In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of leaders inspiring others to move forward in difficult times. He uses the example of Moses leading the Israelites through the wilderness, highlighting how Moses did not rely on lengthy sermons or pep talks to motivate the people. Instead, Moses showed his commitment by going ahead of the people and demonstrating his trust in God. The speaker also references the moment when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to meet with God, and how the people became anxious and uncertain about his return. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the need for leaders to lead by example and inspire others to keep moving forward, even in challenging circumstances.

You will remember, if you were here last night, that we finished on this great note of go, go forward, that the Lord was telling this man Moses what to do. Go, he said, and go, he insisted. We got, you will remember, as far as chapter 17 in the note, where it says that all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched in rephidim and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water and the people murmured against Moses and said, wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord saying, what shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, go on. The wonderful thing, he said, now don't let this stop you going on, Moses. Haven't you found it like this in your experience that you come to a, I suppose we might call it it a sticky situation or you've been here and it doesn't seem to be what you thought it should be. And if you're not careful, you stop going on. And the only solution to the problem is to go on. I pointed it out to you and I hope it went home last evening that when Moses reached the Red Sea with the people of Israel, God told him that he was to go forward. And here again, there's been a time of encampment. You can read all about it in chapter 15. And all those sorts of things, they'd been camped and all judgments were taking place. I mean normal judgments in the life of a nation. But here it is, they're in a mess again. So they think, and God says, now don't stop, go forward. And the important thing is this. He said you're to go forward before the people. The people are to see that you, Moses, are going forward, going on. That's ever so important about the people, you know. If they don't see their leaders going on, if they don't see that, it doesn't matter how much the leaders may sort of use a tongue lash against them, and prate at them, and preach at them, and do all sorts of things. If they aren't going on visibly, so that all the people can see them going on, there's not going to be much doing. In other words, if the leaders get stuck, you're pretty sure that a congregation will come to a halt. And this is an important thing, because after all, as I have said again and again during these days, our study is not the children of Israel, it's Moses. And it's an amazing thing how that the people of God, Israel, their life was tied up with Moses, the leader. What a tremendous thing it is. And notice this too. If you go back to verse 2, you find that Moses said unto them, Why do you chide with me? Why did they chide with Moses? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And so it comes clear that chiding with the leader can often be tempting God, because the leader and God are identified too. As the people are identified with the leader, so God is identified with the leader. Now this is the marvelous thing that comes out to us more and more, as we look into this glorious story. You chide me, you're tempting God. Nevertheless, God had to say to Moses, All right Moses, it's very wonderful how God deals with everything in its right place. He says, Now Moses, you go on before the people. No water to drink, trouble, trouble, trouble. What do we do? Come on, we're going on. That's what we're doing. But we're thirsty, we can't go another yard. Come on, we're going on. All for men that can inspire the will to go in other people. There aren't a lot of them about. Now here then is the tremendous thing. And you will notice that Moses did not inspire the will to go in the people by giving them a lengthy sermon, or a pep talk. You notice that he saw, and God saw, that it lay between himself and Moses. God knew what he would do, and Moses was instructed to come into line. Here it is, Go on before the people and take with thee the elders of Israel and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river. Take that notice of that word river, won't you? It is the word river. You would have thought it should have been the Red Sea. All right? I hope that's given you a lot of thought, and will take you into certain geographical positions. Whereabouts at the Red Sea did they make the crossing? All right, I won't go into that. That's not our purpose. We're not studying these things, but you may do it yourselves. You're to take with you the rod wherewith thou did smite the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel, and he called the name of the place Strife, or I'm sorry Proving, or Temptation, Massa, and Meribah, meaning Striving, because the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? Is the Lord among us or not? It's an amazing thing, isn't it? That people say certain things. It's recorded there in verse 3, what the people said. But also behind all that they said, in verses 2 and verses 3, there was this, Is the Lord among us or isn't he? You know, the subtle thing that underlies so much of complaint and of chiding, this evil working, this heart that just didn't believe, Is the Lord among us or isn't he? Glory be to the name of the Lord. We know he was. Moses