Revelation's 3 Safest Places | Sermon by Mark Finley

where can we find safety in a time when the world is tragically unsafe natural disasters strike pestilences and strange diseases afflict many and many of our friends tonight are on ventilators in hospitals suffering others have died from the virus millions around the world and we ask ourselves where can we find safety where can we find safety when there's an economic collapse where can we find safety when there's political disaster all around us where can we find safety in an insecure world that is very very unsafe it appears today that there is really no safe place on earth covet 19 is is ravaging the globe not only america but internationally tens of thousands have become sick millions of people have died the delta virus is spreading rapidly but that's not all fires are burning out of control in california floods have deluged cities if you've been watching the news at all this week in in the south and even in the northwest you look at new jersey where we wouldn't expect it new york i mean new york had more rain in one hour than they have had for many many weeks and months subways were flooded people trapped in the subways to add to that the water falls in the east but there's a critical water shortage in the west hurricane ida devastated louisiana tornadoes destroying large amounts of housing in the southwest haiti is struck with a major earthquake leading political commentators to say we've never seen anything like this before it seems all nature is out of control but you add to that that afghanistan is ravaged with chaos and strife and we see on the tv screens and over the news media that 13 servicemen have been killed in a terrorist explosion you add to that that iran and iraq are developing nuclear weaponry india and kashmir are locked in a battle over territorial rights the israelis and the palestinians are constantly constantly in conflict and africa has not been spared from poverty disease and conflict many south americans are are facing in many south american countries are facing tremendous uncertainty today i was interested in the comment of one news commentator this week as i caught a brief glimpse of the news some commentators said this is historic other commentators say we've never seen anything like this before in the history of the world but one commentator borrowed a phrase from scripture and this commentator said this is apocalyptic now you recall of course that the book of revelation is called the apocalypse now the crisis of our times raises some fundamental questions where can we find hope where can we find security is there safety from any of for any of us where can we find safety in a time when the world is tragically unsafe natural disasters strike pestilences and strange diseases afflict many and many of our friends tonight are on ventilators in hospitals suffering others have died from the virus millions around the world and we ask ourselves where can we find safety where can we find safety when there's an economic collapse where can we find safety when there's political disaster all around us where can we find safety in an insecure world that is very very unsafe the book of revelation provides an answer when he said when ex when when john is exiled on the island of patmos by the roman emperor domitian the ancient apostle writes revelation chapter 4 we look to the word of god to get a word of hope from the scriptures and the message of scriptures comes echoing and react going down the corners of time and speaks to us at this time in this generation revelation chapter four we're looking at verse one john exiled on the island of patmos john lonely on the island of patmos separated from family and friends god gives to john a prophetic vision and john says after these things i looked and behold a door was standing open in heaven and the first voice which i heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying come up here and i'll show you things which must take place after this verse 2. immediately i was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat upon the throne john says and his message comes echoing and re-echoing down the corners of time john speaks to us he says above the chaos and the calamities and confusion and conflicts god still sits enthroned god still raids god still is in charge he's still working out the affairs of this earth to accomplish his purposes although satan may be the prince of this world god is still the king of the universe what do you say church in prophetic vision john looks and there's a door open in heaven getting a glimpse of the eternal calms our spirits it encourages our hearts it gives rest to our souls we look up through that open door in heaven there's calamity around us there is confusion on every hand there's one crisis after the other but there still is a door opened in heaven and looking up through that open door we see jesus sitting upon his throne and that brings us hope that brings us assurance that brings us confidence my topic today is revelations three safest places revelations three safest places you and i can go there by faith we live on earth but our hearts and minds are in heaven reminded me of a story that i heard about a preacher called bob harrington bob harrington was called the preacher of bourbon street he would go down to bourbon street in new orleans and preach one time he was preaching and a guy came along half drunk and poured a mug of beer over his head well that didn't phase bob harrington at all he kept preaching another time he was preaching and a guy came along half drunk and ripped out the pages in his bible harrington knew them