Hello, welcome to Faith Chapel.
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I'm pastor Rick
Remmers, from Chicago, Illinois.
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I'm glad that you can join
us as we consider the message
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the view from the top.
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William Dyke became
blind at the age of 10.
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Despite this handicap
he was quite intelligent,
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went to school, had
a good sense of humor
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and had many friends.
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While he was attending
graduate school in England,
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William met the
daughter of an English admiral.
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They fell in love
and soon became engaged.
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William had never seen her
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but he loved her
with all of his heart
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and at the insistence
of her father the admiral
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he agreed to under go a
treatment for his eyesight
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to try and restore it.
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It had been so many years
that he had been blind that
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there seems like
there was little hope
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but he was willing to
try and he decided that
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they would take the
bandages off his eyes
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at the wedding ceremony
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so that the first
thing he would see
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would be his new bride.
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As the admiral was leading
his daughter down the aisle
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William's father
started to unwrap the gauze
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wrapped around his head.
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Soon the bandages
were removed from his eyes
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and as he opened his eyes
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for the first time in many years
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he was able to see
the face of his new bride,
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the one that he loved.
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Sometimes the view
from a mountain top
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can be like going
from blindness to new site.
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From the top of a
mountain you gain a prospective
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of everything around you.
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You can see so much more than
when your down in the valley
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and today I want
us to take a look
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at Mountain Nebo
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and some of the
events that took place there
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and the lessons
that we can learn
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from Moses and others
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as they spend
time on Mount Nebo.
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Mount Nebo is
about ten miles east
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of where the Jordan
River joins into the Dead Sea.
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In the scriptures that's also
referred to as Mount Pisgah.
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Going to Deuteronomy
3:27 we find the first lesson.
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"Go up to the top of Pisgah,
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and lift your
eyes toward the west,
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the north, the
south, and the east
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behold it with your eyes,
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for you shall not
cross over this Jordan."
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One of the things that we find
in the lessons from Mount Nebo
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is that there is
a penalty for sin.
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Moses after serving faithfully
through out the 40 years
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wandering in the wilderness
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has come close to
the end of that time
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and once again
the children of Israel
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are with out water
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and they're grumbling
in complaining to Moses
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blaming him for this.
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He goes to God and God
instructs him in a similar way
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to what had
happened many years before
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but with some change
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he was instructed to
go and speak to the rock
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and fresh water would come out
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in order to give to
the children of Israel.
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But Moses went with
Aaron and in frustration
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he took his staff and
he-- he struck that rock
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because of the
needs of the people
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God respected this
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and allowed the
water to come forth.
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But this had
violated the instruction
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that God had given to Moses.
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Moses and Aaron were
claiming to take credit
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for being able to
bring water from the rock
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and they had struck
the rock a second time
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violating the-- the very symbol
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that God was providing
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as a lesson to the
children of Israel.
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Jesus of course
in the scriptures
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as referred to the rock
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and Jesus has
struck once for our sins
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dying once on
the cross of Calvary
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for our sins.
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Successive times when
we are needing forgiveness,
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Jesus has not
crucified over and over again.
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We simply speak
asking for forgiveness
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coming to Him
with a repentant heart
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and our sins are forgiven.
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By striking the rock twice
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Moses took away from
this image this lesson.
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And because he was the leader
for the children of Israel
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the response was
doubly troubling for him
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because 40 years earlier
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when the children
of Israel had come up
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to the edges of the promise land
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they had lacked faith that God
would give this land to them.
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Ten of the
twelve spies came back
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with a negative
report that the--
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the people of
the land were giants
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and their cities
were true well fortified
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and they would never be
able to go and take this land.
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And so God let that
curse come upon them.
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And He let them go
back to the wilderness
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and He said that
all of the adults
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who had been there,
who lack the faith to go in
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would not be able to go
in to the land of promise.
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It would be their children
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who would
inherit the promise land.
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And now, nearly 40 years later
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as they come again
to the Jordan valley
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and are ready to cross over
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into the land of
Israel to the Palestine.
