I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Exodus, chapter
3. Exodus, chapter 3. I'd like to look at the first
six verses of Exodus, chapter 3. I've entitled this message,
Standing on Holy Ground. Standing on Holy Ground. Moses was a man just like any other
man. But Almighty God was mercifully passionately pleased to choose
this man to a particular calling. Moses is a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ and Almighty God chose this man to be the one that would
lead the children of Israel out of the land of bondage, out of
Egypt, a picture of sin. But before this man was sent
of God, Almighty God was going to prepare Moses for the task. And the way that he was going
to prepare Moses for the task is that he was going to teach
him some things that were absolutely vital. vital for every vessel
of God's mercy. Every vessel of God's mercy is
going to be taught these things that Moses was taught. First
of all, Moses was going to be taught something of his own frailty,
his impotence, spiritual impotence and his inability Every child
of God, every sheep of God, every vessel of the Lord's choosing
is going to be taught, you cannot. Secondly, the Lord is going to
teach him of Almighty God's total ability. His omnipotence, His
power, His will, and His purpose to save God's people by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Every child of God's taught that.
We know these two vital things. You cannot and He is. He is. In being taught these truths,
the Lord revealed to Moses Some things that he revealed as, the
Lord revealed as, holy ground. That's what he said in verse
5, Exodus chapter 3 verse 5. He said, draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from all five
feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Now, I want to say something.
All of us are guilty of this one thing right here. We don't
realize what Almighty God has done for us. Now, we'll all admit
that. We're all proud. We're all arrogant. We're all heady, high-minded. We think that we have or we think
that we're able But I'm telling you, the Lord is going to reveal
something, not only in this conversation to Moses, but to us here, and
remind us of something. If we know Him at all, it's by
the grace of God. And the best thing that we can
do is be quiet. That's the best thing. Let all
the earth keep silence. The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence
before him. Draw not nigh hither. It's what
he said. Don't you try to approach me.
You take your shoes off. Because where you're standing
is holy ground. These things are holy ground
to us today. I'm going to tell you, all of
us that know the Lord have been taught these things that we're
about to look at. These things are holy ground.
Verse 1, what's the first thing that Almighty God taught Moses? Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro,
his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock
to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God,
even to Horeb." Now, 40 years before this event, right here,
40 years before, Moses had attempted to deliver his fellow Hebrews
by the arm of the flesh. Just look back at verse Exodus
chapter 2 verses 11 and 12. It came to pass in those days
when Moses was grown that he went out unto his brethren and
looked on their burdens and he spied an Egyptian smiting an
Hebrew, one of his brethren. He looked this way and that way
and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian
and hit him in the sand. But his attempt to deliver his
fellow countrymen, his brethren, for him to be their savior, can
I say it like that, was discovered. And Moses fled into the desert
to escape the wrath of Pharaoh. But even in his fleeing, His
fleeing was according to the will of Almighty God, the will
and purpose of God, and his steps were ordered. You know this.
The steps of a good man are made, ordered, purposed by
the Lord. The will of the Lord stood firm.
God was going to get him to this spot right here where we started
in verse 1. How was he going to do it? He
was going to let Moses do exactly what Moses wanted to do. And
he was going to bring Moses to this exact spot right here. We're
going to teach him something. We know all things work together
for good. to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose. You mean even
that event that took place 40 years before? As I said many
times, if that happens to fall under all things, well then,
yes, even that. God allowed Moses to do exactly
what Moses wanted to do and then stripped him of his glory that
he had for a time in Egypt and directed his steps to be found
according to the scriptures here on the back side of the desert.
I mean on the back part, apart from everything else and caused
his path to cross with a man named Jethro. He made Moses be
shepherd of his flock. And now we find Moses, according
to the determinate counsel and purpose of Almighty God, being
brought right to the very spot where God ordained. I'm going
to meet you at this very spot. Moses was not looking for God.
What was he doing? He was tending a flock. That's what he was doing. He
was doing just exactly what his father-in-law told him to do.
You take care of this flock right here, and Moses is doing that.
And all the while, the Lord's ordering his steps and directing
his steps. And he's come now to that very
spot. Listen, I'm telling you this. We're standing on holy
ground when the Lord is pleased to teach us that eternally he
determines to place us in this world exactly where we are. We're standing on holy ground
when we realize that providentially the Lord ordered us to meet and
cross paths with everybody that we cross paths with. That even
our vocation, what was he doing? He's working a job, that's what
he's doing. You mean to tell me that even my job The people
I meet, people I cross, God calls me to cross paths with everybody
that I cross to teach me something. Yeah, that's exactly what I'm
saying. All of this to teach Moses something
concerning the deliverance of God's people, which is a picture
of the deliverance of the Lord's sheep out of the bondage of sin.
