Last Wednesday night, we sang
a song before the service. And as we sang one of the lines
in that song, while we were singing it, I started thinking about
the story of that line. And here's what we sang. Sweet
hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, may I thy consolation
share. till from Mount Pisgah's lofty
height I view my home and take my flight. This robe of flesh
I'll drop and rise to seize the everlasting prize and shout while
passing through the air. And can you imagine how we will
be? Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer. Mount Pisgah.
We read that and think, what is that? What in the world is
Mount Pisgah? Well, look here at Deuteronomy
chapter 3 with me. Verse 21 says, And I commanded Joshua. Now Joshua is the same name in
the Hebrew that Jesus is in the Greek. And this is talking about
Jesus Christ. We're going to go through the
scriptures. We're going to go through Exodus just a little bit. We're
going to see a bunch of stories we've heard of since we were
kids. And these stories are not just
stories. Every story in this book, every
word in this book is about Jesus Christ. That ark that Noah built,
that ark was Jesus Christ. What saves a soul, you've got
to be in Him. Everything we look at is going to be about Jesus
Christ. Well, this says Joshua, and his
name means Jesus. I commanded Joshua at that time,
saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath
done unto these two kings. So shall the Lord do unto all
the kingdoms whither thou passest. You shall not fear them, for
the Lord your God, he shall fight for you. Now what he's saying
is, this promised land, you don't possess it yet. Somebody else
is there. And you're going to go fight
for it. And Joshua is the one who's going to lead the battle.
And the Lord your God is going to fight for you. You won't actually
have to do any fighting at all. The Lord your God shall fight
for you. Verse 25, now this is Moses talking. He said, I pray thee, let me
go over and see the good land. That is beyond Jordan. That goodly
mountain in Lebanon. Verse 27, the Lord said, Get
thee up into the top of Pisgah, Moses, and lift up thine eyes
westward, northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with
thine eyes, for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. Moses, you
can't go into the promised land. Moses didn't go in. You know
why? We're going to find out in just a minute. Verse 28, he
said, But you charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen
him, for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause
them to inherit the land which thou shalt see. Now why couldn't
Moses go in? Let's go through a few of these
stories and we're going to see why. We're going to go back and
build up to this point, okay? Go with me to Exodus chapter
3. Exodus 3 verse 1 says, 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. And the angel
of the Lord, now who is the angel of the Lord? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was all the way
back in Exodus? Yes he was. The angel of the
Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a
bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and
the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn
aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And
when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he
said, Here am I. Verse 7. And the Lord said, I
have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry by reason of the taskmasters, for I know
their sorrows. And I've come down to deliver
them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that
land unto a good land." And that's the one he told Moses to get
up there and take a good look at. A good land. I hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man." I know for a fact
that we all have imagined what glory is going to be like. Neither has entered into the
heart of man. Whatever this heart and this
mind is capable of, it's dust and ashes compared
to what God has prepared. This is a good land for them
that love Him. He said, Out of a good land,
and a large unto a land flowing with milk and honey. Now look
at verse 10. He said, Come now therefore,
and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth
my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Now Moses represents
the law. Okay? The law that we all want
to obey. The law we all try to obey. Those
ten commandments that we try to do right by. And God said,
in order for my people to be delivered, they're going to have
to follow the law. They're going to have to. They're
going to have to obey the law. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, or sworn
deceitfully." You have to follow the law. All right, now turn
with me to Exodus 12. Exodus 12 verse 29 says, And
it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat
on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the
dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up
in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians,
And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house
where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron
by night and said, Rise up and get you forth from among my people,
both ye and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as you
have said." After all that time, you remember when we were going
through Exodus, all that time he thought, Come on now, let
the people go. And he wouldn't. Never would,
stayed in bondage, stayed in bondage. He finally said, okay,
get out. Verse 37 says, And the children
of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth about 600,000 on foot
that were men besides children. And a mixed multitude went up
also with them, and flocks and herds, even very much cattle.
