Good morning. We're going to be in Exodus chapter
33 for the Bible study hour this morning. If you'd like to turn
with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 33. I had some announcements somewhere,
I couldn't find them. There's a sign-up sheet on the
table in the back for a salad bar on Friday night during the
conference. If you'd like to help out with
that or be a part of that. Also, if you have a place that
you would like to make available for someone from one of the other
churches that's going to be here to stay during the conference,
let me know. I've been getting calls and wanting
hotels and things like that. So I know several of you all
are already putting some folks up. And if anybody would like
to do that, let me know. 6th, 7th, and 8th. Three weeks.
Three weeks. Three weeks. Three weeks from now. I thought it was too, also. But
we have the first weekend of February. Be here before we know it. So,
I hope the Lord will be pleased to bless our meeting. I ask the Lord if He'll bless
our service this morning. Our merciful God, we come before
Thy throne of grace in the name of Thy dear Son, knowing that He is the reason
The reason for our acceptance, the reason for our righteousness,
the reason for your love toward us. We ask that you would cause him
to be known to our hearts, that you would send your Holy Spirit
in power, that you would convict your children of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. of sin because of the unbelief
that remains in our hearts, of righteousness because the Lord
Jesus Christ has ascended to the right hand of thy glory,
and of judgment because the prince of this world has been judged. We pray that you would cause
him to be lifted up in our hearts and cause us to set our affections
on him. Oh, how we need, how we need
your mercy, how we need your grace. We pray that you would
do it for thy glory's sake. For we ask it in Christ's name.
Amen. You have your Bibles open to
Exodus chapter 13 if you'll turn with the Exodus chapter 33. I'm
sorry if you'll turn with me to the 18th verse Moses prays
and asked the Lord to show him his glory Truly, the chief end of man is
to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. The purpose of our life
is the glory of God. And whether we eat or whether
we drink or whatsoever we do, we do it all to His glory. Now
He is most glory. That doesn't mean that we actually
eat our food in a fashion that's somehow religious. It means that
we acknowledge our complete and total dependence on Him for everything. for the very act of eating and
drinking and that's when he's glorified he's glorified when
he is depended on for everything when his children acknowledge
their complete dependence upon him particularly for their salvation
now contrary to what most folks believe God's not here to serve
us he's not he doesn't need us he's not dependent upon us it's
not about us David said in Psalm 115 verse 1 not unto us O Lord
not unto us but unto thy name be glory for thy mercy and for
thy truth's sake it's God's glory that's what it's all about That's
what everything in this world is about. That's what you're
about. That's what I'm about. It's the
glory of God. It's about Him. And if the Lord's pleased to
show us His glory, oh, what comfort, what hope, what peace there is
in knowing that it's all about God's glory. Listening to the news this morning,
They were asking, I guess you saw the Pope was in the Philippines,
and I think there was about six million people that came out to see the Pope. And a little
girl asked the Pope yesterday, I guess it was, why is there
suffering in the world? And his response was, that's
the one question I can't answer. I just can't answer why good
people suffer bad things. And the commentator on the TV
this morning was saying what comfort that is to me. If the
Pope doesn't have the answer to that question then none of
us do. Well I have the answer to that
question. You have the answer to that question.
And if that answer makes you angry at God, I would lot rather
you be angry at a God that is omnipotent than to love a God
who has no power. Be angry if you must be, but
don't think Don't think that these things happen outside of
God's sovereign control. Don't think that evil hasn't
come into the city and God hasn't caused it. He reigns sovereign
over the inhabitants of the earth, over the armies of heavens. He hath done whatsoever He wills. It's about His glory. Now, it's
interesting that the Pope would respond in such a way. Catholicism
teaches that salvation is by works. In one sense, Catholicism
is more honest than the rest of Christendom in the world in
that Catholicism doesn't teach grace, it teaches works. You
can atone for your own sins according to Catholic doctrine by the things
that you do. And if you'll do a certain number
of things, you can make up for the wrongs that you've done and
you can work your way into heaven. It is a salvation of works without
apology. Now, if you think about it, Why
was there suffering in the world? Where is crime the most unrestrained
in the world? I'll tell you where it is. It's
where Catholicism reigns. What do we think of when we think
of Italy? the mafia. What do we think of
when we think of the Philippines? Sex trade and all the degradation
going on in that country and the poverty. What do we think
of when we think of Mexico and South America? Drug trade and
all the corruption. Catholicism breeds corruption. Why? Because men are given the
license to do whatever they will, knowing that in the end, if they'll
just pay their dues to God, they can atone for their own sins. The first cause, if you want
to know what the first cause of suffering is in the world,
it's sin. Without sin, there would be no
suffering. Without sin, there would be no death. But don't
think that that's the primary or first cause. That's the original
cause. That might be the instrumental
cause for suffering in the world, but it's not the original cause.