So Moses, like all of God's sheep, It's going to be taught that
only by their total inability and His total ability, Almighty
God who rules in heaven and earth is going to establish and purposefully
save His people from their sins. It is holy ground when we realize
that God orders everything. That's a precious truth to be
taught. It's a precious truth to be taught that God Almighty
rules, and we don't. Secondly, we're standing on holy
ground when God reveals Jesus Christ, God's Messiah, to be
the savior of sinners. Verse 2 said, and the angel of
the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst
of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush
burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Now, I want
you to notice this particular revelation. The angel of the
Lord appeared unto him, the messenger of Jehovah, the angel himself. The angel, the messenger, the
prophet of God appeared unto Moses himself. And how did he
do it? He appeared unto Moses as a humble,
in picture, in type, a humble servant unto Jehovah. He appeared unto him as a flame
out of the midst of a bramble bush, a tumbleweed, something
that should have just been burn up that quickly. And here the
Lord reveals to his vessel of mercy himself to be the glorious
God-man mediator in whom the Shekinah dwells. God in human flesh man that he
might obey God, man that he might die, and God Almighty who alone
can atone. Now how can God, a consuming
fire be found in human flesh, set forth here as that bush,
that bramble bush, and the human flesh sustain the indescribable
wrath and judgment of the holiness of Almighty God and totally suffer
at Calvary his wrath and divine indignation against sin and not
be consumed. He was flesh. How can flesh sustain the justice, the holiness of
God. How can God's judgment that is
going to burn up the heavens in this world, judgment that
is going to burn forever against all that died in unbelief, judgment
that is so consuming that nothing but the holy nature and flesh
of Christ, the man Christ Jesus, Bear up. How? That's holy ground. How? God. Great is the mystery
of godliness. Great is this mystery. God was
manifest in the flesh. This was what the Lord Jesus
Christ... Hold your place right here. Just
turn to John 17. I want to show you something
that we just easily can pass over. John 17,
verse 3. This is life eternal. This is the evidence of life
eternal. This is the evidence of life
eternal. That they might know Thee, the only true God, God
who is holy, God who is just, God who will in no wise clear
the guilt. This is life eternal, that they
may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the Mediator,
the Substitute, the Redeemer, He in whom the mercy of God rests. This is life eternal, how they
can know you who are God Almighty, a consuming fire, and that God
can be just and justify a sinner. That's life eternal. That's the
evidence of life eternal. Here the Lord revealed to Moses
that it is He and He alone who shall grow up before Him, before
Jehovah as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground. He
has no form or comeliness when we see Him. There's no beauty
that we should desire in Him. Though frail man, fails to truly
behold, and I know we don't, the glory of God's Messiah, He
who is set forth as this burning bush, this we know by faith,
because of the glorious union of deity and humanity. Almighty God has set forth that
we have a high priest, a high priest which cannot but be touched
with the feelings of our infirmities. Because He and He alone was in
all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin, to know
that God Almighty, God who rules, God whose purpose, God who's
chosen to show mercy to the vessels of His kindness and compassion,
to know that and to know that He has done so for the sake of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's holy ground. This world
sees themselves as able, and God says, you're not. And God's people say, I'm not.
Almighty God is God. Man by nature says, I have a
free will. For God to reveal himself, To
show us these precious things, we're standing on holy ground.
Thirdly, we're standing on holy ground when the Lord is pleased
to powerfully and providentially rule in our lives of His people. Now listen, causing them to have
an interest at some point in their life, to have an interest
formed that they might I'm talking about what the old timers called
prevenient grace. Grace before grace. We're standing
on holy ground when we realize that God himself before he's
pleased to actually reveal himself to us. This is what I'm saying.
That he will put us or place us in a place and cause us to
be placed there that we might in his timing behold his glory. Now I said that. For this reason,
look at verse 3. And Moses said, I will now turn
aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. Now let me ask you this. Did the scripture say Moses said,
I know that this is God? I know what's happening here.
I know that this is the will of the Lord to cross my path.
I know that God has providentially brought me to this place. Now
all those things are true, but that's not what happened. The
scripture declares that Moses saw as he came to this place,
as the Lord led him to this place, it says, he turned to see... How is this? This is a great
sight. Here's a bush and this bush is
on fire. And it's not being consumed.