by memory kept preaching another time bob harrington was walking through uh new orleans walking down bourbon street and somebody said hey bob where you going today preacher bob and he said i'm going to heaven but i'm just passing through town we are going to heaven but just passing through town and john says amidst the calamity amidst the confusion amidst the heartache and difficulty amidst the sickness look through the open door in heaven and there find confidence well what do we see when we look through that open door revelation the seventh chapter and we're looking there at verse nine through fourteen the three safest places to be in a time of chaos confusion and calamity revelation the seventh chapter we start there with verse nine and after this i beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands now notice what john sees when we look at that verse we see that john sees a great multitude how many people are there is it a small group is it a small group that are there are only a few people there what does john see he says i saw a great what's the word multitude a great multitude and and how many were in that great multitude how many were there it's as i saw a great multitude which what no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people in tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands so many of them that no man could number the scripture says god's grace is sufficient to save the power of christ is greater than the power of satan where sin doth abound god's grace abounds even more there is no sin so great that god cannot forgive it there is no guilt so burdensome that god cannot remove it there is no habit so strong that god cannot break it one of the worst torments that anybody can ever face is the torment of a tortured soul over what we've done in the past the tortured soul for our sins our mistakes and our failures of the past there are those people that live their life with tortured souls they look back over things they've done in the past and they seem to be able to find no peace their sins mistakes and failures haunt them but those standing before the throne of god that day discovered jesus as the source of peace jesus is the source of security jesus as the source of safety you remember what paul says in the book of hebrews hebrews chapter four hebrews the fourth chapter there is no sin that is so great that god cannot forgive it and i know that with a group this size there's somebody here that has a tortured soul by faith look up through the open door in heaven by faith look at those standing around the throne of god that nobody could number by faith grasp the reality that your sins can be forgiven grasp the reality that there is new power in christ look here hebrews the fourth chapter we find in hebrews chapter four these wonder this wonderful encouragement verse 15 hebrews the fourth chapter the 15th verse let us come boldly you know what that word boldly means it means confidently let us come confidently to the throne of grace so the throne in heaven is a throne of what everybody the throne of heaven in heaven is a throne of what grace and we can come boldly or confidently to the throne of grace that we may find grace to help in time of need do you have time of need looking through the open door in heaven looking there we see the great multitude and as we see the great multitude they are rejoicing around god's throne o tormented soul oh sin riddled soul oh one that has difficulty because there are knots in your stomach and your head spins because of the sins of the past i've got good news for you jesus is still a mighty savior and when we look through the open door of heaven we see him some of you will recall reading the story of martin luther martin luther in a monastery became of course a monk and there in that monastery he wanted peace with god so he fasted for weeks he denied himself food he became so thin that he had fainting spells but still no peace still his soul was tortured by sin still he felt that he was not good enough ever to make heaven have you ever felt that way that the standard is too high that you simply are not good enough to ever be in heaven look through the open door and around the throne of god there is a great multitude that are singing salvation to our god luther felt that he was never good enough he felt that he could never meet the standard he said and these are his words i was indeed a pious monk i followed the rules of my order more strictly than i can express if ever a monk could attain heaven by his monkish works i could certainly have been entitled to it if i had continued much longer i should have carried my mortifications to death he would beat himself he would whip himself but then god brought somebody into his life to give him godly counsel from the word of god god brought a another man into his life by the name of staupitz and staupitz said this to luther he said luther instead of torturing yourself on account of your sins throw yourself into the redeemer's arms trust in him in the righteousness of his life in the atonement of his death listen to the son of god he became man to give you the assurance of divine favor love him who first loved you and today somebody here with a tortured soul i say to you as stoutman said to luther instead of torturing yourself on account of your sins look through the open door of heaven throw yourself into the redeemer's arms you can make it my friend the journey may be long the road may be rough but christ is a mighty savior in the name of jesus you can make it these words made a deep impression on luther's mind after a terrible struggle luther grasped the truth of