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Moses and Aaron are told
that they cannot cross over
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that they too must
die in the wilderness
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and will not be able to
set foot in the promise land.
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There is a penalty
that comes for sin.
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There is a nursery rhyme
that's well known it goes,
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Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
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All the king's
horses, all the king's men,
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Couldn't put
Humpty together again.
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And according to
people who know such things
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they say that this
nursery rhyme is actually
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a relic from
thousands of years ago
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and that it appears in
eight European languages
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and in its primitive
stages however Humpty Dumpty
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was really a riddle
that asked the question
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what when broken
can never be repaired
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not even by strong
or wise individuals
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and any child knows
the answer, its an egg.
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An egg when broken cannot
be put back together again.
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Once that shell is
crushed it's crushed
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and it will never
be the same again.
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In our lives
there are Humpty Dumpty
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kinds of experiences.
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We find that when
Adam and Eve fell into sin
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this world was
broken like an egg
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and it cannot be
put back together again
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no matter how wise we
think we are or capable,
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they are the results of sin
it will never be the same again
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until it is transformed
recreated by the power of God.
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And when there
is sin in our life
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it brings its consequences,
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it brings its
devastating effects
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and they're
wounds, they're scares
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that remain through out our life
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as we make
decisions that dishonor God.
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Moses learned
this in a difficult way
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but he also trusted that
God will lead him appropriately.
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There's another lesson
that we learn from Mount Nebo
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and that's that we must
have faith in God's promises.
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Moses had many experiences
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that lead him to
increase his faith
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that God was leading in his life
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and that the promises of
God remained certain in secure.
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You have the experience of Moses
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when he was still a baby
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and his mother
unwilling to have him destroyed
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as all the young
boys born to the--
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the Israelites had
been commanded to be killed
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she put him in a basket
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in the bulrushes
of the Nile river.
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And there he was protected
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and God's hand
was seen in his life.
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Forty years later
he-- he leaves Egypt
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and it seems
like his whole world
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has fallen in around him that --
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that any plan that he
had for helping God's people
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had been
destroyed with his rash act
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of killing the slave master.
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But he goes and
spends another 40 years
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tending the sheep on
the side of Mount Sinai
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and then God comes to
him in the burning bush
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and gives him the
promise that He will be with him
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as he goes to speak to Pharaoh
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that He will present
miracles and bring about events
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so that Pharaoh will
finally let the people go.
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There is a promise of God
that as the children of Israel
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put that blood of the lamb
on the doorpost of their home
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that the first
born in their home
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would not be killed
by the Passover angel.
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There is the
experience of Mount Sinai
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where the people came
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and they received the law of God
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and God met with Moses there.
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There was Korah's
rebellion as Korah
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hundreds of the
princess of the tribes of Israel
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came and felt like they could
lead the children of Israel
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better than Moses could
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that after being turned
away from the land of promise
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and sent back
into the wilderness
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that they could
lead in a way that
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the people would
appreciate more than Moses.
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And God simply came and
brought judgment upon them.
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Moses waited for God to act
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and the earth opened
up and swallowed them.
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You have the repeated times
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where the people
fell into apostasy
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and they lost confidence
that God was leading them.
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They worshipped the golden calf
while Moses was on Mount Sinai
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and God was wanting to
destroy the children of Israel
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and create a new nation
from the decadence of Moses
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and bring about the promise
that He had given to Abraham,
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Isaac and Jacob
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through the descendent of Moses.
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But Moses intersected
on behalf of the people
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before God.
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He had a certain hope
and this hope is described
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in Hebrew 11:1 we read there,
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"Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for,
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the evidence of
things not seen."
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Moses had great hope in
things that he hadn't seen
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because God had promised them
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and God's promises
had always been true.
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Sometimes things turned
out differently than Moses
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had planned or wanted
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but God's word never failed him.
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And so he had a certain
hope in the promise of God.
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Another lesson that we find from
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the experience of Mount Nebo
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and this actually comes
from the prophet Nehemiah
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is that we cannot
stand against the Lord.
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He has a plan and a
purpose and events in this world
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take their course
within certain bounds
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set by God.