The original cause is the sovereign decree of God. which He has purposed
all things for His glory." It's not about you. It's not about
me. It's about God. It's for His glory. And what
does Moses say? I beseech thee, I plead with
thee, Lord." Now Moses is at the point in his life where he's
80 years old, he's experienced the plagues of Egypt, which God
did not send those 10 plagues to Egypt in order to twist the
arm of Pharaoh until he finally gave up and delivered his people
out of bondage. That's not what God was doing
with the 10 plagues of Egypt. If you look at those 10 plagues,
each of those 10 plagues had to do with a god that was worshipped
in Egypt. Whether it was the god of the
Nile, the god of the sun, the god of flies, all the gods of
Egypt were dealt with in those 10 plagues. And the purpose that
our god had in bringing those plagues was not for the Egyptians.
It was for the Israelites. Those plagues were sent not because
God was twisting the arm of Pharaoh until he finally cried uncle
and gave in. Those ten plagues were sent in
order to show the sovereign power of the God who is over all the
false gods of the world for his people. Those plagues were sent
for the Israelites, not the Egyptians. God hardened Pharaoh's heart
in every one of those plagues. God, Romans chapter nine says
that for this purpose, I raised the up, a vessel fitted for destruction. And Paul's talking about Pharaoh.
I raised the up that I might show my glory. that the objects of my mercy,
turn with me there, turn with me to Romans the ninth chapter. Verse 21, hath not the potter
power over the clay? of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God willing
to show his wrath and to make his power known endured with
much long sufferings the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction? God made them to destroy them.
Why? Why? Why did he do that? Verse 23, that he might make
known the riches of his glory to the vessels of mercy which
he had aforeprepared unto glory. What does the destruction of
the reprobate say to the elect? What does it say? Lord, if you
didn't have mercy upon me, I'd be just like them. If you didn't
show me your glory by your grace, by your free and sovereign grace,
I'm worthy and deserving of the same destruction that they're
worthy of. Look at verse 15. For he saith
to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then
it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. That's what it's all about. That's
what you're here for. That's why everything that happens,
happens. It's about God. It's about Him
showing forth His glory. It's about Him demonstrating
His power. It's not about you. It's not
about me. It's about Him. By the way, bad things don't
happen to good people, because in fact there are no good people. And for God's people, there are
no bad things. There are no bad things. For
the elect, there are no bad things. I haven't heard any bad news
since I heard the good news. There isn't! all things work
together for good for everybody oh no for them that love God
and those that are the called according to his purpose there's
our hope that's what God's doing he's doing it for his glory and
he's doing it for the good of his people and Moses says oh
Lord show me your glory And the man that the whole world looks
to as the representative of Christianity doesn't have a clue and in fact
is contributing to the problem. By preaching a gospel of works,
he's contributing to the sin problem of the world. There is an answer. for everything. It's the glory of God. It's the
glory of God. And I'm good with that. And if you're a believer, you're
good with that. You don't want it any other way.
Now Moses asked the Lord, show me your glory. Go back with me
to Exodus 33. Look at verse 13. 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. What was the foundation upon
which Moses pled with the Lord to show him his glory? Moses
was in line to be Pharaoh. Moses was, he had all the benefits
of the richest nation in the world, a child of the king, he
had the best education, he was lavish with servants and wealth,
and he left it all, didn't he? He did not consider the riches
of Egypt according to Hebrews chapter 11. He left it all. You remember the time Peter said,
Lord, we've left everything for you. Peter, you haven't left anything.
What you've gotten from me is Moses doesn't say, Lord, I've
left everything for you. He doesn't say, well, I had a
promising career and I forsook it all for Jesus. How many times
have you heard people say that? You know, I could have been a
pop star. I could have been a recording
artist and been a millionaire. But I gave it up for Jesus and
now I'm just going around singing in little country churches, using
my voice for God. I've heard people talk like that. Giving up everything for you
Lord, what are you going to do for me? Moses doesn't do that.