the gospel and here is what luther said christ's blood covers my sins in christ i'm a child of god accepting christ i accept his righteousness and i'm counted before god just as if i'd never sinned he was able to sing with redeemed of all ages that expression in revelation 7 verse 10 salvation belongs to the lord our god now notice who these people are who stand before the throne of god did you notice that in the book of revelation chapter 7 verse 9 and 10 go back and take a look at that the safest place for you to be today is by faith soar from this earth and stand before god's throne with the multitudes from all ages now i love this portion of the text revelation 7 verse 9 and 10 it says after these things i looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number and where do they come from of all nations of all tribes of all peoples in tongues standing before the throne of the lamb now notice they're from all nations peoples in tongues will some of them come from the middle east will they come from the middle east some of them will some of them come from north korea some are there believers in north korea too that we know little about right now sure well some of them come from afghanistan you know when we held our meetings in moscow in the kremlin auditorium we had some from afghanistan come because at that time russia and afghanistan were uh allies it was after the war between russia and afghanistan so many afghans came to russia to study in the universities and we had some afghans come to our meetings they accepted jesus they went back to afghanistan and started small groups in afghanistan and whether we know it or not you may have brothers and sisters today in afghanistan and when you stand around that throne of god you're gonna stand around the throne of god with believers from every nation kindred tongue and people and sing praises to the lord will some come from iran yes we got we have believers in iran today well some come from iraq well some come from albania you know albania was the only country in the world that was constitutionally atheistic there was no other country in the world ever huxor was the authorian authoritarian dictator they had no muslims there they had no buddhists there no hindus there no christians there was it was constitutionally atheistic in the 1930s as adventists we wanted to try to penetrate albania so daniel lewis was a pharmacist in boston massachusetts of albanian ethnic background so we sent daniel lewis to start a pharmacy which the albanians needed but he was really a missionary he wasn't going to be dispensing pills as much as he's going to dispense the gospel which is the greatest pill so he went there as a pharmacist and he began and he worked from 1930 1939 by 1939 the communist government of albania discovered what he was doing he had five converts by that time they weren't yet baptized but they were accepted christ they accepted the word of god they began to keep the sabbath and the authorities found out and they put him in prison they gave him a 20-year prison sentence daniel lewis 20-year prison sentence he only served four years in prison because he died his condition was so inhumane he died his wife flora was also in prison but she stayed in romania because she was a romanian so i rather a albanian so she stayed in albania and stayed there tried to nurture this little group one of the women in that little group was a woman by the name of um myopi gorka now this little group of five waited 50 years when in 1985 tini and i with our family moved to europe lived in england and one of the countries that was was my responsibility was albania but i could never get in to try we want they wanted me to go but i could never get in when communism began to fell in 1989 and 1990 we were able to send a team in in 1991 to albania as we sent the team into albania we began to look around and we knew where daniel lewis had lived we knew where his five converts had been uh converted but we had no idea where they lived but we knew the village so we went to the village we sent a team i was not with this particular team we sent a team in and they found maopi gorka she had been converted under the influence of daniel lewis 50 years before 50 years before she had a greek new testament that she hid under her bed and she knew greek and she so she copied it into albanian every day when her daughters would go out to their work she would copy a scripture and give it to them to read to encourage them when our three adventist leaders met mayo b gorka when she was 87 years old she said i want two things one i want to be baptized i've never been baptized but she wanted to be baptized she waited 50 years to be baptized but she said i have something i want to give you she went under her bed and pulled out now you have to understand she was on four dollars a month pension she had saved her tithe for 50 years and she had 539 dollars in tithe and she said this is sacred money i've saved this for 50 years here is it use it to spread god's work around the world someday you're going to stand before the throne of god someday you're gonna worship with people like daniel lewis mayo be gorka from every nation kindred tongue and people that is the message of the book of revelation we are part of a worldwide family that god has raised up notice we noticed two things about that group that stands around the throne of god we notice first that nobody can number them that you can be there that i can be there by the grace of god we can stand around that throne and when the journey is long and the mountain's rough we look through the open door of heaven and we see those around the