Our text this morning will be
found in Deuteronomy Chapter 3. Deuteronomy Chapter 3. The happiest, most pleasant memories
of my childhood are memories of time spent in the mountains
of North Carolina surrounding a little place called Spruce
Pine. There, I had grandparents. and aunts and uncles who spoiled
me rotten and I liked it. I had cousins and friends and
family who laughed with me and nothing to trouble me, nothing
to trouble me. Everywhere else I was in trouble
but never there, never there. I enjoyed time spent in the mountains. Even the air seemed better there. How often we find ourselves when
we read this book at the foot of a mountain or on top of a
mountain with one of God's servants worshiping him and hearing God
speak remarkably. Let's spend some time this morning
in the mountains. Deuteronomy chapter 3 verse 24. This is where we find Moses. Oh Lord God, thou hast begun
to show thy servant thy greatness. What a statement. Remember what
this man had seen? He had heard God speak out of
the bush. The bush that burned with fire wasn't consumed. This
man had seen God turn rivers into blood. Flood of land with
frogs and lice and hail and your rain He'd seen God act in judgment
Destroying the firstborn of Egypt. He had seen God open up the Red
Sea He had seen a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire Guiding
him and the children of Israel. He says thou hast begun To show
thy servant thy greatness and thy majesty or thy mighty hand
for what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according
to thy works and according to thy might. I pray thee, let me
go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly
mountain and Lebanon, that goodly mountain. That's my subject this
morning. When I first read this text this
year, several weeks ago, that statement just locked in my heart. And I've had this on my mind
and heart for several weeks now. It seems that mountains have
always played an important role in God's dealings with his people.
The Lord God used mountains, mountains he had created. high,
elevated places, strongholds, immovable mountains, the everlasting
hills, to show His greatness, His grace and His glory, and
He still does. Let's come back to this text
in a little bit. Turn with me, if you will, to
Exodus chapter 3. There are a number of mountains
I want us to look at this morning. We'll look at five or six. Exodus
chapter 3. When we think of mountains in
the Bible, perhaps that which first comes to mind is Mount
Sinai. It's also called Horeb. When
the Israelites left Egypt, they, coming out of slavery, traveled
for three months and they came to this place called Horeb, Mount
Sinai. Here it was that in Exodus 19
and 20, God called Moses up into the mount and gave him his law,
specifically gave him the tables of the law, the Ten Commandments,
and taught the children of Israel how they must worship God and
what God required of them. Taught the children of Israel
that God requires holiness. God requires righteousness. God requires perfect obedience. Perfect obedience. God will not
accept. I cannot stress this adequately
in this generation. God will not accept. He never has, He never will,
He never can accept your best efforts at holiness, your best
efforts at righteousness, your best efforts at obedience. God
demands holiness. righteousness, obedience, perfection. It must be perfect to be accepted
is what the scripture says. And when God gave his law at
Sinai, the Lord God said to Moses, said, you show this to the children
of Israel. And when it came down from the
mount, these people that God had brought out of Egypt were
dancing naked around a golden calf that Aaron had made and
called it worshiping God. But this was not the first time
Moses had been at Mount Sinai. Here in Exodus chapter 3, we
find Moses at Mount Sinai, beginning in verse 1. Now Moses kept the
flock of his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led
the flock to the backside of desert, now watch this, and came
to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. Horeb is Sinai. One day while Moses is keeping
his father-in-law's sheep. He's been tending Jethro's sheep. He's married a Midianite woman. And he's keeping his father-in-law's
sheep and he comes out of the back side of the desert to a
mountain called Sinai. Horeb. Moses calls this mountain
the mountain of God. He calls it the mountain of God.
