Would it bring you good comfort? You who are a child of God, would
it bring you great comfort to know that the Lord goes before
you? Everywhere you go, that he goes
before you. Would that comfort your soul?
Comfort's mine. to know that the steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord. Well, that good man is Christ,
of course, but he ordains the steps of his people, doesn't
he? Because all things happen in
this world according to his will and purpose, even the things
we don't understand, even the things we scratch our head at.
Say, I don't understand that, Lord, but I submit it myself
to your will. And we only do that because we've
been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Now God had appointed
that Moses would not cross over the Jordan. And we will see that even though
he can't go over the Jordan, that he encourages those who
will go over the Jordan into the promised land. And just as
the Lord led the people of Israel, went before them through the wilderness. He's
ever with his people, ever going before us. And the inability of Moses to
go over to the Jordan and the ability of Joshua should be something
that we notice when we're looking at the passage that we're going
to look at. Turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 31. Moses' natural strength had not
diminished, and the Lord had said unto him, thou shall not
go over this Jordan. Neither was it by the power of
Joshua that Joshua was able to go over the Jordan. It was because
the Lord was with him. The only reason we keep going
through this wilderness is because God keeps us. And God goes before
us. And you know, do you know a shepherd
protects the sheep? I mean, he protects the sheep
from all kinds of things, doesn't he? He protects the sheep from
themselves, because the old sheep, they get themselves in a heap
of trouble, all by themselves. They protect the sheep from wolves, from false shepherds, here protect his people. You know, I'll tell you a story.
I was talking to Donnie Bell a long time ago. We were in Oregon,
and he said, Wayne, you're right now in Oregon here, you're in
the desert. And out there, I preached anywhere from seven people to
14 people to two people at once. And Donnie said to me, he said,
you won't be here all the time. And I said, what do you mean?
I said, I feel like I'm going to die here. He says, no. He said, the Lord won't let anyone
just lead his sheep. He's going to put him through
some things first. And he did that. I believe Oregon,
for me, was just a preparation for being here with you all. And he said he won't let anyone
just care for his sheep. And I know now, after being here
seven years, coming up seven years in December, I know what
he meant. You guys are so dear to me. But
in all that we've went through, even since I've been here, the
Lord's went with us, hasn't he? Not just with us, He went before
us. He's protected us. He's kept
us. He's guided us. He's directed
us. And look what we have. We can
come here. I said to Vicki this morning,
we get to go and be with the Lord's people. Isn't it wonderful? It's wonderful, isn't it? Absolutely
wonderful. And it's not by might nor power
of anything in me that I come before you guys and preach the
gospel. It's all the Lord. It's all him. And Joshua, it
wasn't by his might or power that he go over the Jordan. It
was because God led him over the Jordan. And God went before
him. And we need to remember that
Moses is typical of the law and Joshua is typical of Christ.
and his gospel. And then we see how it's impossible
for the law to bring souls to God. See, all the law does is condemn
us, right? It can't bring us to God. But Joshua, being a picture of
Christ, he leads He leads the people of Israel over the Jordan
into the land of Canaan. Who leads us into the land of
Canaan, beloved, the heavenly land? It's Jesus Christ, our
Lord, isn't it? He leads us. The scripture declares,
for the law made nothing perfect, but a better hope did, by which
we draw nigh unto God. And that better hope is Christ.
And he's the one, he's the one who we draw nigh to God with.
Outside of him, we can't draw nigh to God, can we? And it's
him who draws us nigh to God. We're in his grip, beloved. It's
wonderful. Look at this in Deuteronomy 31,
verses 1 to 8. And Moses went and spake these
words unto all Israel. And he said, I am 120 years old
this day. I can no more go out and come
in. Also, the Lord, that's Jehovah there, hath said unto me, thou
shalt not go over this Jordan. Remember he struck that rock
twice? Yeah, he smote the rock twice.