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Numbers 23:14
describes Nehemiah's experience
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"So he brought him
to the field of Zophim,
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to the top of Pisgah,
and built seven altars,
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and offered a bull
and a ram on each altar."
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Here Nehemiah has been asked
to curse the people of Israel
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by King Balak.
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Balak has been concerned
he is heard of-- of the ways
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that God has provided
for the children of Israel
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in the past.
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How the armies
of pharaoh and Egypt
00:12:05.08\00:12:07.31
had been drowned in the Red Sea
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and now that they are on
the-- the edge of his territory.
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He is wanting to
find a way to defeat them.
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He is concerned that
he-- he can't do it militarily
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so he calls for
the prophet of God
00:12:18.86\00:12:20.66
Nehemiah to come.
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Now, Nehemiah had been
a faithful prophet of God
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but his heart was
filled with greed.
00:12:25.39\00:12:27.49
He wanted the honor
and the material possession
00:12:27.52\00:12:31.15
which Balak
would give as a reward
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for cursing the
children of Israel.
00:12:34.29\00:12:36.71
So, he says to the
ambassadors from Balak,
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let me come to the
Lord and pray about this.
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God initially tell
him that he can't go
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but King Balak believes that
Nehemiah is simply holding out
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for more wealth and
so, greater dignitaries
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are sent offering more
of a reward to Nehemiah.
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Finally,
Nehemiah agrees to go God
00:12:57.61\00:12:59.80
conscience that he can go
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but he must speak the
words that God will give to him.
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So, he sets off on his way.
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We have the unusual account of--
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of Nehemiah's donkey running
to the side of the path and--
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and Balaam cursing
and hitting his donkey
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until finally
Nehemiah's eyes are open
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and he too sees the angel of God
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standing in the path way.
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He is reminded
that he must speak
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what God tells him to.
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So he gets to the top of Pisgah
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actually one
mountain after another
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he essence with Balak.
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They build the seven altars.
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They try and out
sacrifice the people of Israel
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thinking that this
would appease God in some way.
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And each time
Nehemiah opens his mouth
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to pronounce a curse
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there is a
blessing that comes out
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bringing increasing
frustration to King Balak.
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But we cannot
stand against the Lord.
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God had chosen to be with
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and bless the
children of Israel.
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And there wasn't any sacrifice,
there wasn't any curse
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that Nehemiah could
give that would dissuade God
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from the plan and the purpose
that He had for His people.
00:14:06.05\00:14:09.51
We must not try
to please ourselves,
00:14:09.54\00:14:12.37
we have to obey
God rather than man.
00:14:12.40\00:14:16.01
And time and again as we look
at the prophesies of God word
00:14:16.04\00:14:19.11
we find that-- that God is
unfolding events in this earth
00:14:19.14\00:14:23.89
in order to
accomplish His purpose.
00:14:23.92\00:14:25.79
As we the see the
rise and fall of nations
00:14:25.82\00:14:28.08
described in the
prophecy of Daniel 2
00:14:28.11\00:14:30.16
and the prophecy of Revelation
00:14:30.19\00:14:31.77
we recognize that
00:14:31.80\00:14:33.01
well, this world
seems to be in chaos
00:14:33.04\00:14:35.45
and completely out of control
00:14:35.48\00:14:37.23
as one natural disaster
after another takes place
00:14:37.26\00:14:39.75
and there are wars
between the nations.
00:14:39.78\00:14:42.77
We wonder what the--
the end result will be
00:14:42.80\00:14:46.60
and God's word tells us
that God remains on His throne.
00:14:46.63\00:14:51.03
God remains in control
and this earth will end
00:14:51.06\00:14:54.62
with a second
coming of Jesus Christ.
00:14:54.65\00:14:57.39
We can have
confidence in the future
00:14:57.42\00:14:59.70
and we cannot set ourselves
00:14:59.73\00:15:01.49
to stand
against the will of God.