throne of god and we can say by the grace of god i can be there the second thing we notice is that they are from every nation kindred tongue and people that were part of a worldwide family now notice something else revelation chapter 7 revelation chapter 7. notice two other things about this group revelation the seventh chapter you're looking there at the ninth verse two other things about this group that are standing there around the throne of god they sing in verse 10 salvation belongs to god who sits on the throne and the lamb but at the end of verse nine there are two things about them first they are clothed in white robes and then they have palm branches in their hands what does it mean that they are closed in white robes what are those around god's throne where white robes symbolize that they found jesus as their old and all white robes symbolize the righteousness of christ that covers their sins and the cleansing power of christ to deliver them from the bondage of sin they're pardoned by his grace they are justified by his blood they are sanctified by his indwelling power here is the problem with many a christian they look into their own hearts for assurance of salvation they look at their own behavior to try to determine whether they're going to be qualified for heaven and not if you look in your own heart all you're going to find is defilement because jeremiah says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked if you look at your own behavior you're never going to match up but these people are clothed with the white robes of christ's righteousness and christ's righteousness covers the failures of our past it empowers us to live a godly life in the future so we look through the open door of heaven and what do we see there we see jesus and a great multitude standing before the throne of god now they have something in their hands what do they have in their hands what do they have in their hands palm branches that's kind of strange it is only strange if you don't understand the symbolism what is this about the palm branches in their hands can you think of any time in the bible where it talks about palm branches well there are two instances that we want to notice one in the old testament what in the new testament leviticus chapter 23 verse 40. this is during the feast of tabernacles now what was the feast of tabernacles feast of tabernacles came at the end of the jewish year the feast of the day of atonement was a day of sorrow it was a day of soul-searching it was a day of cleansing of heart it was a day of judgment but the feast of tabernacles came at the end of the harvest the seed had been planted the crops had grown the harvest had ripened and the grain was brought in so we look at leviticus chapter 23 and we notice there verse 40 and there as we look at verse 40 notice what the scripture says in the 40th verse of leviticus 23 and you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees branches of palm trees and boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook and you shall rejoice before the lord god seven days so the palm trees were a symbol that the harvest had been gathered and waving the palm branches was a symbol of rejoicing so when you think of the great multitude in revelation 7 standing before the throne of god you are thinking of songs of joy and gladness and rejoicing you are thinking of the fact that in the old testament the palm branches being waived represented the completion of the harvest now can you think about any time in the new testament when also we have palm branches mentioned can you think of any time like that the what the triumphal entry right john chapter 12 take your bible and then we'll put all this together john chapter 12 verse 12 and 13. god has a wonderful plan for you and you can participate in his heavenly plan that'll take place when jesus comes you can participate right now in that by faith john chapter 12 verse 12 and 13. we find another description of these palm branches and what do we find here you got the great triumphal entry they are singing hosanna hosanna hosanna in the highest and as they sing many of them take their palm branches and they spread them before the feet of jesus as he enters into the city of jerusalem in what we call the triumphal entry john chapter 12 verse 12 and 13 the next day a great multitude did we see a great multitude around the throne of god did we see that there yes next day a great multitude that had come to the feast when they heard that jesus was coming to jerusalem took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord the king of israel so the placing of palm branches before jesus on the triumphal entry is simply a foretaste of the glory that we will have in the triumphal entry of christ into the heavenly sanctuary and praising god around that throne as he sits upon the throne john sees a door open in heaven and what do we see there we see we have first great encouragement because there's a multitude there it's not one or two people secondly we have great hope there of security because god is still upon his throne and above the confusion of the earth god is still there we need not worry because we can enter by faith today through the open door of heaven we see their men and women not clothed in their righteousness but in the righteousness of jesus christ and if you look at your works you're always going to feel disappointed but if you look at jesus he will change you by his grace and glory into his image we see them weaving palm branches and we say lord i want to wave those palm branches with a great multitude one day i want to shout victory hallelujah we know that no