And that rock was a picture of Christ. And Christ can only be
smitten once for our sins. And the Lord said, you're not
going to go over. You're not going to pass the Jordan. And
the Lord thy God, he will go over, now he's telling them,
he's telling them here, look what he says. The Lord thy God,
he will go over what? Before thee. You know he goes
over before us? He's ever before us? Always. Look at this though. And this
is true for every one of God's people. And he will destroy those
nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them. And
Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord saith. And
what happened? It happened, didn't it? And the Lord shall do unto them
as he did unto Shion and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto
the land of them whom he destroyed. And the Lord shall give them
up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto
all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong. There's
an exhortation for us, right? Be strong and of good courage. Fear not. Oh, two beautiful words. Remember Mephibosheth comes to
the throne, and King David says, fear not. David's a picture of
the father there. Fear not. Those are two sweet
words, beloved. Fear not. No, be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is
that doeth go with thee. He will not fail thee. Oh, Lord, burn that into my mind. Burn that into my mind, Lord,
please, into my heart. He shall not fail thee, nor forsake
thee. My, why do I get worked up? I don't know, because I'm a dumb
sheep. My, oh, my. And Moses called
unto Joshua and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, be
strong and of a good courage, for thou must go with this people
unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers
to give them. Oh my. And shall cause them to
inherit it. Look at that. You know there's an inheritance
already waiting for us in heaven? Undefiled. Where moss cannot
get to it, rust can't do anything to it. It's in Christ, beloved. It's in Christ. Our inheritance
is set, reserved for us in heaven. You ever go out for a meal and
reserve a table? I've only done it a few times
in my life, not a whole lot. But you reserve a table, and
you go in and say, I made reservations. And they take you right to a
table that they got for you. A little sign on there that says
reserved, and you sit right there. Nobody else can sit there as
long as you've made a reservation. Do you know that our inheritance
is reserved for us in heaven? Nothing can touch it, beloved.
Nothing can touch it. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, that
makes your heart fill with joy, doesn't it? Oh, and the Lord,
He, look at, who does all this? Who does all these wondrous things?
Right? Salvations of the Lord, isn't
it? Look at this. Who does it all? Is it man? Is
it Moses? Is it, is it Joshua? No. Scripture says here, and the
Lord, he it is that doth go before thee, and he will be with thee,
and he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee, fear not, neither
be dismayed. My, that's a wonderful verse,
isn't it? That's an absolutely wonderful
verse. So when we get down, which we will, when we're Kind of feeling off one day?
Deuteronomy 31, it's a good verse to go to, isn't it? That'll give
us strength, won't it? And the Lord, he it is that doth
go before thee. How many times a week? Seven
days a week, 365 days a year. Except in a leap year, what,
364 then? But he's ever with us, isn't
he? That's what that means. He's always with us. And in these
words here, neither forsake thee. Those are precious words, aren't
they? Those are precious words. And because of that, he says,
fear not. Don't worry. We live in a turbulent time,
don't we, in this world? We've got to admit it. It's turbulent. Fear not. The Lord will never forsake us.