smote the rock, out came the water. He was smitten with the rod of God. We know that that is the type of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's partly the reason why I started the chorus. He's my rock. He's my fortress. He's my deliverer. I only wanted that first phrase in the chorus. He's my rock. Glory. You know, this was the great rock from which it all started in the beginning. Horrible. This is where the bush burned. This is what God said, You're to worship me upon this mountain when you come out. And the word sin in verse 1 really means bush. If you're using the Newberry, this is why I advise people to get Newberry Bibles. He'll give it to you in the margin. It was the wilderness of the bush that burned with fire. It was the wilderness where the rock was. Glory. It was the wilderness where the rock was smitten. Glory be to the name of the Lord. And you know, God said they were to go to this mountain and they were to worship him. By the time they got there, they were tired and thirsty and exhausted. And they were in no fit state to worship God. Because in their heart they were saying, Is God with us? Or isn't he? How many of you have been plagued by these kinds of thoughts? Is he? Or isn't he? Am I? Am I not? Is it right? Is it wrong? I wonder if I can come back to something I said last night and that I repeat it again today with someone who was visiting me. This great thing of trust. Trust is living without thinking. That's what trust is. You haven't got to think anything out. Like is the Lord with us? Or is he not? Am I going to have water? Or am I not? Trust has gone beyond all that. Trust has gone beyond all that. Completely. And the person I was talking to said that he'd heard a very clever saying that doubt was the dark room where people develop their negatives. I said it's very clever. But you know it's not true. You see, these clever sayings, they're all brought up from the psychological approach. It's not true. The things that are developed in doubt are very positive. And people are in doubt, not because they're in darkness, because they're in too much light. Take Thomas, the classic example, called Doubting Thomas. He knew so much. He had so much light. His head was filled with so much knowledge. He said, I will not believe. He wasn't a doubter. His heart had set itself not to believe in the light of all the knowledge he had. And so the clever sayings are never spiritual, never think they are, even if it's your favorite preachers who write them or say them. What a tremendous thing it is for us to get hold of this glorious truth. To be able to live without thinking. After all, that's how water rises. It just rises. That's how you know that there are springs, wells. Everything is spontaneous in the realm of the kingdom of God. And you know, it isn't until you get to spontaneity that you can say, I'm in. I'm now at rest. What a glorious thing it is. All right, I don't want to stop all the evening on that, which we could very easily do. Then comes Amalek, verse 8. They fight with Israel in Rephidim. I suppose they wanted the water as well. Moses says unto Joshua, choose us out men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. That's tremendous, isn't it? Now, I want to draw your attention to something here, which will show how greatly this man, Moses, had even by this time entered into fellowship with God in a very real way. God never told Moses to do that, so far as we can see. Moses knew instinctively, he knew in his spirit, what to do. It doesn't say now God said to Moses, Moses you get up on top of that hill and you instruct Joshua to do so and so and so and so and so. Moses knew what to do. Do you know what to do when the situations rise? Do you? Well, you will know what to do if you are in the confidence and knowledge that Moses was in. You know the whole story. Joshua goes down and fights. Moses is on top of the hill. Don't think, don't ever preach this as an example of prayer. It is an example of confident trust. Moses knew something. Now, in all the battles of life, you've got to know this. If you don't know it, you'll cost yourself a lot of mental sweat and lots of groanings, moanings, tears, all sorts of things. And this, I want to tell you beloved, is not an example of prayer. We have an example of prayer later. Whether we'll get there tonight, I don't know. True intercessory prayer. This is an example of trust, the thing that I've been talking about. He sends out Joshua to get fighting. I suppose we'd better read it. He fought with Amalek. Moses, Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill. Aaron and her are simply names that have to do with light. You can trace them out if you're a good Newbery fan. And they should be in your margin. And so they went up on the hill. And when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. You say, well, it seems almost like God, isn't it? Yes, that's right. It is. And that's what you're supposed to think. Here's a man who knew his position. He held up his hand with the rod of God in it. That's right. He could not only point his rod out over the sea, or cast it down before Pharaoh and it became a serpent, or smite the rock and open up the living waters. He could hold his rod up to God. And God did what he wanted. You're not told he prayed. He knew that was the attitude, glory. He held his rod up there to God. That hand got heavy, so he changed over. Praise God. Didn't matter if he was left-handed or right-handed. It was the rod. And you know his hands got heavy. The fight was fierce and long. Okay. All right. So Aaron and her stayed up his hand. If it was his right hand, then one of them held that one up for him. If it was his left hand