of Exodus chapter 33
says it, and he said, I will make all my goodness pass before
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee,
and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will
show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And verse 20 says, thou
canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live.
How does God seal his people? First of all, he reveals his
goodness. And where is that goodness? Well, Mark chapter 10 and verse
18, Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? There is
none good but one, and that is God. God's essential goodness
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is the channel through which
all God's blessings come upon his people. And how does he make
his goodness pass by his people? He says, I will proclaim the
name of the Lord In other words, I'll preach Christ crucified,
be raised again the third day, establishing the one righteousness
before God. He went back to the right hand
of the Father in glory, which was assigned at the ending of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believed it. Then he says, I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. Being gracious, gracious is an
attribute of the gracious one. Showing mercy is permeated love
in action, premeditated love in action, dying the just for
the unjust. That's showing mercy. He says,
I'll be gracious. Salvation is not of gratuity,
but it's of grace. God is not influenced by our
prayers or our performances, but his own sovereign will alone. John, the apostle said this,
you did not choose me. Jesus said to the people in his
day, in John chapter 15, verse 16, you didn't choose me, but
I chose you. And then he says, I will show
mercy. Mercy is God's grace dispense. Salvation is not a merit, it's
of mercy alone. God is not impressed with our
works or our prayers or our giving. Salvation is not a merit but
mercy. Paul wrote to Titus in chapter
3 and verse 5, he said this, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So God shuts his people
up to the righteousness of God imputed, revealed in regeneration
and conversion. And he reveals how this is done
in Psalm 85 in verse 10. He said, mercy and truth are
met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. God can and does declare ungodly
sinners eternally just and holy. based on the imputed righteousness
of Christ, even Moses before the cross. This is what God says
in Ephesians chapter one in verse three and four. He said, blessed
be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without and then look at Ephesians 1,
verse 12, 13, that we should be to the praise of his glory
who first trusted in Christ, in whom also you trusted after
you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom after you had believed, you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. That's God's way with Moses,
and it is with all of them, like faith is Moses. Those who stand
by God, with God are put in the cleft of the rock. They are in
Christ, and that by election, by calling, and by faith. In Exodus 33, 21, the Lord said
this, behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand upon
a rock, and it shall come to pass. You shall stand upon a rock,
and it shall come to pass. While my glory passes by, that
I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee
with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away my hand,
and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face thou shalt not see."
What we see now is things veiled. We see through a glass darkly.
We don't see the full glory of God, as we will. Moses requested to see the fullness
of God's glory. And if that had been answered,
that request had been answered, Moses would have died because
no man can see the Father and live. Listen to what Paul wrote in
2 Corinthians. Therefore, we are always confident,
knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord, for we walk by faith. and not sight. We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the
body and to be present with the Lord. I think what he's saying
here, the meaning is this, in this life we walk by faith and
not sight. To see the face of God would
be death because we live by faith and walk by faith and not sight.
To view the face of God would be to walk by sight and God says
no man can live and see my face. Therefore, God puts his sheep
in the cleft of the rock, in that place, in Christ, where
they're safe in him. That cleft is, in the Greek word,
is the place of splitting. In other words, in the wounded
Savior's side, God's sheep are covered with his hand. And we
are there until the redemption of the purchased possession unto
the praise of his glory. That's when Christ comes again
the second time. So sealed by the Spirit of God,
Holy Spirit of God, we are kept by the hand of God. In John chapter 1, or John chapter
12 and verse 21, the scripture says that certain Greeks came
from Bethesda with this request to Philip, we will see Jesus,
sir. Would you see Jesus? From where you stand, can you
see Jesus? Do you by faith see Jesus standing
at the right hand of God? Then stand there by him. It's
the only safe place to stand. And Ephesians chapter six and
verse 14 says this, wherefore take unto you the whole armor
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, stand. Stand there having your loins
girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness,
and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherein ye shall be able to quench
all the fire darts of the wicked, and taking the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying
always, with all prayer and supplication
in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all things. Stand where God stands. Christ
stood alone, that I might stand in Him. Lord, come and lead us
in the clothes of Him.