This is a great sight. Why? Why is that bush not being
burned? Almighty God brought him to this
place. and arrested his interest, moved
upon this man's interest to just look at such a sight. I want
to see why that's happening. That's a strange thing. There
was a man named Zacchaeus. The scripture said he was a rich
publican. But I'll tell you this, that
man was a vessel of the Lord's mercy. And here's what it says
about Zacchaeus. He sought to see Jesus who he
was and could not for the press because he was little of stature.
That's Luke 19. Now let me ask you something.
Why did Zacchaeus want to see the Lord Jesus Christ? He just wanted to see who he
was. I've heard some rumors. I heard some stuff. The Lord put an interest in that
man's heart. And this man realized something.
I can't see. I can't see all these tall people
standing around here. So years before, Almighty God said to a little seed, I'm putting you right here. And
he planted a tree. And for years, that tree grew
and grew. Just an old sycamore tree. Kind
of a useless tree. I mean, I'm sure there's some
things good. I hadn't found a bunch of them.
Oh, but this was one sycamore tree. And Almighty God moved
on it. And the scripture declares that
there was a time when the time of love for that sinner, for
old Zacchaeus, that tree had grown just exactly the right
amount of time, the right height, branches went just exactly in
the right direction where the Lord said, no, you go this way,
y'all branch off right here, he's gonna have to put his foot
right there. And you grow just exactly the way I say to. And when the Lord Jesus Christ,
came to Jericho. He was walking through and Zacchaeus
thought, well I can't see so I think what I'll do, I think
I'll just climb up in this tree right here. And he got up in
that tree and there he was sitting there because he knew the Lord,
there was a road right there, the Lord was going to pass by
this way. And the Lord Jesus Christ came to the very spot
where Zacchaeus was and he looked up And he said, Zacchaeus, make haste. Come down, for today
I must abide at your house. Larry, before the foundation
of the world, Almighty God had chosen Zacchaeus as a vessel
of mercy. How do you know that he was a
vessel of mercy? The Lord said to him, The Lord
did and said just exactly what He said because He said, this
day is salvation come to this house for as much as he also
is a son of Abraham, spiritual son of Abraham. For the son of
man has come to seek and to save that which was lost, this one
my own. Zacchaeus, you come on down.
I'm going to your house. when the Lord is pleased to reveal
His provenient grace before grace. Grace to place His elect in the
place of His choosing. A place where their sheep, His
sheep, is going to hear the gospel and the Lord is pleased to bless
the hearing of the gospel to their salvation. When we see
the mighty hand of Almighty God ordering and directing even the
conscience of one of his own to put him somewhere. We're standing
on holy ground. God did that. Fourthly, we're
standing on holy ground when the Lord is pleased to cause
one of his own to hear his voice as he reveals his holiness to
a needy sinner. Look at verse four and five.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called
unto Him. You notice who called? I thought
that was just a flame of fire in a bramble bush. No, that's
not just a flame of fire in a bramble bush. That's God. That's God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word
made flesh. God. God called unto Him out
of the midst of the bush, and He said, Moses, Moses, He said,
here am I. He said, draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moses had been providentially
directed to that very spot. Almighty God had caused that
man to have an interest to look and to behold this great sight
But then God spoke to him and revealed himself, who he was. Faith for Moses, faith for any
sinner cometh by hearing. Moses was going to hear the voice
of God. He was going to hear from the
Lord. And the Lord mercifully, now you talk about holy ground,
this is what the Lord said, this is holy ground. When the Lord
mercifully told Moses, don't draw nigh unto me the way you are. The Lord Jesus Christ said in
John 14 6, I am the way. I am the truth, I am the life,
no man cometh unto the Father but by me. I said a while ago,
I said man by nature thinks he can. He thinks he's got the will,
he thinks he's got the work, he thinks he's got the ability
to come unto God and be accepted. He thinks that he's got the power
and the wisdom and the understanding to try to approach God without
an accepted advocate, without a priest, without a mediator. And approaching Almighty God
apart from the way, the truth, the light, is death. He is a consuming fire. Moses Put off thy shoes from
off thy feet. Don't you try to approach me
concerning your way, your walk. God demands holiness. Hold your place there. Turn over
to Exodus 19, 11. Exodus 19, chapter 11, 13, or
10. 1910 to 13. And the Lord said unto Moses,
go unto the people, sanctify them today and tomorrow, and
let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third
day. For the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of
all the people upon Mount Sinai, and thou shalt set bounds upon
the people round about, saying, take heed to yourself. What he's
saying is, you better listen up, that you go not up into the
mountain. nor touch the border of it. Whosoever
touches the mount shall be surely put to death. There shall not
be a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, shot through,
whether it be beast or man. It shall not live. When the trumpet
soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. But don't you
touch it." Moses, don't you try to approach
me without My mediator. Don't you try to come to me.