00:15:01.52\00:15:05.40
Nehemiah finally
understood as a prophet of God
00:15:05.43\00:15:08.71
that wealthy
couldn't curse Israel
00:15:08.74\00:15:11.61
that he could bring temptation
to the children of Israel
00:15:11.64\00:15:15.84
and tempt them to
separate themselves
00:15:15.87\00:15:18.43
from God's leading.
00:15:18.46\00:15:19.49
And so that's what he
encouraged Balak to do
00:15:19.52\00:15:21.92
to send the women of
Midian in among the women
00:15:21.95\00:15:26.20
in the children of Israel
00:15:26.23\00:15:27.64
and there they
could form friendships,
00:15:27.67\00:15:30.16
that would bring the people
to worship their false gods.
00:15:30.19\00:15:35.33
The children of Israel
fell into idolatry and adultery
00:15:35.36\00:15:39.45
and they run faithful to God
00:15:39.48\00:15:41.34
and this brought
a judgment upon them
00:15:41.37\00:15:44.24
but the choice
was there as to make
00:15:44.27\00:15:45.85
as long as they
remained faithful
00:15:45.88\00:15:47.92
the promises of God were assured
00:15:47.95\00:15:50.56
and they were not
able to stand against Him.
00:15:50.59\00:15:54.47
Another lesson that
we find at Mountain Nebo
00:15:54.50\00:15:56.75
and the
experience of Moses is that
00:15:56.78\00:15:59.65
we are at the gateway to heaven.
00:15:59.68\00:16:03.18
We cannot predict the
future in great detail
00:16:03.21\00:16:06.77
but God tells us what
the end result will be.
00:16:06.80\00:16:10.23
Deuteronomy 34:1-8
00:16:10.26\00:16:13.26
we find the description of Moses
00:16:13.29\00:16:16.56
as he climbs up Mountain Nebo.
00:16:16.59\00:16:20.25
"Then Moses went up
from the plains of Moab
00:16:20.28\00:16:22.98
to Mount Nebo, to
the top of Pisgah,
00:16:23.01\00:16:25.15
which is across from Jericho.
00:16:25.18\00:16:26.95
And the Lord showed
him all the land of Gilead
00:16:26.98\00:16:29.74
as far as Dan,
00:16:29.77\00:16:32.65
all Naphtali and the
land of Ephraim and Manasseh,
00:16:32.68\00:16:36.09
all the land of Judah
as far as the Western Sea,
00:16:36.12\00:16:38.99
the South, and the plain
of the Valley of Jericho,
00:16:39.02\00:16:41.75
the city of palm
trees, as far as Zoar.
00:16:41.78\00:16:46.03
Then the Lord said to him,
00:16:46.06\00:16:47.68
'This is the land of
which I swore to give Abraham,
00:16:47.71\00:16:50.68
Isaac, and Jacob, saying,
00:16:50.71\00:16:52.49
"I will give it
to your descendants."
00:16:52.52\00:16:54.56
I have caused you to
see it with your eyes,
00:16:54.59\00:16:58.08
but you shall not
cross over there.'
00:16:58.11\00:17:00.64
So Moses the servant of the Lord
00:17:00.67\00:17:02.43
died there in the land of Moab,
00:17:02.46\00:17:04.53
according to the
word of the Lord.
00:17:04.56\00:17:06.51
And He buried him in a
valley in the land of Moab,
00:17:06.54\00:17:10.59
opposite Beth Peor
00:17:10.62\00:17:12.54
but no one knows
his grave to this day.
00:17:12.57\00:17:15.23
Moses was one
hundred and twenty years old
00:17:15.26\00:17:17.60
when he died.
00:17:17.63\00:17:18.86
His eyes were not dim nor
his natural vigor diminished.
00:17:18.89\00:17:23.31
And the children of
Israel wept for Moses
00:17:23.34\00:17:25.64
in the plains of
Moab thirty days.
00:17:25.67\00:17:27.85
So the days of weeping
and mourning for Moses ended."
00:17:27.88\00:17:32.63
Moses was climbing Mountain Nebo
00:17:32.66\00:17:35.11
and he knew that it
was the end of his life.