matter what conflict there is in earth what crisis there is in earth what calamity there is in earth that victory is ours victory is ours so someday when sickness afflicts your body someday when you are running out of finances and you have economic difficulties someday when you are afflicted with famine fire flood in your imagination take your palm branch and wave it now and say jesus one day i'm gonna stand around the throne of god and one day you're gonna give me victory where do these people come from what does the bible say in revelation 7 where do they come from they come out of what great what tribulation is a great tribulation coming indeed are these people going to be destroyed in the great tribulation not at all they're going to come out of it the trials of life one day will be over sickness suffering and death one day will be over joy will fill our hearts gladness will radiate through our beings redeemed by the blood of christ we are home at last home at last home at last before god's throne we rejoice and we're safe forever let's look away from the trials of life now enter the safest place in the universe and by faith stand before the throne of god now there's a second place that's very safe the first is before god's throne the second is on mount zion revelation chapter 14. revelation chapter 14 is divided into three parts the first part are a peoples that are there with jesus on mount zion second part is the message that gets them ready for mount zion and the third part is the event for which they are prepared for you have revelation 14 1-5 the people revelation 14 6-12 the message revelation 14 13-20 the event that they're prepared for now revelation 14 we begin to look and uh don't we're not going to get into the details of who the 144 000 are today that will come another day but we're going to look at some of their qualifications some of their qualities but there's one major thing i want you to see revelation 14 verse 1 i looked and lo a lamb stood on mount zion who is the lamb jesus and with him 144 000 having his father's name written in their foreheads take mention of that the father's name written in the foreheads we will come back to it i heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of the great thunder and i heard voice of harper's harping with their harps and they sung as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders that nobody could learn that song but the 144 thousand who redeemed from the earth these are they which are not defiled with women for their virgins they follow the lamb wherever he goes these were redeemed from among men being the first fruits of god to the lamb and in their mouth was found no guile and there without fault before the throne of god now where does the bible say that these people are it names a particular mountain what is what's the name of that mountain they're on mount what zion now when you read in the bible the symbolism of mount zion that is significant zion in the bible always refers to the city of god now the name was originally given to a jebusite fortress the name mount zion literally means mountain fortress what does it mean everybody what's that mean mountain fortress so when you think of mount zion you're thinking of what mountain fortress mount zion is the high hill that david built his citadel on it's on the southeast side of the city of jerusalem it means defense a fortified place or a stronghold here is the incredibly good news in the calamities of life in the confusion of life by faith we can look through the open door of heaven and flee to mount zion the fortress of the living god where the devil's wiles can never touch us hebrews the 12th chapter the 22nd verse hebrews chapter 12 verse 27 in our minds by faith we can grasp the reality that one day we will stand on mount zion with christ one day we will find jesus as our refuge our security our defense but by faith we can live in mount zion today hebrews chapter 12 we are looking there at verse 22 hebrews 12 verse 22 but you now remember hebrews 11 is about the worthies of faith and it says in hebrews chapter 12 but you believers you who are redeemed by the blood of christ you who are awaiting the advent but you have come to mount zion and when we think about zion what is mount zion everybody it is a place of refuge a place of security it is a fortress of defense but you've come to mount zion the city of the living god the heavenly jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels now notice verse 3 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven to god the judge of all when we come to christ and are bathed in his love charmed by his grace transformed by his power when we live in the righteousness of christ our names are registered in heaven by faith we come to mount zion and we are in the safest place in the world there christ is our fortress christ is our defense christ is our security christ is our protector and christ is our refuge hallelujah now notice something that's significant about this group it says the father's name is somewhere where's the father's name in their foreheads now you can receive the father's name only in the forehead but you receive the mark of the beast in your forehead or in your hand why hand indicates uh power coercion so the beast power will force you for it indicates volition choice so people are either deceived to receive the mark of the beast in their forehead or they are forced to do it but god has given us free will so he will never force us the the father's name in the forehead the mark of the beast in the forehead one is the sign of absolute allegiance to christ the other is the sign of absolute