What does Moses say? What's he say? If I have found
grace in thy sight, show me thy glory. Lord, the only plea that I have
for you to show me your glory is your grace. Your free and
sovereign grace. It's unfortunate that we'd have
to attach those adjectives to the word grace because that's
redundant. You understand that. That's what
grace means. Grace is not grace if it's not
free. And grace is not grace if it's not sovereign. But because
everybody's talking about grace, we have to say free grace. We have to say sovereign grace. It's the only kind of grace there
is. And Moses says, Lord, if I have found grace in thy sight,
I've got nothing else to offer you. I've got no other ground upon
which to approach you. It's all by your grace. Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Was Noah any different
from the rest of the people of his generation? No. No. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord, didn't he? The Lord was pleased to save
Noah and his family. Now I don't know if I mentioned
that, preach around so many different places I can't remember what
I've said to y'all but can you imagine Noah after the door of
the ark was closed by God hanging out a sign on the side of the
ark saying smile God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life? Can you imagine Noah doing that?
No. The destruction of the world
was by the sovereign hand of God that He might show His mercy
and His grace to those that were in the ark. And as it was in
the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming
of the Son of Man. Destruction is coming. And those
that are saved will be saved by God's free grace. They'll
be saved the same way Noah was saved, by God putting them in
the ark and protecting them from the wrath of God. It's about
God. Oh Lord show me your mercy show
me your grace show me your glory and the only plea that I have
for it is that you would be gracious we believe through the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ that we shall be saved it's all of
grace Paul said in first Corinthians 15 I am what I am by the grace
of God when it pleased God, who separated
me from my mother's womb, and called me by His," what? Grace. Grace. Who maketh thee to differ? What
do you have that you've not received? And if you've received it freely,
why do you boast as if you didn't, as if you earned it? It's by grace. Lord, if I found
grace in Thy sight, I've got no other way to approach Thee
but by Your grace. We're redeemed by grace. We're
called by grace. All of our needs are supplied
by grace. The Lord told Paul, my grace
is sufficient for thee. And my glory is going to be in
you depending upon me for everything. Everything. That'll be when I'll be glorified.
And my greatest glory is your greatest good. Go back with me to our text in
Exodus 33. So Moses asked the Lord to show
him his glory and to show him his way. You see that? In verse
13, now therefore I pray thee if I have found grace in thy
sight, show me now thy way that I might know thee. There is a
way that seems right unto man. And in the end, that way leadeth
to death. The way that seems right unto
man is that it's all about me. And that I can atone for my sins. I can offer to God something
that will cause Him to have favor on me. Sovereign grace is not the way
of man. Free grace is not the way of
man. My ways are not your ways. Neither are my thoughts your
thoughts. As the heavens are high above the earth, so are
my ways above your ways. God's way is just the opposite
of our way. It's just the opposite. It's all of grace. And it's all
for His glory. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
I am. the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. Philip said, Show us the Father,
and it sufficeth us. Oh, Philip. Philip, don't you
know that I and the Father are one? If you've seen me, you've
seen the Father. All that God's going to reveal
to me and you is going to be in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ and His accomplished work. Now Moses asked for his glory
and look at verse 19, and he said, here's what God said, I
will, another commentator on the news this morning said, well,
you know, the reason for suffering is man's free will. The reason for suffering is man's
will, but it ain't free. It's in bondage to his sinful
nature. I will make all my goodness pass
before thee. I will make all my goodness pass
before thee. You can't read that without thinking
about what the Lord said to the rich young ruler. When the rich
young ruler said, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal
life? Men just ask the wrong questions,
don't they? First of all, if you're going to inherit something,
you don't inherit it by what you do, it's given to you. What
must I do to inherit eternal life? So the Lord's gonna challenge
him on the question. He's gonna fix his question before
he gives him an answer. And so he says, why callest thou
me good? For there's none good but God.