The Lord ever goes before us. Fear not. Look to Christ. Look
to Christ. Neither be dismayed. Don't be
discouraged, beloved. Don't be discouraged. You know,
David wrote about a rich man, right? He says, I see him prospering
in his wicked ways, but then I went to the temple. And I knew
his end. We know the end of all those
outside of Christ, don't we? It's damnation and hell. But oh, for God's people, for
people who don't even deserve it, for people who get what they
don't deserve, mercy, grace, I have not seen nor ear heard
the things that God hath prepared for those that love him." Think of the most beautiful thing
you've ever seen. It doesn't even compare. It doesn't even
compare to glory. It doesn't even come close. Now
each day we rise, we don't know what the day has in store for
us, do we? We have no idea. Brian, you said it this morning,
it's a wonderful day. It's a wonderful day. Well, and
how do we know it's a wonderful day? Because the Lord goes before
me. The Lord's ever with me. The Lord will never leave me
nor forsake me. Even if I'm down, my oh my, he'll never leave us,
he'll never forsake us. We don't know what today has
in store for us. We don't even know if we have
tomorrow. We don't know. But we do know who holds our
life, don't we? The sovereign almighty God of
the universe. The one here who says, I'll go
before you. I'll go before you. I'll not
forsake you. Don't be discouraged, beloved. And we, as the child of God,
the children of God, we can rest in these words, can't we? It's
God's words. Now, I could say to you, well,
I'm going to be right there with you. But what if I get sick? Right? Or a dear friend or family member
will say, I'm always going to be with you no matter what. What
if they die? This is the one true living God
who says these words to his people. I'll go before you. I'm going
to go before you, and I'm going to be with you, and I'm never
going to leave you, and I'm never going to forsake you. Do not
be discouraged. Fear not, my little loved ones." And that's a shepherd saying
that, isn't it? That's the great shepherd. That's the one who
David says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He make it
me to lie down in green pastures, don't he? Where's the green pastures? Right here, beloved. Green pastures of the word of
God. Oh, wonderful. Do you hunger and thirst for
righteousness? This book is all about he who is righteous, the
Lord Jesus Christ, he who is the righteousness of his people. What words of comfort are even
found in verse 3? The Lord thy God, he will go
over before thee. So he says, I'm going to go over
before you. I'm going to prepare the way
before you. Before you even walk a step,
I'm going to go before you. My. And bring that home to us. He does that for us, beloved.
All the time. When we go through those dark
waters, those deep waters where the water gets up to our chin
and we're just starting to get up, He's with us. When we're in a storm of life
and it just seems like everything around us is darkness and thunder
rattling and lightning flashing, He's ever with us. When there comes a time when
our heart is broken, And we've experienced sorrow,
deep, deep sorrow he's ever with us. When someone else leaves us or
forsakes us, he says, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. I'm always going to be with you.
And my love will always be set upon you. Because it's an eternal love,
isn't it? It's an unchanging love. It's the same yesterday,
today, and what? Forever? That's what drove Christ to come
to redeem our souls is that everlasting love that Christ has for the
people that God gave Him. We don't know who they are, so
we preach the gospel to everyone, don't we? And God does the saving. But I'll tell you this, He saves
sinners, because that's what I am, and that's what you, who
are the redeemed of the Lord, are. We're just saved sinners.
And now we praise God. And He said, we didn't even know
that He went before us. Do you know, even when we were
dead in sins, He was watching over us? There's never been a time when
his eyes not been upon we who are his people. My, you know he's ever went before
us, even when I was dead in trespasses and sins, and in my mind was
an enemy with God, he was right there. Oh, it breaks my heart. But yet it fills my heart with
love and joy to know that. What love? You can't even measure
that. So the child of God, we can rest
in the uncertainty of life. We can rest in the fact of these
verses here. When the Lord says this, the
Lord thy God, Jehovah Elohim, he will go over before thee.
The self-existent one, the strong and mighty one, will go before
you. Oh my. The lost person is concerned
with what lies before them, but the believer in Christ Jesus
our Lord, we have the blessed privilege of the believer to
be occupied with who goes before us. Death's sting is gone now, isn't
it? It's but a doorway into glory,
beloved. It's lost its sting. In Deuteronomy
31.8, look at it, who's our guide? The Lord he it is that doth go
before thee. Who's the guide of our life?
Jehovah. Jehovah's our guide, beloved.
He lights the path, doesn't He? And He is the light. He is the
light. And what a difference this can
make in a believer's life to know that the Lord goes before
us. He's gone before His people in the great decree of predestination,
hasn't He? Think upon it and marvel at how
the Lord goes before you. Your future's already been marked
out for you. Already been marked out. You
shall not tread a step which is not mapped on the grand chart
of God's fordation, and the circumstances of your life has been divinely
ordered. You ever think of that? The circumstances
of our lives are divinely ordered for our good and for his glory. Now, there's a lot of times we
can't see that, but that's what the scripture says, so we believe
it. We believe what the word of God says, don't we? We believe
it. The world speaks of fate and
chance and luck. We have nothing to do with that.