allegiance to the beast one represents total commitment to heaven's authority the other represents total commitment to the authority of the beast one represents obedience to god and his commands the other represents obedience to the beast and his commands here is the truth of the matter every single one of us will either receive the father's name in our foreheads the seal of god or the mark of the beast there is no alternative there is no neutrality in earth's last war there's nobody that can say hey i don't want to vote in this election we devote for jesus or we vote for satan now who are these hundred forty four thousand the bible gives us a clue in revelation chapter 14 verse 4. you'll find it there revelation 14 verse 4. who are they revelation 14 4 puts it this way they do something these are they revelation 14 4. can you read it with me church let's read it together these are they these are the ones that's we're going to start these are what the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes these were redeemed from among men now notice it they follow him there because they followed him here they walk in the footsteps of jesus in heaven because they walked in the footsteps of jesus on earth they know him there because they knew him here they enjoy his presence in heaven because they enjoy his presence here do you enjoy the presence of jesus do you enjoy the presence of jesus do you enjoy those quiet moments that you spend alone with jesus they stand before his throne rejoicing in that day because he has established his throne in their hearts who is on the throne of your hearts we follow the lamb wherever he goes in heaven because we've been following the lamb wherever he has gone on earth are you willing to follow him wherever he leads you are you willing to follow him in sabbath keeping are you willing to follow him in tithe paying are you willing to follow him in health and your diet and reform oh don't don't touch that one pastor i mean i'll follow him in sabotage if i'm an entitlement but don't touch my dialogue because i like those things too much like please please are you willing to follow him and dress in a dormant are you willing to follow him in what you watch on the video there will be a group of people praise his holy name that follows him wherever he leads they will follow him wherever he leads as it says in the book of colossians they set their affections on things above he has weaned them from the affections of earth their desire is eternity i love this reference by ellen white that she wrote in an article in the review in herald april 12 1898 where she puts it this way she says we need not wait till we're translated to follow christ don't you like that we need not wait till we translate it to foul christ god's people may do this here below we shall follow the lamb of god in the courts above next word what is it everybody only if we follow him here i want to follow him here don't you following him in heaven depends and are keeping his commandments now we're not to file christ fitfully or capriciously only when it's to our advantage we must choose to follow him in daily life we must follow his example as a flock trustfully follows its shepherd we stand on mount zion a place of refuge and security by faith and as we stand on mount zion we stand following the lamb there because we have followed the lamb here now there is one more picture that we must see revelation 15 verse 2-7 the three safest places in the world the first safest place is by faith to stand with the multitude of all ages before the throne of god the second safest place is by faith to stand on mount zion and sense that jesus is my defense jesus is my refuge jesus is my security and decide to follow him wherever he leads the third safest place we find in revelation the 15th chapter revelation chapter 15 we're going to look there at verse 2 and 3 and i saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire those who have victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark will some people have victory over the beast they will by the grace of god they will triumph victory over the beast over his image over his mark over the number of his names standing on a sea of glass having the harps of god they sing the song of moses the servant of god and the song of the lamb saying great and marvelous are your works lord god almighty now they're standing someplace where are they standing everybody where are they standing on a sea what's the sea made of glass that's kind of confusing sea of glass and the sea of glass is mingled with something it's mingled with what fire now in the bible what does fire represent when a pillar of fire led israel by night what did it represent when the fire re came down between the cherubim in the sanctuary what did it represent the presence of god so the fire leads israel that's the presence of god the fire between the cherubim the presence of god when the disciples prayed on the day of pentecost fire came down from heaven and what did that fire represent the presence of god through the holy spirit so when you stand on the sea of glass what does that represent peter also talks about fiery trials that his church will go through it represents the presence of god that's been with his people through every trial that they've ever experienced so i look through the open door of heaven and i imagine myself standing on the sea of glass transparent glass that reflects the throne of god and the glory of his character and i think of the symbolism of the fire and i say god you've been with me through every trial you've been with me through every difficulty and you will sustain