with the rod in, the other one held that one up too. Glorious truth. And we know what happened. The Lord says to Moses, because of course the battle was won, write this for a memorial in a book. Rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, called the name of it Jehovah Nisi or Nisai. Jehovah my banner. For he said, because of the hand that is on the throne of Jah. That's right. Now Moses knew that he had a hand on the throne. How many of you know that? Moses knew. He didn't need any words. I really believe this with all my heart. I, you know that I'm a great believer in prayer and urge people to pray. But I am a, I am a great believer in my heart that only those really pray who know that they have a hand on the throne of God. And that's where victory comes from. You've got to know this great thing. Because of the hand upon the throne. You see what happened? He went up the mountain. He went up the mountain and there he sat on a stone. And there he kept his hand on the throne. Hallelujah. I believe beloved that many victories could have been won if people had kept their hand on the throne. I believe that. I believe that churches could be in utter victory if they had someone there, Moses and the elders for instance, that had their hand on the throne. I believe that. Who was it got the victory? Was it the Israelites or was it Moses? No, it wasn't the church in the wilderness, the Israelites. It was the leader and the elders. They got the victory and when Moses couldn't stick it, they started to lose. It's called the church in the wilderness. It's not a phrase, phrase of mine. I've taken it out of the mouth of Stephen in Acts chapter 7. He was in the church in the in the wilderness. That's right. And spoke by the hand of him that was in the bush as well. The burning bush. There they were. It was the wilderness of the burning bush. I dare say old Moses went over and inspected it where he first got his call. I think I would have done. I would have been inquisitive enough for that. In fact, I might have paraded all Israel round and one said, form fours and we'll march around this bush. That's the place where God spoke for me, where he revealed himself to me as the I am. That's where he came and that's why you're here. Have a good look at it. The bush burned and it's not destroyed. Now let God come and burn in your midst and you'll live. You know, I think that's what I would have said. I don't know whether Moses, because he said he wasn't eloquent and all that business, but I think it's about, you don't require much eloquence to say that kind of thing. To see the truth beloved. Amen. And this man knew he'd got his hand on the throne. It was about here. It seemed somehow that God had designed to move on that place and the people that were there. That's why he said, you bring the people here to worship me. When Moses said, well, they can worship in Egypt. Don't go too far. They can do all that. No, God said, I want them here. Glory be to the name of the Lord. And that's where they were. It was wonderful. He knew he'd got his hand on the throne of God. Do you know that when you pray? Do you know that? Or even if you don't pray, your hand on the throne can alter the destinies of people. Do you know this is a tremendous thing? There aren't many people that can do this. Witness their words. Witness their attitudes. Witness the torrent that flows out of their mouth. They haven't got their hand on the throne. They haven't got confidence. And they can't impart confidence. And they can't inspire courage. They can't do it. Now this is basic. This is what it's got to be, beloved. Do you know, and when I'm speaking now, I'm sort of saying inside, oh God, raise up some people here among us. The thousands of other things you can be doing and not do this. I hear people say, we've got to get our priorities right. Here's one. You get this one. You get this one. It's great to have a hand that can smite a rock and see water come gushing out, but it's no use than this. You're going to have a hand on the throne and keep the Amalekites off it afterwards. Amen. Amalekites. The liquor's up. Ah well, we've got to move on. I would like to say that if you are doing a study of the children of Israel, this of course is logical. You've got in chapter 16, you have John chapter 6. In chapter 17, you have John chapter 7. You have the bread of God in John 6, which is what's talked about in chapter 16. You have the waters of God in chapter 7. You know, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. But he said only after the rock's smitten. But he didn't say it that way. He said he was speaking of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost wasn't yet given because the rock wasn't smitten, or Jesus hadn't died and been glorified at that time. So they're in their logical sequential order. And if you're going to have bread from heaven, you've got to have water from heaven too, in order to keep living and keep going. Chapter 18 we're missing over, not because it's not important. That's simply because Moses is a study that could take us for at least six months. In the third month, chapter 19, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness. And there Israel camped before the mount, and Moses went up unto God. Hmm. Praise God. Moses went up unto God. You know, I can't read that phrase without getting absolutely thrilled. I get thrilled through and through. The man that went up unto God. All the others just wanted a nice camping spot. They were off for Canaan and the promised land. Moses wasn't. You say you surprise me. Well, I hope I not only surprise you, I hope I correct you. Moses wasn't really bothered about Canaan at all. Do you realize that? He