Nothing at all. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. The believer's lot, as one commentator
brings forth, is not decided by the women of fickle fortune. The Romans used to have a god
named Fortuna. Fortuna. And it was the god of
luck and chance. There is no luck and chance.
That's a figment of human imagination. The god, our god, is the god
of infinite wisdom and infinite love and he's arranged everything.
Turn if you would to Acts chapter 17. He's arranged everything. Do you know he's appointed to
the bounds of our habitation? Listen to what Paul writes here,
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. I love this portion of
scripture. I always say that about every
scripture, but this is, this is, this Mars Hill speech here
is absolutely incredible. And again, remember, it's all
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. Acts 17, starting in
verse 22 and going to verse 32. Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in
all things ye are too superstitious. A lot of superstitious people
in this world. I was superstitious before the
Lord saved me. Says, for I passed by and beheld
your devotions. I found an altar with this inscription
to the unknown God, whom therefore you ignorantly worship. Him declare
I unto you. God that made the world. Look
at that. That's a declaration, isn't it?
That's not up for debate, is it? Do you know? I mentioned this on Wednesday
night. I had listened to a message by
Tim James. See me picking this paper up? It took more effort for me to
pick this piece of paper up than it did for God to speak the universe
and the worlds into existence. There's nothing for him. Absolutely
nothing. He just spoke it. I have to lift
this paper. He just spoke it. That's how
powerful our God is. He says, God that made the world.
It's not up for debate. In all things therein, seeing
that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, twelfth not in temples
made with hands, neither is worship with man's hands, as though he
needed anything, seeing he giveth life, or giveth to all life. That's saved and unsaved, that's
animal life, that's plant life, that's everything. Microscopic
life, and breath and all things. He that hath made of one blood
all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.
You see, we have differences in the pigmentation of our skin,
right? But we're all one blood, aren't
we? You know, people talk about all these different races. Do
you know there's only the human race? In God's eyes, there's
the human race. That's what there is. We got
the same blood, we just have different pigmentations of skin,
but we're all the same. We're all the same. And as made
of one blood, all nations amend for to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and as determined the times before appointed, look
at that, the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. Oh my goodness. that they should
seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him and find
him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we
live and move and have our being, not saved and unsaved. As certain also of your own poets
have said, for we are his offspring. For as much then as we are his
offspring of God, we ought not to think that God is like unto
silver, gold, or stone, graven by art and man's devices." So
now he's hitting their idols. See, man back then made idols
of gold, and silver, and stone, and wood. They go down and cut
a tree, right? They go out there. They go out
there and they start chopping a tree down. Right? And they look at
this one piece and they say, oh, this piece would be good
for an idol. I'll make my god out of this
piece. And I'm just going to burn the rest of this. And then they're going to take
that piece of wood to an idol maker. And he's going to carve
whatever he wants or whatever they desire. And then they're going to bow
down to it. And they're going to worship it. And I can't say nothing because
I came out of Catholicism, which is basically Mary worship. Sister,
you were saying they were putting flowers on the altar for Mary. It just shows
you. It just shows you it's idolatry,
beloved. It's idolatry. It's so sad. And
I was there. But there's hope. There's hope
in Christ, isn't there? In Christ alone. But see, we're
natural, it's natural for us. We would rather worship an idol
in our natural state and have nothing to do with God. It's wonderful. For in him we live, and move,
and have our beings. A certain also of your own poets
have said, for we are his offspring. For as much then as we are the
offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is
like unto gold, silver, or stone, graven by art and man's devices.
So the Godhead is nowhere near man's idols, because they're
just dead idols. They're still a piece of stone.