Why? He does so by divine inspiration. This is the place where God reveals
himself to Moses in a most remarkable way. I do not mean by that this
is the first time Moses came to know God. I mean by that that
God came down here in a remarkable way and showed himself to Moses
in this bush that burned with fire and was not consumed and
showed Moses who he is. what he would do and how he would
do it. He showed himself to be Jehovah,
the great I am. God who would redeem and save
his people according to Moses, by the hand of Moses, by the
strict demands of justice, law, righteousness, holiness, and
perfection, and showed Moses that he would surely bring it
to pass. Look at it. Moses calls this mountain the
mountain of God for purpose. Hold your hands here in Exodus
3 and turn over to Galatians. It's here that God reveals his
redemptive purpose so that even before Moses came to Mount Sinai
to receive the law, Even before he came to Horeb to receive the
Ten Commandments, the Lord God had Moses to understand that
the purpose of the law was to reveal our need of Christ and
to bring us to Christ. That's the whole purpose of the
law. Somewhere, write that down so
you remember it. God, write it on my heart. The
whole purpose of God's law is to bring sinners to Christ. The
reason God Almighty writes his law in the hearts and minds of
men by nature, the reason God writes his law on the conscience
is to make sinners know their guilt and know their need of
a savior. The reason God wrote his law
on tables of stone and then gave it to us in his word is to make
us know our need of Christ. The law was never given. Oh, Would to God I could have
the ear of this whole religious generation the law of God was
never given So that you could pretend to keep a Sabbath day
and act like you're holier than somebody else It was never given
So you could tack up the Ten Commandments on the wall and
say we live by the Ten Commandments. You don't do any such thing You
don't do it. Well, I try that's not what God
requires. I That's not what God requires. Well, I do my best. That's not
what God requires. God says you've got to be perfect
to be accepted. What's the law's purpose? To
make you know you can't be perfect. That you can't do holiness. That
you can't do righteousness. You've got to have somebody else.
Look here in Galatians 3 verse 19. Wherefore then serveth the
law. What's the purpose of the law?
Why did God say thou shalt not steal? Why did God say, love
God with all your heart, soul, mind, and being? Why did God
say, love your neighbor as yourself? What's the purpose of the law?
It was added because of transgressions. Till the seed should come. Not
seeds, seed. Till the seed, Christ Jesus,
the woman's promised seed. Abraham's seed. Till the seed
should come. To whom the promise was made.
God made the promise to Christ our Redeemer, the woman's seed,
Abraham's seed, before ever Abraham or Adam were made in this world.
God made the promise to Christ from eternity. Read this now.
His promise was made to him and it was ordained by angels in
the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator
of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises
of God? Was the law given to make you
think God's not going to fulfill his promise? Was the law given
to make you think God's not going to save his people? Was the law
given to make you think somehow God's covenant's null and void?
God forbid! For if there had been a law given,
which could have given life, verily righteousness should have
been by the law. He said in verse 21 of chapter
2, if righteousness come by the law, then Christ died for nothing.
If it had been possible for men and women to be saved by doing
something, God wouldn't have killed his son. Read on, verse
22. But the Scripture hath concluded
all under sin, and the promise by faith of Jesus Christ. Not by faith in Jesus Christ.
The promise. brought to pass, accomplished,
fulfilled by the faith of Jesus Christ, our God, man, mediator,
while he lived on this earth and finally died as our substitute,
might be given to them that believe so that you receive the promise
by faith in Christ because of the faithfulness of Christ as
your obedient substitute. Verse 23, but before faith came,
Before you believed on the Son of God, before you were born
of God's Spirit, given faith, we were kept under the law, kept
guilty, tormented, terrified all the time. Shut up unto faith! Shut up unto faith! What's that
mean? I tried my best to do good. You? I really did. I was mean as hell, but I tried
my best to do good. I tried to quit acting so mean.
I tried to act better. And you know, I could act better,
but I couldn't get any better. I could quit doing stuff, but
I couldn't get any better. The evil was not just in what
I did, it was in here. The law shut me up and declares
you can't save yourself. You've got to have another. Shut
me up to faith in Christ. which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore, now watch this, the law was our schoolmaster to bring
us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith, that we
might receive God's free justification by faith in Christ Jesus. But
after that faith has come, now that I trust Christ, I'm not
afraid of the law. I read it and I say, thank God
for that. I read his commandments and I
delight in it. I delight in it and look forward
to the day when I shall have no struggle in my flesh contrary
to it. But the law has no power over
me. I'm no longer in a schoolmaster.