me so one day i can stand on the sea of glass and have victory over the beast and the powers of hell and i can sing with those from every tribe and every nation and every people i can sing the song of moses now in the bible there are three songs of moses did you know that three songs of moses in the bible one song is in exodus 15. one song is in psalm 90 and one psalm is sung is in deuteronomy 32 three songs of moses in the bible the first song of moses in the bible is a song of victory moses and the israelites go through the red sea after the egyptian plagues as they go through that sea and that miracle is worked the egyptians attempt to go through that sea and come crashing down upon them the sides and they are destroyed on the other side of the sea miriam leads the children of israel to sing a song of moses which is the horus and the rider he's he's cast into the god is cast into the sea we are safe and secure so that the song of moses is a song of victory that every foe has been defeated that the evil powers have been vanquished that satan is no longer has his grip upon us that's one aspect of the song of moses the second aspect of the song of moses you read is in the 90th psalm now the 90th psalm is an amazing psalm it's the song of moses in which moses just talks about god's sustaining presence despite israel's waywardness and departure from god's will it begins in in take your bible please and turn to psalm 90 and this is the second song of moses in the bible psalm 90 this song is encouraging israel sings it israel was wayward from god and this is the song or the prayer of moses it talks about the eternity of god man's frailty and the first verse says lord you've been our dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth or ever you formed the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting you are god so it speaks about israel's sinfulness israel's unfaithfulness but the faithfulness of god so when we sing the song of moses we are singing god although we've been unfaithful you have been faithful although we've sinned you've been righteous although we've been unholy you've been holy and we've accepted your righteousness you've covered our sins you've changed our life you've empowered us we sing the song of moses so exodus 15 the song of victory psalm 90 the song of god's faithfulness in spite of israel's unfaithfulness then we come to deuteronomy 31. now in deuteronomy 31 and i'll summarize that for you moses is about ready to die he's about ready to go up on the mount and look over to the promised land he wants to go into the promised land he says god please take me into the promised land don't let me die among the midianites among the amorites don't let my bones bleach in the sands of the even god take me in and god says moses you sinned you can't go in moses goes up on the mountain if horrible dies but yet god had a better plan for him he's going to resurrect him from the dead and bring him to eternity rather leading him to the earthly promised land god is going to take them there to the place of eternity the song of moses in deuteronomy 31 revealed what was to come and emphasize god's faithfulness and in that song of moses in deuteronomy 31 and 32 god is mentioned as the rock of stability four times even as god's people chased their whims and trusted their feeble gods and god remains steadfast unchanging the source of salvation what a day that is going to be when we stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire see the reflected glory of god sense that god is with us in every trial and every difficulty sing the song of moses like in exodus 15 the song of victory over the powers of hell seeing the song of moses psalm 90 that god is with us in our unfaithfulness sing the song of moses in deuteronomy chapter 32 that god is our rock that through all of life when the ground is shaking beneath us we still had a rock of security come with me by faith look through the open door of heaven and find the safest place on earth standing before the throne of god we are safe insecure standing before the throne of god we know that he still reigns come with me to mount zion by faith the place of refuge and security he will never ever let you go come with me and stand on the sea of glass sing the song of moses he is there with us now and forever let's pray father at times our view is on earth we look where they look and we fear their fear sometimes we feel so weak and inadequate and we fear that we can never make it and be lost that we're going to be lost help us look through the open door of heaven and see jesus imagine help us to imagine that we're standing there in the sea of glass with our white robes of christ righteousness waving the palm branches of victory when this earth is going crazy help us know that you're still on the throne father we pray that you would give us peace and serenity help us look away from ourselves to jesus sometimes lord when sickness afflicts us we wonder if we're taking our last breath help us know that our life is in your hands that you are our fortress your defense and sometimes we get afraid about finances about calamities and storms help us to imagine that one day we will be on mount zion with you may the things of earth pass away because we are safe in the arms of jesus in christ's name amen

Channel: HopeLives365

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Keywords: Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh day Adventist, SDA, Adventist, Adventists, Mark Finley, HopeLives365, Hope Lives 365, Revelation

Id: szeTCivuuWY

Length: 51min 9sec (3069 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 10 2021