And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough, which they brought
forth out of Egypt. For it was not leavened, because
they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither
had they prepared for themselves any victual. Now the sojourning
of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred
and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end
of the 430 years, even the selfsame day, it came to pass that all
the host of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is
a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out
from the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord
to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
So the law led them in the right way. Okay? The law is good. They followed the law. The law
is good, but God's people are not. They're not. Look with me at chapter 14. Chapter
14. Verse 5 says, It was told the
king of Egypt that the people fled. And the heart of Pharaoh
and of his servants was turned against the people, and they
said, Why have we done this that we've let Israel go from serving
us? Now go to verse 8. And the Lord hardened the heart
of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he pursued after the children
of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with a high hand.
But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots
of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them,
encamping by the sea beside Piahireth and before Bealzaphon. And when
Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes,
and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were sore
afraid. And the children of Israel cried
out unto the Lord, and they said unto Moses, Because there were
no graves in Egypt, thou hast taken us away to die in the wilderness. Why did you do this? Wherefore
hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Why did you do this? Verse 12,
Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying,
Let us alone? Now is that not you and me by
nature? We have a deliverer. And what does this flesh say?
Leave me alone. Leave me to my sin. I'm happy
where I am, thank you. let us alone, that we may serve
the Egyptians. For it had been better for us
to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.
And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today.
For the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them
again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you,
and you shall hold your peace." You just stand still. What he's
saying is, salvation is coming to you, but salvation is of the
Lord. And you don't need to lift a finger. Just watch it. Stand still and watch it. Verse
26 says, And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand
over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots, upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched
forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength
when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against
it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the
sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and
the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the
sea after them. There remained not so much as
one of them, but the children of Israel walked upon dry land
in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them
on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel
that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead upon the seashore." As soon as God delivered them,
they were in bondage 430 years. And as soon as God delivered
them out, the first sign of adversity that came, and we experience
this every day, every single day. And the first sign of adversity
that came, they were murmuring, and they were complaining, and
they were angry with their God. Oh, the sin of his wicked people. But God was merciful, wasn't
he? We just read it. God delivered him. He was merciful.
All right, now look at chapter 15, verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from
the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur,
and they went three days in the wilderness, and they found no
water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of
the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name
of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against
Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the
Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. Now what is that tree? That tree is Jesus Christ, the one that was cast into the
bitterness of death and sin. That tree is Jesus Christ. This
is the only reason this story is written. Alright, now look at verse 25.
He cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which
when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. As
I was reading this, I thought about fearing death. I thought
about our sister Mary Bell. She's having terrible news right
now. And it's got to be on her mind
all day long. Accept the Lord, be merciful,
and take it from her. But I know that the Lord gives
grace. And I know that in His mercy,
He has put eyes of faith locked on Christ inside of her. And
somehow, something that is so bitter can be made sweet. Made
sweet. My sin is gone. My sin is gone. I'm about to cross over, but
you know what? My sin is gone. It says this tree, which when
he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There
he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved
them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice
of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his
sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his
statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which
I have brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that healeth
thee. And they came to Elam, where were twelve wells of water,
and threescore and ten palm trees, and they encamped there by the
waters." That sounds like paradise, doesn't it? They got a taste of this bitterness.
And they murmured, and they complained, and they were angry with their
God. Oh, the sin of His wicked people.
But God was merciful, wasn't He? He was merciful. All right, look at chapter 16. And they took their journey from
Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came
unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elam and Sinai, on
the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out
of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of
the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the
wilderness again. And the children of Israel said
unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord
in the land of Egypt. when we sat by the flesh pots
and when we did eat bread to the full, for you have brought
us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with
hunger. Then said the Lord unto Moses,
behold, I will reign bread from heaven for you. And the people
shall go out and gather a certain rate every day that I may prove
them whether they will walk in my law or not. Who is that bread?
That bread is Jesus Christ. Oh, the sin of His wicked people! But God was merciful, wasn't
He? Merciful. Look at chapter 17. Verse 1 says, And all the congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness... I'm sorry,
look at Yeah, 17. All the congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after
their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched
in Rephidim and there was no water for the people to drink.