What's this? After that faith has come, we're no longer under
a schoolmaster. Shelby and I got a call last
week from my sixth grade teacher, Bob Spencer. You've met him,
he and his wife before she died, been here several times and we
became good friends just a few years ago, 15, 16 years ago,
maybe 20. And our paths crossed again in
God's providence. We became good friends. Mr. Spencer used to exercise great
authority over me. Great authority. I was scared
of him. I was scared of him. Now, frankly,
when I was 12 years old, I probably could have whipped it. That's
when I had him in school. He had polio. I probably could
have figured out a way to got the advantage of it. But I scared
of it. I scared of it because he had
authority, authority at school. And that many had authority at
the house. So if he got on me and Mama found out about it,
I'm going to get worse at home. That man, on one occasion, literally
shoved me through a wall. I deserved it. I was cutting
up out in the hallway, he grabbed me and just shoved me through
the wall. He wouldn't even think about it anymore. I'm not afraid
of his paddle anymore. Haven't been for a long time
because he's no longer my schoolmaster. You understand that? He's my
friend. I like him. And I'm thankful
for everything he ever did. I like him. But I'm not terrified
of Him because now I've grown up and I don't have a schoolmaster. Hear me, children of God. We
come to faith in Christ Jesus, the Lord, by the grace of God
and coming to Christ by faith. We're free from the law. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
Look back here in Exodus chapter three again. Moses had this eye
popping revelation of God in the burning bush. The angel of
the Lord appeared to Moses, verse 2, in a flame of fire out of
the midst of the 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 God made something known
to Moses. that he doesn't precisely speak
of again until the day before he died. God showed Moses his will. He showed Moses his will. He
said, my name is Jehovah. I am. And I'm coming to save
my people. I'm coming to redeem my people
Israel. His true Israel. And I'm going
to do it by your hand, by the hand of the law. But Brother
Don, we're not saved by justice. Oh, yes, we are. Oh, yes, we
are. The only way grace operates is
through righteousness. The only way grace operates is
according to Moses, according to the law God gave Moses. And Moses understood the days
coming. when Jesus Christ, God's Son,
shall die in the stead of his people and accomplish redemption
and he will fulfill all his will. He calls it the goodwill of him
that dwelt in the bush. The goodwill of him that dwelt
in the bush, that motivated Moses. That drove him all the time he
was going through the wilderness. That inspired him in all of his
difficulties, in all the times when he felt like just giving
up, when he wanted God to kill Israel or kill him. But he just
fed up with everything. But wait! What? I'm here because
of the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush. And he goes on and
goes on believing God until at last he's called up to glory.
All right, let's look at another mountain. Over to 1 Kings chapter
18. 1 Kings chapter 18. There's a very significant place
called Mount Carmel. You remember the story? Elijah
has had about all that they had, Jezebel, Baal and the prophets
of Baal he was going to take. And he's here on Mount Carmel
with 450 prophets of Baal. 450 fools worshipping gods under
the image of Baal. Many gods, but all just prophets
of Baal. And he says in verse 21, Elijah
came to all the people and said, how long halt ye between two
opinions? That's what I've been trying
to say to folks since the day God called me to preach the gospel.
How long haunt you between two opinions? Everybody tries to
mix bail and Jehovah. Everybody tries to mix God and
truth and a falsehood and Antichrist and bring them together. Everybody
tries to mix works and grace, free will and free grace. They
won't mix. Elijah says, how long haunt you between two opinions?
If bail be, if the Lord be God, follow him. And if bails God,
follow him. And then he said, I'll tell you
what you do. You take these 450 prophets and you all choose your
sacrifice and lay it on the altar and call on your God. And the
God that consumes the sacrifice by fire, let him be God. And I'll take a sacrifice and
I'll lay it on the altar and I'll call on the Lord Jehovah.
And if my God answers by fire and consumes the sacrifice, let
him be God. And the people said, well, that's
a good idea. Let's watch this contest go on. And so he said, you fellas
go first. And they got him a book, and
they dressed it, and they laid it out on the altar, and they
put wood all around it, but it was dry. They made sure there
wasn't a drop of water on it anywhere, made sure everything
was good and dry, and they started to pray. And they started to
sing and dance and clap their hands and pray, and they cried
and cried and cried, and Baal didn't speak. Isn't that astonishing? Bale didn't say a word. Nothing
happened. He said, Bale's nothing. Bale's
nothing. Just a figment of man's depraved
imagination. And so they cried some more,
and they leaped on the altar, and they cut themselves, and
Elijah started mocking them. He said, maybe your God has gone
on a journey. Maybe he's busy counseling somebody,
talking to somebody. Maybe he's like an old man, he
had to get a good bathroom. That's exactly what the word
pursuing means. Maybe your God's asleep. Cry a little louder.
And they kept on until the time of the evening sacrifice. And
finally, they were just wore out. They wore out and quit. And Elijah said, my turn. And
he said, bring four barrels of water. and poured on the sacrifice
in the altar. Do it again. Do it again. And then he prayed. And he prayed
like you can't imagine a man praying. Look at what Elijah
said. Verse 36. It came to pass at
the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah
the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and
Israel. Let it be known this day that
thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I
have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear
me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, that
thou hast turned their heart back Okay. I try to pray just like that
every time I stand to preach. This is what I want. I want you
to know that God is God. And I want you to worship him.
