Moses And Mt Nebo

Title: Moses And Mt Nebo

Text: Deut 32:45 and 34:1-12

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Introduction:

- We all know that in the Word of God and with our experience with God there are valley experiences and mountain top experiences.

- We know that the Word does not specifically speak of mountain top experiences or valley experiences but rather the Word refers to these areas and shows us what takes place when we are in these geographical locations.

- Let me explain:

- The valley represents hardship and difficulty where the mountain represents victory and relief from struggles.

Lets talk about the valley for a moment:

- When people are in the valley, it can produce at times fear, rebellion, grumbling and sorrow.

- When we don’t put our faith in the Lord while in the valley, we just stay there longer until we change and trust in God.

- Our example is the Israelites who wondered in the wilderness for 40 years.

- According to Deut 1, it was only a 2 week journey to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea, but it took 40 years, why?

- Because they couldn’t trust the Lord to guide them and give them the promise land.

- The Bible says in Deut 1:26 that they grumbled and were unwilling.

- Those are emotions that God wants to erase out of there vocabulary.

- Failure to live in God’s will and by His Spirit can result in a delay in or even in a total loss of God’s plan for our lives.

- Why is the valley trying for the believer?

- There are many obstacles in the valley that can turn our attention off of the Shepherd and on to the surroundings.

- Here are a few of the obstacles that believers face while in the valley.

- Wolves and other wild animals that like to destroy sheep.

- There’s the un level ground that make it hard for the sheep to follow the Shepherd.

- There’s the lack of sunlight because of all the trees and brush that block it out, it makes it hard to see the path and direction of the Shepherd.

- So the valley experience teach us to keep our eyes on the true Shepherd which is Jesus Christ.

- The valley times show us what is inside of us and what needs to become more like Christ.

- It also teaches us how committed, and strong we are in following the Shepherd.

- Valley experiences are necessary for us to grow and experience the power of God.

- God doesn’t just want us to know that He heals, delivers, guides and talks. He wants us to experience those things.

- The only way we are going to experience them is to walk in the valley.

- The Israelites walked in the valley or wilderness as a time of testing, to see what was in them.

- And it’s unfortunate, they didn’t pass, they died in the wilderness.

Transition:

- What about the Mountain Top?

- What is the Mountain Top experience like?

- How do we get from the valley to the mountain?

- All the answers are found in our text, Deut 34:1-12

- I want to share with you how to get to the mountain from the valley, and 3 points of what you will experience while on the mountain top.

- Moses in verse 10 is described as being a friend of God.

- He was a man who spoke face to face with God, a privilege no man has had since.

- Here’s the secret that Moses had that we need to posses.

- It’s a character trait that we all struggle with but Moses excelled in.

- God disciplined Moses severely but still called him His friend.

- Now we will all experience the harsh discipline of the Lord, but how do we respond when God disciplines us or corrects us?

- A lot of the time we respond with anger, embarrassment or resentment.

- The people of Israel responded to God with resentment in Deut 1 thus they stayed in the valley until that attitude left them.

- It never did and they died there.

- We need to respond as Moses responded and he responded in a way that was open to God, loving towards God and a desire to do better.

- In order for us to leave the valley experience we need to accept that sometimes we disobey, and because we disobey God will discipline us.

- When we are getting disciplined remember to respond in love towards God, humble yourself and desire to do better.

- If we will practice those principals we will find ourselves leaving the valley experiences a little more often.

- God is in the business of making you more like Him and keeping His name holy.