00:17:35.14\00:17:37.78
The children of Israel
understood this as well
00:17:37.81\00:17:41.14
but God also had
another plan for Moses
00:17:41.17\00:17:44.23
and in the New
Testament we find that
00:17:44.26\00:17:46.66
there is the rest of the
story Jude verse 9 tells us,
00:17:46.69\00:17:52.12
"Yet Michael the archangel,
in contending with the devil,
00:17:52.15\00:17:55.04
when he disputed
about the body of Moses,
00:17:55.07\00:17:58.44
dared not bring against
him a reviling accusation,
00:17:58.47\00:18:01.42
but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'
00:18:01.45\00:18:05.12
" God wasn't finished with Moses
00:18:05.15\00:18:08.77
and God had
something even greater
00:18:08.80\00:18:11.06
than the earthly
Canaan in store for him.
00:18:11.09\00:18:14.36
And so as Moses climbed
to the top of Mount Nebo,
00:18:14.39\00:18:19.00
he gave up his life, he
died there on Mount Nebo
00:18:19.03\00:18:24.48
but God came and claimed
him as the first truth says
00:18:24.51\00:18:27.93
the promise that
Jesus would conquer
00:18:27.96\00:18:30.41
the power of the grave,
00:18:30.44\00:18:31.83
that there would
be a resurrection
00:18:31.86\00:18:33.76
and the resurrection
of Moses was promise
00:18:33.79\00:18:36.53
that God would be
able to bring to life
00:18:36.56\00:18:38.75
all of those who love Him
at the time of His return.
00:18:38.78\00:18:43.18
This produced
unmistakable evidence to Satan
00:18:43.21\00:18:47.82
that his power on
this earth was waning away.
00:18:47.85\00:18:53.08
That Jesus in
the plan of salvation
00:18:53.11\00:18:55.76
that God had would be a success.
00:18:55.79\00:18:59.10
Satan still resisted
but God's plan and purpose
00:18:59.13\00:19:02.82
was foreshadowed in
the resurrection of Moses.
00:19:02.85\00:19:06.49
While he left this
earth, there was something
00:19:06.52\00:19:09.29
even better that God had.
00:19:09.32\00:19:11.52
In Hebrews 11:24-26 We
find a description of this,
00:19:11.55\00:19:17.13
"By faith Moses,
when he became of age,
00:19:17.16\00:19:19.71
refused to be called the
son of Pharaoh's daughter,
00:19:19.74\00:19:22.38
choosing rather
to suffer affliction
00:19:22.41\00:19:24.32
with the people of God
00:19:24.35\00:19:25.71
than to enjoy the
passing pleasures of sin,
00:19:25.74\00:19:29.08
esteeming the reproach
of Christ greater riches
00:19:29.11\00:19:31.89
than the treasures in Egypt
for he looked to the reward."
00:19:31.92\00:19:36.63
Moses had an
eternal prospective.
00:19:36.66\00:19:39.19
He wasn't looking
for all of the things
00:19:39.22\00:19:41.33
that the courts of
Pharaoh could provide in Egypt.
00:19:41.36\00:19:43.72
He wasn't looking for honor
from the children of Israel.
00:19:43.75\00:19:46.44
He knew that
following God's plan
00:19:46.47\00:19:48.92
would lead to life eternal.
00:19:48.95\00:19:51.31
He had a prospective on life
00:19:51.34\00:19:53.44
that was not just
restricted to the here now
00:19:53.47\00:19:56.45
but it was focused on eternity
00:19:56.48\00:19:58.63
and accepting the
whole of God's promises
00:19:58.66\00:20:01.25
that God ultimately had not just
00:20:01.28\00:20:03.46
the promise land in Canaan
for those who followed Him
00:20:03.49\00:20:07.55
but ultimately a heavenly Canaan
00:20:07.58\00:20:09.41
awaiting for them
00:20:09.44\00:20:10.51
and that was the reward of Moses
00:20:10.54\00:20:13.74
and he was willing
to experience something
00:20:13.77\00:20:16.71
much greater than
this world could offer.