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, Give us
water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why
chide ye with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
And the people thirsted there for water. And the people murmured
against Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought
us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle
with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord,
saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready
to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders
of Israel, and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river, take
in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee
there upon the rock in Horeb." And that rock is Jesus Christ. This is that stone. I will stand
before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite
the rock. And there shall come water out
of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight
of the elders of Israel. Oh, the sin of his wicked people. Moses cried unto the Lord, saying,
What shall I do unto this people? They've sinned against God's
law. And that's us. He said there's only one thing
that can save these people from sin and death. God's holy law. God's strict justice is going
to have to strike that rock. That's the only thing. And that
rock is Jesus Christ. Once, just once, He was stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. Now turn with me to Romans chapter
6. Romans 6 verse 10 says, For in
that he died, he died unto sin once. But in that he liveth,
he liveth unto God one time. Once. This is so important. Once. Go with me to Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7 verse 27 says, Who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifice for his own sins and then for
the people's. For this he did once when he
offered up himself. Once. You know what we're reading
right here is the difference between the truth and a lie. It's the difference between religion
and the gospel. Look at Hebrews 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. Verse 24 says, for Christ is
not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the
figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear
in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place
every year with blood of others, for then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world, but now once. in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself, and as it is appointed unto men once to die. But after this the judgment,
so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto
them that look for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation. Now that the rock has been smitten
once. I'm trying to make a point here.
And it's once. Once. Once. For the sin of his
people. The many, many sins of his people. Many. Because our rock was smitten. The law has no more ground to
punish us for our sins. And the reason is because all
of our sin was smitten in that rock. But I'm still living out my sin
right now. Second, every second, every second. I'm still living out my sin right
now. I am, not I was a sinner. Y'all, I used to be a sinner.
I still am a sinner. And I'm always going to be a
sinner until the day I die. I'm still living out my sin. And if the law could, it would
strike me down every day, every hour, every minute, every second. If the law could. If the law
could. And the reason is because it's
holy, it's just, and it's right. We have no idea how holy God's
law is. We think we're living up to it,
and we think God's gonna be pleased with us, and I have really been
a good person all my life, and I can't wait to get there and
meet Him so He can pat me on the back. We are in for a rude
awakening. A very rude awakening. No matter how badly that law
wants to though, my rock has set me free from the law. I am free from the law. Free from the good law. The law is good. Free from the
good law that I cannot live up to. free from the good law that
exposes my sin. You know why the law was given?
To expose my sin. I drove over here this morning
and I went past the speed limit. How did I know I was guilty?
There was a sign posted. That's why the law was given. But I'm free from this good law. Aren't you glad people don't
do 150 miles an hour down Center Street? It's a good law. But I'm free from this good law
that stands between me and the promised land. Because I can't
fulfill what's required to get into the promised land. I want
to go to heaven. Have you obeyed the law? Nope.
Sorry. You can't come in. It's the law. Now turn with me to Numbers chapter
20. Numbers 20 verse 1. Then came the children of Israel,
even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the
first month. And the people abode in Kadesh.
And Miriam died there and was buried there. And there was no
water for the congregation. And they gathered themselves
together against Moses and against Aaron. Oh, what a sinful people
we are. You know, this is God's people.
He said, these are my people that I'm going to deliver out
of Egypt. These are not the ones in the
gutter that he said, well, these are just rebels and they're going
to come to. These are God's people. And here they are against Moses
and against Aaron again, verse three. And the people chode with
Moses and spake, saying, Would to God that we had died when
our brethren died before the Lord! And why have you brought
up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we
and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have you made us
to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of
figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, neither is there any water to
drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they
fell upon their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared unto
them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod,
and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy
brother, and speak ye, Unto the rock. Here's what you
do, Moses. Go talk to the rock. And it shall give forth his water.
And thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, so
thou shalt give the congregation and their beast drink. Here's
what you do, Moses. Take your burden to the rock. Take it to the rock. The rock
was smitten, Moses, and living water came out. It's never going
to run dry. Go speak to the rock. Verse 9. And Moses took the rod from before
the Lord as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered
the congregation together before the rock. And he said unto them,
Hear now, you rebels. Must we fetch you water out of
this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand,
and with his rod he smote the rock twice. And the water came
out abundantly, and the congregation drank in their beast also. This is an allegory. This is
an illustration. May we understand what it means
today. Religion, pastors, preachers, they are telling men and women,
if you want this living water, you've got to obey the law. Your sin has got to be taken
care of. We need to strike that rock again. Okay? Now in Rocky Mount, when
I lived in Rocky Mount, there was a woman pastor who came on
the radio before Brother Paul. And I tried as hard as I could
not to listen to her. But we couldn't help it. Sometimes
it ran out. I turned the radio on too soon
and this is what she said all the time. Every time. All the
time. And you better quit your drinking. And you better quit
your smoking. That's what she sounded like.