wasn't bothered whether he got to Canaan or not. You do realize that? No. Well, beloved, this is the way he spoke. I want to draw your attention to it. We're coming we're coming on to this much later. Chapter 33 at the moment. The Lord says unto Moses, Depart and go up hence, thou and the people which thou has brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swear unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying unto thy seed will I give it, and I will send an angel before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. For I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee in the way. All right. That's the statement. That's the promise. Now hear Moses' response. He's talking to the Lord, and he said, verse 15, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up then. Hence, I'm not particularly about going to Canaan, Lord. It's you I want. I am absolutely certain that most people miss Canaan because they want Canaan. It's become the big thing in charismatic Pentecostal circles. That's what they want. Moses wasn't bothered. I want God. He had already had something far, far better than that when he spoke those words. Glory. Let's go into the 19th chapter again. Moses went up unto God, leave these others camping down there, eating their manna and their quails, drinking their living water. By this time, they're drinking water of the spiritual rock that was following them, according to Paul. They never had any more water trouble, except when they came back to this rock a lot later on. As they traveled through the howling wilderness, they drank water of the spiritual rock that followed them. Those deserts underwent such a geographical and geological change that kept the scientists spinning in their heads. They don't know. God did miracles. They were a miracle people. You've got to understand this completely, and science knows nothing of it. Here is the wonder of God's glory. There, down there, and Moses has gone up unto God. Now, I want to tell you something, beloved, that Moses during this period had two periods of 40 days fasting. He had no food. He didn't even have any of the blessed manna. He didn't drink water out of the rock, and for 80 days, with a little break in between, he lived on God. But what did he want with Canaan? Well, tell me, what had Canaan got to offer? Nothing for him. He wanted to go over, of course. It wasn't a great big punishment when God didn't let him go. He passed into God. This is the wonder about this man. Let me say it again. There are so, so very few who know this. Yeah, they've had a blood experience. They've had a Red Sea crossing experience. They've had all kinds of experiences, but they don't know this. Beloved, is there someone amongst here that's going to know God in this way, or are we all going to be so bogged down by Neffenvale projects, gardening projects, staff projects, cars doing, and one thing and another, going off to business, getting our heads filled all up with that, running this, running the other. Oh, if God doesn't breed a man of God among us, we're all sunk. We're sunk. Absolutely. And, oh, there's a legitimate this, and there's a legitimate the other. We can do this, and we can do that, and we can pray, and we can have blessings. Bless the name of the Lord. He's so full of blessings, he can't hold them back. Start to fulfil some of his ways, and you get such a shower, why you think it's it. It must be a very heaven itself. Because we're so mean, and narrow, and shut up. Here's a man, he goes up unto God. Well, I'm galloping. Where's the clock? I'm galloping. You, I hope you know the story of this chapter 19. It's a famous chapter, and the Hebrew writer comments on it. It was a tremendous time. It was the time when God was going to come down and speak to the people. I tell you, it was a frightening experience. No wonder when God, when Moses first met God, he was afraid. Again, he got afraid again. Here it says, for Hebrews it is that tells us, Hebrews 12, says that Moses told the people, I exceedingly fear and shake. This is the occasion he's talking about. When God came down on Sinai, verse 16, on the third day in the morning, thunders, lightnings, thick cloud upon the mount, the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud. All the people that were in the camp trembled, including Moses, according to the writing of the Hebrews. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the nether part of the mount, and Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. This was a tremendous occasion. Moses refers to it forty years later in the book of Deuteronomy. You may have read it. I hope you have. In that great chapter four, I won't sort of turn to it now, at least I have turned to it, but I mean I won't get you quoting, looking into it. God, Moses said to these people, Did ever a nation hear the voice of God speaking to them as you did? For the first time the whole nation of Israel heard God's voice. It was a tremendous time. Moses is up the mount, and the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, verse 20, on the top of the mount, and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount, for he'd gone down again. And Moses went up, and the Lord said to Moses, Go down. Amen. You say, well, it's a bit of an up and down business, isn't it? That's right. He went up and came down. You bring the people there and get them to the other mountain. I'm going to talk to them. All right. Came down, brought them there. He came on the mountain. Moses goes up. God says, Go down. And so, verse 25, Moses goes down unto the people, spake unto them, and then God spoke the words of the covenant. I am Jehovah Elohim, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And