00:20:16.74\00:20:19.06
Instead of the promise
land he had a new heaven
00:20:19.09\00:20:21.83
and a new earth.
00:20:21.86\00:20:22.92
Instead of enjoying the
wealth of Pharaoh Quotes
00:20:22.95\00:20:25.32
he had the streets of
gold in the New Jerusalem.
00:20:25.35\00:20:28.54
Instead of great political power
00:20:28.57\00:20:30.45
in the nations of this earth
00:20:30.48\00:20:32.13
he experienced miss
treatment by the people of God.
00:20:32.16\00:20:35.45
Instead of being
preserved as a mummy in Egypt,
00:20:35.48\00:20:38.25
he was able to
go and be with Jesus
00:20:38.28\00:20:40.71
at the transfiguration
00:20:40.74\00:20:42.34
being a critical
point in Jesus ministry.
00:20:42.37\00:20:44.82
Moses looked to the reward,
00:20:44.85\00:20:47.66
he was one step
away from heaven.
00:20:47.69\00:20:50.06
And we don't know
the timing of our lives,
00:20:50.09\00:20:52.24
we don't know when the
sleep of death will take us
00:20:52.27\00:20:56.25
but the next thing we know
00:20:56.28\00:20:57.82
will be the
return of Jesus Christ,
00:20:57.85\00:20:59.86
will be the
resurrection, will be the--
00:20:59.89\00:21:01.74
the eternal life
that Jesus promises to us.
00:21:01.77\00:21:06.89
The fifth lesson we
learn from Mountain Nebo
00:21:06.92\00:21:09.30
is that we are not to
build any human shrine.
00:21:09.33\00:21:13.77
Moses burial place was not
preserved by any other people.
00:21:13.80\00:21:19.68
It was shortly before this
that Moses older brother Aaron
00:21:19.71\00:21:23.64
had Moses and his
sons Eleazar accompany him
00:21:23.67\00:21:27.39
to the place of his death.
00:21:27.42\00:21:30.15
He died there in Moses
arms and Moses and Eleazar
00:21:30.18\00:21:34.01
were able to burry Aaron
00:21:34.04\00:21:35.79
and they at least knew
the site of his burial.
00:21:35.82\00:21:39.28
But Moses went alone to
the top of Mountain Nebo
00:21:39.31\00:21:44.48
we are not to be
worshipping any prophet
00:21:44.51\00:21:46.87
even some one so great as Moses
00:21:46.90\00:21:49.11
there is no
apostle there is no priest,
00:21:49.14\00:21:52.13
there is no
pastor, preacher or teacher
00:21:52.16\00:21:54.75
that we are to make a shine to.
00:21:54.78\00:21:57.14
We worship Jesus
Christ in Him alone.
00:21:57.17\00:21:59.84
And our natural human
tendency is to look for--
00:21:59.87\00:22:02.81
for a physical place,
00:22:02.84\00:22:04.75
a physical thing that
we can go and worship at.
00:22:04.78\00:22:08.72
And yet we are not
to create these shrines.
00:22:08.75\00:22:12.31
And Moses place of death
00:22:12.34\00:22:15.66
was not persevered for
future generations to come to
00:22:15.69\00:22:18.97
and worship and
regret where it happened.
00:22:19.00\00:22:23.00
Instead his place
went completely unmarked.
00:22:23.03\00:22:27.31
The sixth and final lesson
00:22:27.34\00:22:28.62
we will look at
from Mountain Nebo
00:22:28.65\00:22:30.59
is that the view from the top
gives us a clear prospective.
00:22:30.62\00:22:35.83
Moses needed a clear prospective
00:22:35.86\00:22:38.64
and he needed to
be able to understand
00:22:38.67\00:22:41.14
that God was leading
each step of his life
00:22:41.17\00:22:43.90
and that God had a plan
and a purpose in his life.
00:22:43.93\00:22:50.04
There is a story
about a-- a bishop
00:22:50.07\00:22:53.35
who was traveling
from the east coast
00:22:53.38\00:22:57.28
to a small Midwestern college.