They're still a piece of wood. They maybe have gold overlay
in them, or they may be made of pure gold. But they can't
do anything. They can do absolutely nothing.
Even sometimes you go into certain restaurants and they got these
little guys here, and little Buddha guy, and they have to
hit them to make them move. And then when they stop, they
tap them again to make them move. It's just an idol. It can't do
anything. And the God of the universe gives
them breath to breathe. They don't even know it. We didn't
even know it in our natural state. Look at this, though. In the
times of ignorance, God winked at, but now commandeth all men
everywhere to repent. Out goes the call. Repent. Look
to Christ. He's the only Savior of sinners.
There's only salvation under one name, right? One name under
heaven, whereby men shall be saved. And that's Christ Jesus,
our Lord. Because he hath appointed a day
in which he will judge the world in righteousness. There is going
to be a great day of judgment, whether people believe it or
not. And it says here, he will judge the world in righteousness.
Who's the one who's going to judge the world? He who is righteousness. the Lord Jesus Christ. By that
man whom he hath ordained, wherever he hath given assurance unto
all men, in that he raised him from the dead. He raised Christ from the dead
to show that he's pleased with the sacrifice of Christ. And when they had heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked and others said, will
we hear again of this matter? Now some of them mocked and some
of them went, I want to hear more about this. Who made them to differ? Look at the divide right there.
Some are mocking. Now we don't know. We don't know
if some of those who mocked later on the Lord saved them. We don't
know. But we see a division right there, don't we? See, God's distinguishing
grace. We are proof of God's distinguishing
grace. Everyone who's born again of
the Holy Spirit of God. We're proof of God's distinguishing
grace. So think upon this, beloved of
God. You may be thrust in the furnace. And oftentimes, we are
the furnace of affliction or the furnace of health. A health
crisis, and it's a furnace. It's an affliction. But the Lord says, I'll never
leave you. I'm always going to be with you.
And think of this, the Lord has already gone before us and prepared
the way for us. Because we don't know what's
going to happen, do we? We have no idea. You know the scripture
says this, Paul penned this, and this is not no name it and
claim it thing. Paul penned this, my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. What
do we need? We need to be saved from our
sins. We need to be justified so we can stand before God. We
need to be redeemed. We need faith and repentance
before God. He gives us that. We need to be sanctified. Well,
that comes in Christ and Him alone, doesn't it? He's our wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. In other words,
He's our all in all, isn't He? He's everything to us. And He
shed His precious blood. He has not supplied all of our
spiritual needs. In ourselves? No, in Christ,
in him alone. We have redemption in and through
the shed blood of Christ. When he shed his blood, he redeemed
us from under the law, Paul wrote in Galatians. And then he wrote in Ephesians
that now we're accepted in the beloved. Not being Christ, we're
accepted in Christ. You know, we're chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Before, you think of this too,
before there was ever any angels. Before there was ever anything.
Do you know God was perfectly content, A.W. Pink says, God
was perfectly content being God. He didn't have to create nothing.