Moses was down among the people when God spoke these words to him. Moses received from God the Ten Commandments in verbal form and passed them on to the children of Israel. It's Moses that's doing the speaking. What a marvelous thing. This man had become a true person. God was speaking to Moses, and he was speaking it out to the people. Tremendous. Let's go on. Let's keep pace with the revelation. Chapter 20, chapter 21, 22, 23, and in verse 1 of 24, God says to Moses, Come up. Now he's up again. Glory be to the name Lord. I want to tell you, beloved, that this is the most vital period in the history of the children of Israel. Most wonderful. It equals what took place in Egypt, if not exceeds it. Amen. It was a tremendous time for Moses. And he says, Come up unto the Lord, thou Aaron Nadab and Abihu. Nadab was the heir apparent to the high priesthood. Nadab, he was Aaron's eldest son. And seventy of the elders of Israel worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come nigh, neither shall the people go up with him. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments, and all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and built in an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses wrote down chapters twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three of Exodus. That's what he did. What God had said. All right. Then he builds the altars and the twelve pillars, and he sent young men, verse five, of the children of Israel which offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar, and he took the book of the covenant. There it was, those four chapters. That, at that time, was the book of the covenant. He took the book of the covenant and read it in the audience of the people, and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. I hope you and I understand that the blood of Jesus Christ that we know, think about, preach about, read about, sing about, pray about, I want to tell you that it's the blood of the new covenant. And the new covenant is only made with you upon the basis of the fact that you will be obedient and keep the word of God. If you're not prepared to do that, there's no covenant established with you. I don't know whether you've ever realized that. I sometimes say when I'm preaching, I'm not so sure that lots of people who are sitting in meetings, rallies, conferences, crusades, whatever you want to call them, and they have something preached to them, and they're told to come to Jesus and get their sins forgiven, or something like that. I am not so sure sometimes, maybe a harsh word and seeing that I'm my own stamping ground, I know you can take some of the things I say. I'm not so sure they're not conned into something, and they don't know what they're doing. They don't really know what they're doing. They come under some form of attraction perhaps. I hope you've read the article that was so guidedly put in the newsletter. If you've not read the newsletter that's been published here, get hold of one where A.W. Tozer says the same thing. The preachers will say, oh yeah, we supply this, we can fight, oh yes, all this, that, and the other. People say, they respond, but do they know that they're contracting with God to be obedient, or are they only wanting to escape going to hell for the sins they've committed. You see, it seems to me that the covenant is never preached. I do thank God that in those early days, God revealed unto me the truth of the new covenant that we had to preach, to get men and women with understanding to engage with God on something, and that's why the Holy Ghost keeps flowing, that's why the works kept being done, that's why the truth was established, because they came in knowing what it was all about. It's like saying, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, the train's just going, and they jump on the train, and they say, where's this train going, where's this train going, where's this train? Oh, it's going to Glasgow. Oh, it's the last place I wanted to go. I didn't want that. Well, I thought it was going somewhere else, you see, and this is what people, they're jumping on the gospel train, I might say, if I may use that, and they don't know where they're going. They don't know what it's all about. I wonder if they're being conned, and then they find it doesn't work, and all sorts of things are happening, and it's not like they thought, and oh dear, they want to go back. They open the door, I want to jump out or something. Now may the Lord grant unto us an understanding. It's the blood of the covenant that the Lord makes with you. Amen. It's a tremendous thing. Let's go on. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the 70 elders, they go up into the mountain, and they see the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were, the body of heaven in clearness, in his clearness. And upon the nobles, elders, princes, whatever you want to read of the children of Israel, he laid not his hand. Also they saw God, and did eat and drink. Well, they saw God. No man has seen God at any time. You must have read that in the scripture. What in the world does it mean? Well, they had a glimpse of God, all right, and just as it is with you, and with I, we would love to see God, wouldn't we? Sometimes you see a post up, you've only got to open your eyes, and you can see God. It's a picture of his handiwork, you know. Well, that's very nice. That's what the poet, see, that's what dear old Bill Wordsworth thought, you see, and he wrote all kinds of things about this sort of pantheistic God that he worshipped in nature, and all this. You can, you can see, say, I can see God in a fir tree, or I can see God in a snowdrop, or