00:22:57.31\00:23:00.44
He was going to be
a guest speaker there
00:23:00.47\00:23:02.40
and he was staying
with the college president
00:23:02.43\00:23:05.73
a young man who not
only served as the president
00:23:05.76\00:23:08.33
but was the professor
of physics and chemistry.
00:23:08.36\00:23:10.81
And after dinner
the bishop declared that
00:23:10.84\00:23:14.07
the return of
Christ must be very soon
00:23:14.10\00:23:16.40
because just about everything
in nature had been discovered
00:23:16.43\00:23:20.07
and all the inventions
that could be thought off
00:23:20.10\00:23:23.13
had already been made.
00:23:23.16\00:23:24.87
The young college president
00:23:24.90\00:23:26.20
politely
disagreed with the bishop.
00:23:26.23\00:23:27.84
He felt that there were
00:23:27.87\00:23:28.91
many more
discoveries to be made.
00:23:28.94\00:23:31.86
The bishop became angry
and challenged the president
00:23:31.89\00:23:34.50
to name one thing
that could yet be invented.
00:23:34.53\00:23:37.41
The president said that
00:23:37.44\00:23:38.82
he was certain
that with in 50 years
00:23:38.85\00:23:41.61
people would be able to fly.
00:23:41.64\00:23:44.44
"Nonsense!" said the bishop.
00:23:44.47\00:23:46.38
There is no way, only
angels are intended to fly.
00:23:46.41\00:23:49.10
That's never going to happen.
00:23:49.13\00:23:51.47
But Bishop Wright didn't
have the same kind of vision
00:23:51.50\00:23:55.30
that his two boys
had and they were at home
00:23:55.33\00:23:58.27
conducting their own experiments
00:23:58.30\00:24:00.44
and developing
their own inventions
00:24:00.47\00:24:03.10
and his two sons Orville
and Wilbur Wright are credited
00:24:03.13\00:24:07.35
with conducting the
first manned flight.
00:24:07.38\00:24:12.48
Our vision
should not be restricted
00:24:12.51\00:24:14.92
to the little
bit that we can see.
00:24:14.95\00:24:17.36
We need to have
a clear perspective
00:24:17.39\00:24:19.74
of how God is leading
and what God is doing.
00:24:19.77\00:24:23.31
One of the perspective
that we need to have in life
00:24:23.34\00:24:25.80
is to avoid the clutter
of all the little things.
00:24:25.83\00:24:28.70
Jesus warned against
the cares and anxieties
00:24:28.73\00:24:31.23
of this life
weighing us down so that--
00:24:31.26\00:24:33.80
so that we loose
track of those things
00:24:33.83\00:24:35.71
that are most important.
00:24:35.74\00:24:37.94
We can never take our eyes
off of Jesus in His leading.
00:24:37.97\00:24:42.38
We need to see the big issues,
the important issues of life.
00:24:42.41\00:24:46.90
We need to recognize
that the greatest priority
00:24:46.93\00:24:50.67
is that we have a
personal relationship
00:24:50.70\00:24:53.73
with Jesus Christ and that
we maintain that day by day
00:24:53.76\00:24:57.64
and there is no daily pressure
00:24:57.67\00:24:58.97
that's more important than
that time with Jesus Christ.
00:24:59.00\00:25:03.57
We also need to be willing
to let the past be the past.
00:25:03.60\00:25:07.86
There's nothing we can do to--
00:25:07.89\00:25:09.36
to change events that
have taken place before.
00:25:09.39\00:25:13.62
The people of
Australia have chosen
00:25:13.65\00:25:16.33
as a part of the
symbol on their--
00:25:16.36\00:25:18.52
their crust of arms
the emu and kangaroo
00:25:18.55\00:25:22.46
and what's unique about
the emu and the kangaroo
00:25:22.49\00:25:24.88
is that neither one of
them can move backwards,
00:25:24.91\00:25:27.45
they can only go
forward because of the--
00:25:27.48\00:25:29.54
the three toes on the
emu they have to move forward
00:25:29.57\00:25:32.59
or they'll fall and
because of their strong tail
00:25:32.62\00:25:34.94
that the kangaroo has
it can only jump forward.