And the Lord God answered with fire from heaven that consumed
the sacrifice and licked up all the water, even in the ditches
around the altar. And the people fell down and
said, Jehovah, he is God. Jehovah, he is God. And Elijah
said, if that's so, then let's go down here and kill these false
prophets. And he did. And he did. Brother
Don, are you suggesting we ought to kill false prophets? No, God
will do that. But in your mind, you should. As far as your attitude toward
them is concerned, you should. They're false prophets. Don't treat them like they were
God's prophets. And I don't mean you should be mean to them. I
don't mean that at all. If I had a neighbor over here
who was a preacher, and he had a flat tire, I'd try to help
him fix his tire, as long as he wasn't going to preach. As
long as he wasn't going to preach. If he was going to preach, I'd
flatten some more. I don't mean you should be mean to them. I
mean you should treat them for what they are. Dead men before
God. False prophets. Now, turn over
to Deuteronomy chapter 11. And we have a pair of twin mountains,
Gerizim on the one side and Ebal on the other. At these two mountains,
Joshua assembled the tribes of Israel to instruct them in the
law of Moses once they'd gone across the Jordan River into
the land of promise. It was from these mountains that
God's blessings, or God's curses, fell upon the people. Look at
Deuteronomy 11, verse 29. And it shall come to pass, when
the Lord thy God hath brought thee unto the land, whither thou
goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon Mount
Gerizim, and the curse upon Mount Ebal. Are they not on the other
side, Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land
of the Canaanites, which dwell in the Champaign over against
Gilgal beside the plains of Morah? Morah. Morah. Gerizim is found
in Morah. Now here stand these two mountains.
Here's Gerizim. And from Gerizim, if the people
were completely obedient to God. Read the chapter. I mean completely
obedient to God. If they did everything commanded
in the law of Moses, Moses said, God bless you. And the blessing
of God was on them when they got up in the morning, when they
went out of their house, when they were in the field, when
they met with their foes in the city, when they came back home,
when they sat with their family, when they laid down at night,
God's blessing was upon them. 24 hours a day, God accepted
them, smiled on them and blessed them. Over here is even. One infraction, you're damned. One infraction, there's no blessing. One infraction, the wrath of
God's on you. Now, why Gerizim and Elah? Gerizim's in the place of Moriah.
Or not Moriah, Morah. That's where God met Abraham. When he called him out of earth,
Caldes. and promised redemption and grace. That's where God met
him. God said, I'm going to bless
you. And Moses comes to this place in Moriah Gerizim and he
says, here is God's blessing. In Christ the promised seed.
All that God requires, I have done. And I'm blessed of God when I
get up in the morning. And when I sit at my table with
my wife, And when I go out in the field, and when I come home
again in the evening and sit down at the table with my wife,
and sit down and just enjoy a little time with my wife in the morning
and have a cup of coffee, or in the evening sit down and have
a glass of wine and just enjoy a little time with her. And when
I lay down at night, blessed of God, never accursed. Never accursed. How come? Because
in Christ Jesus, I have Fully obeyed God's law. Oh Then in
Genesis 22, you don't need to turn there. I've got to move
along you so familiar with this God brought Abraham to Mount
Moriah This was the mountain of trial
It came to pass after these things that the Lord did tempt Abraham
my soul after these things What was going on before that? God
was preparing Abraham for this. And told him, said, take your
son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, to a mountain that
I will tell you of and there sacrifice your son to me for
a burnt offering. Well, God wouldn't require that.
Oh, yes, he does. Oh, yes, he does. God requires
that you and I Give up everything, even mother, father, son, and
daughter, yea, your own life also, if you'd follow him. That's
what it requires. And Abraham took his son Isaac
for a three-day journey, and he didn't consult with Sarah
beforehand. And he told his servants, he said, you wait right here.
The boy and I are going to go yonder and worship God. Now listen
to what he said. And we will return to you. come back we're gonna go yonder
and worship God and we will return Abraham is going up there Joe
fixing to kill Isaac he's fixing to kill it but he said God's
gonna raise him from the dead and we're gonna come back did
Abraham really believe that he really did that's what he said
that's what he walked by faith these fellows were not a bunch
of Stone Age barbarians. These fellas
were walking with God by faith. They had the revelation of God.