He didn't even have to choose us. But he did, didn't he? He
chose us in Christ, Ephesians 1.4 says, before the foundation
of the world. before this world was even created. What love, what mercy. And so when Christ died in our
room and place on Calvary's cross before the law of God, now the
law has no claim on us because it's been satisfied in
Christ. When he died for the sins of his people, what did
he do? He came to save what? His people from their sins. And
that's what he did at Calvary's Cross. Now he's a lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, isn't he? God planned and purposed
the whole thing. He's loved us with an everlasting
love, an unchanging love. But that which was planned and
purposed in eternity comes to pass in time. And then at the
time of love, we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God, aren't
we? Granted faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
repentance before God. You know, faith and repentance
is like this piece of paper. It's one side's faith, one side's
repentance. And God gives it to us. Isn't
that amazing? We can't muster it up. So every
born-again, blood-washed believer, we can praise God because we
have a full provision in Christ, don't we? Not in a name-it-and-claim-it
way, but all our spiritual needs. That's what we most desperately
need. All our spiritual needs are fulfilled
in Christ. And look what it says, never
forget this. The Lord, he it is that goeth before thee. Forever. He will not change. Nothing in
our lives catch him by surprise. Now there are a lot of things
that catch us by surprise, isn't there? But he's already prepared
the way for us. And absolutely nothing in our
lives catches him by surprise. When I was a dispensational Armenian,
I used to say, well God, Adam fell and then the Jews rejected
Christ and now God had to go to plan B and bring it to the
Gentiles. That's not true. There's never been a plan B. God to glorify His majesty and
his power had chosen to save a people in Christ before the
foundation of the world. When Adam fell, God didn't go
to plan B. No, that all happened according to
God's will. And think of this, now the Redeemer
comes into this world. Now God, manifest in the flesh,
comes into this world to save his people from their sins. And
so we even see that in our salvation. The Lord goeth before us, doesn't
he? He goes before us. So take comfort, beloved of God. Scripture declares, and it shall
come to pass that before they call, I will answer. And while they are yet speaking,
I will hear Isaiah 65, 24. Before we even call out to God
in prayer, He already knows what we're going to call out about. See, He knows the end from the
beginning. He already knows everything that's
going to happen. So if he already knows everything
that's gonna happen, he's already made provision for you and I,
hasn't he? As God's people. Oh, that's comforting, isn't
it? So no matter what comes our way, he's already made provision
for it. Wow. Oh, our great God, and he's
so wonderful. Turn if you want to Deuteronomy
chapter one. Have you ever considered before we reach a place God's
provided for us? Where the road leads, all has
already been made ready. Deuteronomy chapter one, starting
in verse 21 and going to verse 33. Before we reach a place God's
already provided for us, and wherever the road leads, the
way's already been made. Behold, the Lord thy God, verse
21, has set the land before thee. Go up and possess it. He said
it right before him. Deuteronomy 1, 21. As the Lord
God of thy fathers has said unto thee, fear not, neither be discouraged. So this is an ongoing. Why does
the Lord keep telling us to fear not? Because we fear. Because we fear. We're fearful
folks. And he come near unto me, every
one of you, and said, we will send men before us, and they
shall search out the land and bring us word again by what way
we must go up and into what cities we shall come. The Lord's already
told them. The way's clear for you. And they turned and went up into
the mountains and came unto the valley of Eschel and searched
it out. And they took the fruit of the land in their hands, and
brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said,
it is a good land which our Lord God doth give us. Notwithstanding,
he would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the
Lord your God. And ye murmured in your tents,
and said, Because the Lord hateth us, he hath bought us forth out
of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites,
to destroy us. He is just part of the Red Sea,
beloved. He's bought them through the
Red Sea. And here they are, in their tents,
murmuring. Is God not merciful? He's so merciful. My, he's just said, don't be
afraid. I'm going to go before you. Where
shall we go? Our brethren have discouraged
our hearts, saying the people is greater and taller than we
are. Oh, they're huge guys. They've got more armor than we
have. Oh, don't forget the Lord's going
before you guys, right? Moses must be, look what all the things the
Lord's done for us, right? Oh my, we're all the same though,
aren't we? We're all the same, we're all
the same. I'm not saying anything because we're all, The people
is greater and taller than we. The cities are great and walled
up to heaven. They weren't walled up to heaven,
but see how men can exaggerate things? And what did God do to
the walls of Jericho? They didn't even have to raise
a hand. They just blew the trumpets. And God made them walls just
tumble, didn't he? Oh, my. and walled up to heaven, and
moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. Then I
said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. This is what
Moses said to them. The Lord your God which goeth before you,
he shall fight for you according to all that he did for you in
Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where thou hast
seen how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his
son in all the way that they went until you came to this place. Now what happens for we dads
when we're out with our kids, our boys or our girls, and they
get tired, we pick them up, don't we? Come on, sweetie, I'll take
you. I'll bear you. That's what the
Lord done for them. He took them from the land of
Egypt, all through those places. You bear them like a man bears
his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place.