00:25:34.97\00:25:38.40
And that's the way
the people of Australia
00:25:38.43\00:25:40.66
want to conduct themselves.
00:25:40.69\00:25:42.25
And as Christians
that's what we do as well.
00:25:42.28\00:25:44.89
We look forward to the hope
00:25:44.92\00:25:46.40
of what Jesus
Christ has promised to us.
00:25:46.43\00:25:49.71
We learn lessons from the past
00:25:49.74\00:25:51.84
from those who have
gone before us in history
00:25:51.87\00:25:55.48
but we look to the
future and the promises
00:25:55.51\00:25:57.52
and the
fulfillment of God's word
00:25:57.55\00:26:00.42
and we must know
where we are going.
00:26:00.45\00:26:02.77
We must recognize
that God is unfolding
00:26:02.80\00:26:07.24
events in
history and in our life
00:26:07.27\00:26:09.71
to fulfill His promises,
00:26:09.74\00:26:11.42
to bring us the greatness
of His provision in our lives.
00:26:11.45\00:26:17.51
I like to close
with a few words,
00:26:17.54\00:26:20.24
from the book
Patriarchs and Prophets
00:26:20.27\00:26:22.23
there's a chapter
entitled the Death of Moses
00:26:22.26\00:26:24.44
that describes his experience
00:26:24.47\00:26:26.38
as he climbs to the
top of the mountain Nebo.
00:26:26.41\00:26:31.12
Says, "The great Ruler
of nations had declared
00:26:31.15\00:26:34.02
that Moses was not to
lead the congregation of Israel
00:26:34.05\00:26:36.72
into the goodly land,
00:26:36.75\00:26:37.99
and the earnest
pleading of God's servant
00:26:38.02\00:26:40.01
could not secure a
reversing of His sentence.
00:26:40.04\00:26:42.68
He knew that he must die.
00:26:42.71\00:26:45.53
Yet he had not
for a moment faltered
00:26:45.56\00:26:47.47
in his care for Israel.
00:26:47.50\00:26:49.87
The work of Moses as
leader of Israel was ended.
00:26:49.90\00:26:53.50
As the people
gazed upon the aged man,
00:26:53.53\00:26:55.77
so soon to be taken
from them, they recalled,
00:26:55.80\00:26:58.40
with a new and
deeper appreciation,
00:26:58.43\00:27:00.49
his parental
tenderness, his wise counsels,
00:27:00.52\00:27:03.44
and his untiring labors.
00:27:03.47\00:27:04.92
How often, when
their sins had invited
00:27:04.95\00:27:07.22
the just judgments of
God, the prayers of Moses
00:27:07.25\00:27:10.47
had prevailed
with Him to spare them!
00:27:10.50\00:27:13.32
Their grief was
heightened by remorse.
00:27:13.35\00:27:16.48
God speaks to His
people in blessings bestowed
00:27:16.51\00:27:20.25
and when they
are not appreciated,
00:27:20.28\00:27:21.95
He speaks to them
in blessings removed,
00:27:21.98\00:27:24.12
that they may be
led to see their sins,
00:27:24.15\00:27:26.36
and return to Him
with all their heart.
00:27:26.39\00:27:28.90
Moses turned
from the congregation,
00:27:28.93\00:27:30.94
and in silence and alone made
his way up the mountainside.
00:27:30.97\00:27:35.35
In solitude Moses reviewed
the life of vicissitudes
00:27:35.38\00:27:38.79
and hardships since he
turned from courtly honors
00:27:38.82\00:27:41.88
and from a
prospective kingdom in Egypt,
00:27:41.91\00:27:43.76
to cast in his lot
with God's chosen people."
00:27:43.79\00:27:46.94
And then the tired worrier
00:27:46.97\00:27:49.08
lay down and rested
in the promises of God
00:27:49.11\00:27:53.99
just as each one
of us can do as well.
00:27:54.02\00:27:56.60