They're the ones who wrote the book for us. They had the revelation
of God. Abraham said, we're going to
come back and worship. We're going to go worship God, and
we're coming back. They're going up the mountain, and Isaac's
carrying the wood. And Isaac said, Daddy, we've
got the wood, and I've got a torch here in my hand. I've got wood
and a fire for a burnt offering. Where's the lamb for a sacrifice?
He'd been well taught. You don't come to God but by
the blood of a lamb. And Abraham said, My son, God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And they went
on. And Abraham strapped him to the
altar and he drew back his knife and God stopped him. He said,
I see now you've not withheld your only son Isaac from me.
And he saw a ram caught in a thicket. He said, take that ram and put
him down here in Isaac's place and kill him. And there Isaac
died. No, he didn't. Yes, he did. Read
the book of God. Abraham received his son back
from the dead. so that he, by God's command,
offered a substitute ram in the place of his son, and that ram,
having died at God's command, Isaac must go free, and not a
drop of his blood be shed. It's called substitution. That's
what Christ has done for us. That's what Christ has done for
us. The Lord God sent His Son, the Lamb, God provided himself
a lamb for a burnt offering. He died in our stead, and in
him we died. I'm crucified with Christ. Now,
the scriptures speak of this place called Mount Nebo in Deuteronomy
34. Our Lord Jesus gave his sermon
on the mount. He was transfigured on the holy
mount, as Peter called it. Our Lord went to the Mount of
Olives to pray, and at the foot of the Mount of Olives, just
before he was crucified, our Redeemer went through Gethsemane's
garden and the agony of Gethsemane. Here in Deuteronomy chapter 34,
we read about Mount Nebo, where Moses died. Moses' death upon
the mountain was by the express purpose of God to teach us some
important lessons. Now listen to what we read here
in Deuteronomy 34, first four verses. God brought Moses up
to Mount Pisgah and he said, now Moses, you look to the northwest
and look to the southeast and you look at all the land. Take it all in. Take it all in. Now, understand Moses is 120
years old and he can see just as good when he was 120 as good
when he was 20. He was just as strong when he
was 120 as he was when he was 20. His strength had not abated. He was still a young man full
of vim and vigor at 120 years old. Wow. And here I am 63, can't
hardly move. Moses was full of strength. But
I want to tell you something. When he was 20, There's no way
under the shining sun he could have seen everything he saw there. He couldn't do it. It wasn't
possible. Look at it. We're told here that he saw all
the land of Gilead under Dan, and all the land of Naphtali
and Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah under the
uttermost sea, together with the south plain of the valley
Jericho, the city of palm trees under Zohar. Now, if you want
to get you an atlas out and do some measurements, that means
that Moses looked off of Mount Pisgah and saw at least 60 miles
in this direction and at least 120 miles in that direction. That ain't possible. That ain't
possible. We'll read the last line of verse
4 where God says, I caused thee to see it. I caused thee to see it. So it is with all things spiritual. If you see, it's because God
gave you eyes to see. If you understand, it's because
God gave you understanding. If you know anything of the things
of God, It's because the Lord God made you to know them. To the eye of faith, unto you
therefore which believe, Christ is precious. But to the carnal mind, there
is no beauty that we should desire. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Spiritual sight is given as sight
was given to Moses to behold all God's promise. Imagine that. Imagine that. Not a portion,
not a big portion. Bobby Estes, Moses saw everything
God gave to Israel everything. Oh God, how anxious I am to see
that. Everything He promised in the
covenant. Every blessing of grace bestowed
on us from Mount Gerizim. Everything that's ours in Christ. Now, let's look back at our text. Deuteronomy chapter 3 verse 24. Oh, Lord God, thou hast begun
to show thy servant thy greatness, thy mighty hand. For what God
is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy
works and according to thy might? Here's Moses. He's rehearsing
what God had taught him. He said, Lord, I've seen your
wonders in Egypt. I saw everything you did to Pharaoh.
and the Egyptians. I saw how that you turned the
Egyptians who hated us in one night to favor us and give us
everything we'd need to travel for 40 years. I saw how you parted
the Red Sea and let Israel cross triumphant. I saw how you caused
the waters to flow over Pharaoh and his armies and drowned them
in the sea. I saw the manner I saw water
gushing from the smitten rock. I begun, Lord, to see your greatness,
your might. I begun to see it. I begun to
see it. You put me in the cleft of the
rock when I said, show me your glory. And you passed by me and
proclaimed your name. I begun, I begun to see it. And then he prays. He says, I
pray thee. Let me go over and see the good
land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain and Lebanon. God showed himself remarkably. He showed his greatness and glory
to Moses, but Moses wants more. He's come now to this place.