Yet in this thing, you did not believe the Lord your God. See,
that's why Peter said, Lord, help my unbelief. We're all plagued
by it. I've cried that before, have
you? Lord, help my unbelief. Help me. who went in the way before you,
now let us just burn this to our heart, who went in the way
before you to search out a place to pitch your tents in fire by
night to show you by what way you should go in a cloud by day. He guided them. He had a cloud
over them during the day to keep the hot sun from roasting them,
and a fire by night so they could see the way. And that fire kept
away animals, enemies, Marauders, robbers, right? Because those folks like to work
in the dark, don't they? And then, notice in verse 33,
it says, the Lord went in a way before you, meaning, now, we
know Israel's a picture of the church, and he went in to search
out a place to pitch your tents and fire by night to show you
by what way we should go. in a cloud by day. My, oh, my. If he did that for Israel, how
much more will he do for we who are his born-again blood-washed
people? Didn't he say, I go to prepare
a place for you? Didn't he tell us that? I go to prepare a place
for you. And where I am, there you will
be, or be there. The Lord goes before his sheep.
Scriptures declare this truth. And when he put forth his own
sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. We know the voice of the shepherd
now, don't we? And we follow him. So what comfort there is
found in trials and tribulations. Oh my. Turn if you would to Psalm
73. As wrote this about our great
God in Psalm 73. He wrote these words and how
comforting they are for God's people. Because we're weak, but
in our weakness he is strong. Psalm 73 verses 24 to 28. Thou
shalt guide me with thy counsel. And after it will receive me
to glory. Is that not what he does for us through this world?
Does he not guide us by his counsel and then receive us into glory?
Whom have I in heaven but thee? I ask you that. Who else do we
have in heaven but Christ? My oh my. And there is none upon
earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Who's our reward in heaven? Christ. Christ. For lo, they that are
far from thee shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all them
that go a-whoring from thee, but it is good for me to draw
near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord
God that I may declare all thy works." Have you put your trust
in the Lord God? He's the only Savior of sinners. Can't save yourself, I can't
save myself. But I'm telling you right now
about one who can save all who come to Him. Save them to the
uttermost. Doesn't matter how black your
sins are, He can make you white as snow. My, oh, my. And for the believer,
he says, I put my trust in the Lord God. It's good for me to
draw near to God. I thank Him that He drew me to
Him. Is it so for you? I put my trust in the Lord God
that I may declare all His works. What do we declare? The wondrous
work of His salvation, the wondrous work of His creation, the wondrous
works of His divine workings and providence. Think about how the Lord provides
for His people. Think of how the Lord's gone
before you in your life. Think of how there may have been
something that would have ruined your life. The Lord kept you from it. Or he let you get in a little
bit and then pulled you out of it. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And that's the Lord
speaking to his disciples. And we who are his people, the
Lord's prepared a place for us, reserved. There's a spot reserved
in heaven for every believer. There's an inheritance that's
incorruptible for us, waiting for us in heaven. It's in Christ,
isn't it? It's absolutely amazing. My oh my, Deuteronomy 31A, in
the Lord he it is that doth go before thee. He will be with
thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee, fear not,
neither be dismayed. Let us remember this week and
in the weeks to come, no matter what we see going on in this
world, no matter the turmoil we see going on in this world,
that our God ever goes before us. And he said, and take this
to heart, take it to your name. Tom, he said to you, Tom, I'll
never leave you nor forsake you. I'll go ever before you, Travis,
Linda, Brian, I'm gonna go before you. Isn't that wonderful? I'm never
gonna leave you. I'll prepare the way for you.
You just go forward. Oh, what a great God. What a
great God we have, beloved. What mercy we've received in
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And all we can say is glory to
His name, right? Praise His mighty name.