And you better quit your cussing. Why? Why? What she's saying is, if you
want to go to heaven, Now here I am, we better strike
this rock again. Because clearly your sins weren't
paid for when Christ was stricken. And now you've got sin on you
again. And if you want to go to heaven,
we're going to have to strike that rock again. Is that the
truth? No way. No way. Here's our last one. Go with
me to Deuteronomy 34. Deuteronomy 34 verse 1 says,
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of
Nebo to the top of Pisgah, that high and lofty mountain. that
is over against Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land
of Gilead. Christ is called the balm of
Gilead, unto Dan. And all Naphtali, and the land
of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the
utmost sea, and the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho,
the city of palm trees unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, this
is the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto
Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed." Are you not so
grateful for that covenant? Are you not so grateful that
God made a promise and he cannot break it? He cannot break it. I swear to give it to him. He
said, I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou
shalt not go over, Moses. So Moses, the servant of the
Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the word
of the Lord. The law will carry no one into
glory. That's why Moses couldn't go
in. The law will carry no one into
glory. Most people believe I'm going
to get to go to heaven because I've obeyed the law. Don't turn. Galatians 4 says, Tell me, ye
that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? You
really think you're able to keep the law? Galatians 3 says, For
as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. What's this boiling down to?
Did Christ pay for those sins or not? And you know what the
answer is? Glory to Christ. Yes, He did. He most certainly did. They're
all taken away. They're all taken away. Verse
5 says, So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the
land of Moab according to the word of the Lord. And he buried
him in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth Peor,
but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day." Cannot be found.
Can't be found. Nobody knows where he's buried.
The law will never rise up in judgment against any of the Lord's
people ever again. That woman who was caught in
the act of adultery, How horrible is adultery? Caught in the act of adultery.
And all those lawyers and all those Pharisees, they grabbed
her and they thrust her before the Lord in judgment. And one
by one, the Lord put every one of those Pharisees out. And then
He looked her right in the eyes and He said, Where are those
dine accusers? He said, Hath no man condemned
thee? She said, no man, Lord. He said,
neither do I. Is that not amazing? You think
he knew she was caught in adultery? Why'd he let her go? That rock. Christ. Verse 6 says, And he buried him
in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor, but no
man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses was
a hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye was not
dim, nor his natural force abated. He was not bent, he was not broken. He died at full strength. In that rock, we sinners have
not broken that law. Clean hands and a pure heart. Verse 8 says, And the children
of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning
for Moses were ended. We love God's law. God's law is not my enemy. It's good and it's right and
we love God's law. We just can't keep it in the
flesh. That's the truth of the matter. We just cannot keep it
in this flesh. So Christ stepped in. Joshua stepped in. And he delivered
us from that law. So we wouldn't have to be delivered
to that law. Verse 9 says, And Joshua the
son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid
his hands upon him. Well pleased with this one. Well
pleased. And the children of Israel hearkened
unto him and did as the Lord commanded Moses. Now look at
Joshua chapter 1 verse 1. Now after the death of Moses,
the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto
Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant,
is dead. Now therefore arise, go over
this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I
do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Joshua, Everything
you see from the top of Mount Pisgah, I'm giving it to them. Go take it. The Lord shall fight
for you. Go take it. It all belongs to
them. And I love this. Our headings,
we have headings in our Bibles that are different. At the top
of chapter 12, this is what mine says. Mine says, All the country taken
by Joshua. The whole thing. He took it all.
All for God's people. You know what this whole thing
means. This whole big thing that we've looked at. All glory be
unto Jesus Christ. We were unworthy. We have nothing
to glory in. We're nothing but sinners, murmurers,
complainers, angry against God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
had great mercy on us. And He sent us Joshua. And Joshua
was broken for us. And Joshua rose for us. And Joshua
took the city for us. And now He's going to carry us
all with Him. Alright, may the Lord bless His Word. Let's stand
together.