This man didn't know he was talking to God and yet he called him
good. Goodness was standing right before
him and he didn't know it. I will cause my goodness to pass
before thee. And I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee. And here's what my name means. I will be gracious. I will be
gracious. To whom I will be gracious. and I will have mercy to whom
I will have mercy. It's all about my will, not yours. Man has set himself up on the
throne of God, 2 Timothy chapter two. It's so clear. And God has
sent him a strong delusion that he should believe a lie. He believes
it. These people talk, they believe
what they're saying. Why? Because God sent them that
lie. He sent them that delusion. And
they believed it. The first cause of everything
is the sovereign power of God. God's God and you're not, I'm
not. And what a glorious God we have. What a glorious God! His kingdom
is from everlasting to everlasting. Paul breaks into a benediction
there in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 17 when he says, But unto the
King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be glory and
honor forever and ever. And all God's people said, amen,
amen unto the king. We bow to him. He's king. He doesn't have a Senate that
he has to get his will passed through. He doesn't have any
counselors. He doesn't have a board of directors. He's got 100% veto vote. And he does whatsoever he wills. And we're here to worship him. And the truth is that the God
we're talking about right now is the only God worth worshiping. It's the only God actually that
inspires true worship. True worship. And like I said,
I'd lot rather you be angry at the God that is omnipotent. and
works all things after the counsel of His will, and saves who He
will save and who He will harden, and raises up men like Pharaoh
in order to destroy them, to show the riches of His grace
to His children. I'd a lot rather you be angry
at a God like that, a God that's sovereign, than to fall in love
with the imagination of your darkened mind and to think that
God Just can't do anything about it because man's got free will. In fact, you're in love with
no one but yourself when you believe that. And that's our problem, isn't
it? People say, well, you know, you need to love yourself before
you can love anybody else. Oh my goodness. You come into
this world so fallen in love with yourself. I mean, you're consumed with
yourself. The first time the doctor spanks
you on the butt, you're consumed with yourself. Why? That hurt. And from that moment on, you
come out of the womb telling lies. Every time your diaper
gets dirty, what do you do? You break into crying. Every
time you get a little hunger pain, what do you do? Hey, what
about me? And you scream for all the adults
in the room to pay you attention to meet your needs. You're in
love with yourself from day one and you still do. We just love ourselves. We need to love ourselves more. If the Lord shows you His glory
like He showed Job, you know what you're going to do? you're
gonna say, behold, I am vile. I had heard of thee by the hearing
of my ears, but now mine eyes have seen thee and I abhor myself
and I repent in dust and ashes. God, you're God, I'm not. I'm guilty of the highest form
of trying to take your glory. Verse 20, Thou canst not see
my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord
said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon
a rock. You want to stand in the presence
of God? The only firm place to put your
feet is on the Rock of Ages. Trust Christ. Give to Him all the glory. and it shall come to pass while
my glory passes by, that I will put thee, I will." Now do you
see how many times I will is in this passage? I will. Oh Lord, would you do that for
me? Lord, I'm dependent upon your will. My will is so weak. I can't even will myself out
of a common cold. How am I gonna will myself saved?
I can't. My will has got no power to it. Talk about willpower. How much
power is in your will? How much power is in His will?
All power. I'll put you in the cleft of
the rock and I'll put my hand over Him. God uses the anatomy of the human body
to describe different parts of his character and his glory. And whenever the Bible talks
about the hand of God, it's talking about his work, his work of redemption,
his righteousness. Lifting up holy hands to God
is trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for all your righteousness. He's
the only one. He's the only one. whose hands
satisfied the demands of God's holy law. He's the only one. So I'm gonna put my hand, I'm
gonna put my righteousness, I'm gonna hide you. He's just covering
us and covering us and covering us with more and more. I'm gonna
cause my goodness to pass before you, I'm gonna put you on a rock
right next to me, I'm gonna put you in the cleft of the rock,
then I'm gonna put my hand over it. Now I'm gonna cause my goodness
to pass by in verse 23, and I will take away my hand and thou shalt
see my back parts. And that just simply means that
I'm going to save you by showing you where I've been. Truth is,
you and I don't have a clue what God's gonna do tomorrow. We don't
have a clue. You don't know what's going on.
You make your plans. God orders your steps. You don't know if
you're going to be here tomorrow. You don't know if the world's
going to be here tomorrow. You don't know if there's going to be...
We have no idea what God's going to do. We know this. Whatever
happens, He's going to be doing it. You can't see my face. But I'm gonna save you by allowing
you to see my back part. I'm gonna allow you to see where
I've been. Where's he been? He's been to
the cross. He's been to Calvary. I'm gonna allow you to look back.
two thousand years and I'm gonna give you the faith to believe
that what I accomplished on Calvary's cross was sufficient for thy
salvation. And then I'm gonna give you the
grace to even look back further than that and you're gonna look
back before time and know that that one who laid his life down
for the sheep 2,000 years ago in fact entered into a covenant
of grace with God before time ever began and he is the lamb
that was slain before the foundation of the world that's my back you
can't go back any further than that you can't go back any further
than that has God shown you where he's been Our Heavenly Father, we ask that
You would be pleased to show us Thy glory. We ask it in Christ's name, Amen.