And you take your shoes off. You're standing on holy ground. The removal of Moses' shoes taught
him and us something of ourselves. What's it teach? Our shame. The
shame before a thrice holy God. Turn to, if you want to, turn
to Isaiah 20. Isaiah chapter 20. Isaiah 20
verse 1 to 6. Isaiah 20 verse 1, In the year
that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria
sent him and fought against Ashdod and took At the same time spake
the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amos saying, go and loose the
sackcloth off thy loins and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And
he did so. And he walked naked and barefoot. He had a loincloth on. I wanted
to see what it meant. Most writers say that. And the
Lord said, like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and
barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder upon Egypt, upon
Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians
prisoners and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked,
barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and
ashamed of Ethiopia, their expectation of Egypt, their glory. And the
inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, behold, such
is our expectation, whether we flee for help to be delivered
from the king of Assyria, how shall we escape? You let a man
or a woman try to approach God in their own ability. The Lord
told him, don't you come up here. You take your shoes off. You
can't approach me like that. What mercy that God Almighty
has taught us something. We don't have the ability. We
don't have a will to approach God. We don't have the right
to approach God. This is God Almighty that we're
talking about. That's why I said when I first
started, best thing we can do is just be quiet. Our mouths
get us in a lot of trouble. A lot of trouble. Trouble that,
you know, reveals what's really inside. Be quiet. Be still. Know that He's God. Don't you approach me. When the
Lord is pleased to teach us of His holiness and unapproachableness,
because of our sin and shame and unbelief, apart from the
mediator himself. When God is pleased to teach
us that, and we let all God's sheep know that, when the Lord
is pleased, we're standing on holy ground. And fifthly, lastly, we're standing
on holy ground when the Lord reveals his absolute sovereignty
and goodwill to show mercy. to His people according to His
eternal covenant of grace. Back in Exodus 3 verse 6, Moreover,
He said, revealing this to Moses, and He reveals this to all of
His people, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham. I'm the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. And Moses did something that
man by nature will not do. And Moses hid his face for he
was afraid to look upon God. Oh, there's so much disrespect
in all of us. The Lord told him, he said, I
am the covenant God. I show mercy and compassion to
whomsoever I will. I have the right to make one
vessel under honor, and the right to make another vessel under
dishonor. And it's not by man's works,
it's not by man's will, it's not by man's purpose. It's God
that showeth mercy. I am the God of Abraham. I save
sinners. was an idolater, lied about his
wife. So did Isaac, same thing. Jacob
deceived his father, took his brother's birthright, but God
was pleased to not impute their iniquity unto them. Why would
he do that? Because he said, I have the right
to do it. I will show mercy. Mercy insinuates
guilt. That's what it does. Compassion,
guilt. This was the only hope that David,
a man after God's own heart, had, although my house be not
so with God. Yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordering all things, and sure, this is all my salvation. This is all my desire, although
he make it not to grow. This is all of my hope. And Moses
hid his face Lord, I am so ashamed of me, I'm so ashamed. He would
not look upon God. That's the true attitude of a
believer. God reveals to them. You're arrogant,
you're proud, you're haughty, you have no right to approach
me. None. Lord, forgive me. The fear, the reverence of the
Lord, that's the beginning. That's the first part of wisdom
and the knowledge of His holiness. Standing on holy ground for the
believer then, the believer now, is to be taught to have a heart
to believe the Lord has ordered our steps, that God Almighty
purposed before the foundation of the world to show mercy and
placed us, predestinated us to the adoption of children. We're
standing on holy ground when the Lord Jesus Christ, God's
Lamb, is set forth, presented to our hearts and understanding
that He's the way, He's the truth, He's the life, that the Lord
is holy, and unapproachable apart from His prophet, priest, and
king, and that we as frail creatures of the dust have been sovereignly
chosen before the foundation of the world to be His own. What difference was any of us
and anybody else? What's the difference? The grace
of God. The mercy of God. We're standing
on holy ground. May the Lord teach us something
of this. And may the Lord Jesus Christ be honored for his sake
and for our eternal good. Amen. All right, let's take a
break.