This is the same place where Abraham took Isaac, Mount Moriah. This is the place over yonder
in that goodly mountain in Lebanon. Over there in that good land,
that's the place where God's going to build his temple by
the hands of his servant Solomon. That's where God's going to establish
the mercy seat. That's where God's going to send
his son. That's where Christ is coming to accomplish redemption.
I pray thee, Let me go over this Jordan and see that good land,
that goodly mountain. Here Moses, God's faithful servant,
asked for God to see more. Why do you suppose? Why do you suppose? Why would
he want to go see that land? Now, granted, it's nice land
there. But I haven't traveled quite
as much as Moses did. I've traveled further, but not
quite as much as Moses. For 40 years, they wandered around in
the wilderness. He saw about everything there was to see over
there. And I go places, sometimes, you know, if you live in a place
and you've got a special tree, I mean, just folks come from
everywhere to see our tree. And they'll drive you for miles.
Take the whole morning, then get out and hike up the side
of a mountain, way out to go look at a tree. Please don't
do that to me. I've seen enough trees. But this
is a giant redwood. I'll wait for the new creation.
I'm not interested. If I happen to drive by it, it'd be all right,
but I don't want to walk 50 feet to go see it. I've seen enough
trees. I've seen enough waterfalls.
I've seen enough mountains. I'm not interested in seeing
them. Surely, there was something more than just the idea of going
over and seeing that physical land. Moses walked with God by
faith. Do you understand that? He really believed God. When
he kept the Passover in Egypt, he feasted on Christ our Passover.
and was eating that feast in anticipation of the day when
Christ our Passover would be sacrificed for us. Moses slew
an Egyptian by faith. He chose, this is what the book
says, because he believed God, he chose the reproaches of, anybody
know? Somebody tell me. Christ. Not not Jehovah, not God, not
Elohim, Christ. He chose the reproaches of the
incarnate God who died in our stead as God's anointed over
all the riches of Egypt. You mean Brother Don Moses understood
that Christ was coming to die in his stead right here at this
goodly mountain? That's just exactly what he means.
He said, Lord, I've I've seen your tabernacle and I've seen
the the full accomplishment of redemption. But I still want
to see your glory. All of it, I can see. Well, I
walk on this earth. I want to see the fullness of
your greatness and majesty in the redemptive work of your son.
All I can see while I walk on this earth, I want to see how
you fulfill the goodwill of Him that dwelt in the bush. I want
to see Christ crucified and know Him. I think it's much like that
which we read of the Apostle Paul. This man who was about
to, ready to leave. He said, I want to know Him. I want to know Him. or that I
may know Him in the fellowship of His suffering, in the power of His resurrection,
being made conformable unto the image of His death. I want to know Him. God, while I live on this earth,
let me dwell at this holy mountain. Here where God's glory is revealed,
where God's mercy, love, and grace is revealed, where God
shows the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush, where God
makes himself known. But Brother Don, Calvary wasn't
a mountain. I know that. It's hard to even
call it a hill. It was just a little rising outside
Jerusalem. But oh, what a high mountain. in this elevated place. God shows
himself to sinners in mercy, saving a people for the glory
of his name. And soon we shall come into this
good land at this good mountain called Mount Zion and we shall
see him face to face. and know Him even as we are known
in that good mountain. And we'll sing. We'll join this old man Moses,
120 years old, who's now just a baby in the kingdom of heaven,
singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, our mighty Joshua. Moses came to his good. He he saw the land, saw everything
that he saw it all. He saw it all. And he saw it. Lord, that's enough. I'm ready
to go. I've seen your glory like Simeon asked to see. And God
buried him in the mountain. And the scripture tells us Moses
died. God buried him. And the children
of Israel mourned. That's the end of Moses. How
come? That's all God made him for. That's all God made him for. When redemption is accomplished,
that's it. And Joshua was full of the Spirit
and of wisdom. And the scripture says the people
under Joshua did all that God commanded them by the hand of
Moses. They didn't do any such thing.
Read the book of Joshua. Find me somebody who did. But
they all did. They all did. How do you know?
Because God said so. God said so. It was all a type.
In Christ our mighty Joshua, we fulfilled everything God can
or will require of man. And in Christ, our mighty Joshua,
God has given us everything God promised in the covenant. Everything
God can or will give to fallen man. Oh God, let me dwell in
that good mountain all the days of my life. Amen.