I can see God in a mountain, uh, but you don't really mean you see God. It's all according whether you're artistic or poetic. You think you can see more than other people who are just plain stupid, like I am, you see. That's, but, but it's all in a very airy, fairy state. Moses was afraid to look upon God in the burning bush, but all he would have seen was fire, a manifestation of him in other words. That's what you see in Jesus Christ. God was manifest in the flesh. When we see Jesus Christ, it was a manifestation of God, the Son, verily God, the Spirit in there, but nobody saw that. Amen. Yeah. Now here's the thing. Uh, these people, they saw God, and they could talk about his feet, and the pavement under his feet, and say, yeah, that's God, that's God, that's God, you know. I've often told you, I think I might have told you, how the, well I don't know, um, when Queen Elizabeth, when she was a very, very young queen, when she was just married, or whatever it was, she visited Bradford, where we lived. We were all excitement. I got Judith up on my shoulders, because she was royalty mad. I thought, look in, we saw the queen, we saw the queen, but if anybody asked me to describe her, I couldn't describe her. I saw her, there was a figure in a cab, so yeah, I saw the queen, but I couldn't have told her what kind of a mouth, or a nose she'd got, or what makeup she had on, or what she hadn't got on. You see what I mean? I don't think she had her crown on, but I saw the queen, just about. Now this is what you're talking about. Not so long ago, I was down in London, I told you the story of it, and there was state opening of parliament, and I got even a closer look at the queen. But I haven't really seen the queen. I mean, I haven't had one of these kind of... I haven't really seen the queen. Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you? Now this is what it's all about. At a later time, I don't know whether we'll get this, oh dear, oh dear, tonight, um, um, uh, Moses is allowed to see God even closer, so his back parts, nobody can see me and live, says God. That's the wonder of it, because this is why we so treasure our glorious Jesus, because he sees, he's right there, and he's there for me. And I've got to see God through Jesus's eyes, and I can't do that if I haven't got Jesus's nature, and if I haven't got Jesus's spirit, and nor can you. Here is the marvel on it. Anyway, that was fine. The Lord says to Moses, verse 12, come up to me into the mount, and be there, and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. Moses rises up with his minister Joshua, and Moses went up into the mount of God. He said unto the elders, tarry ye here for us until we come again unto you. And behold Aaron and her are with you. If any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount, and the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud, and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and get him up into the mountain. Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights, and up there he received all the instructions about the building of the tabernacle. All right, and we pass over the intervening chapters and come to the end of chapter 31. And he gave unto Moses verse 18, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone written with the finger of God. Forty days. Now forty in scripture, as you may know, is the number of probation. As the fortieth day drew on. Verse 1 chapter 32. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and say unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not what is become of him. We want not what's become of him. He'd gone up into the mount. It was all black with cloud. Where is he? Lost, wandering about in the thick black darkness of the cloud. Or has he gone on and got burned up in the fire? Did he offer himself as a sacrifice unto God? What did he do? What's become of him? Where is he? Shall we ever see him again? They didn't know where Moses had gone. We know where he'd gone. He'd gone into God. What marvelous. The fire that first burned in the bush. He was there living with God in the fire. As you know, there were three Hebrew children who did this later on in Daniel's day. He went there and I don't know what happened to him. I only know that this man whom God had called had passed through it all. See down at the bottom of the mountain, they were all on about sacrifice and altars and blood and that was fine. And then partway up the mountain there was a group of elders and they were all talking about, we've seen God, we've seen God. We've eaten and drunk in his presence. It's marvelous. He didn't kill us. He's full of mercy and so on and so on and so on. But Moses has gone on beyond them all. He's gone right up there into God. This is what he was after. He'd always been after this ever since God put his hand on him. Have you got anything in you that consumes you like that? What a tremendous thing. God calls and calls and calls. Terrible thing if people lose the vision. Terrible if they lose the call. So many other things. All of them so good and so legitimate. He's gone up there into God. They didn't know what happened to him. He passed beyond their understanding completely. Couldn't begin to follow him. Amen and amen. They just did not understand Moses. I want to tell you this. They didn't understand what he said. They couldn't begin to make head or tail of some of the things Moses said. They couldn't understand what made him tick. The power by which he lived. They couldn't understand him at all. Moses was the man of mystery. Practical as you could ever find. But he knew what it was. Listen young man. Don't you ever miss the call of God. You can just paddle along and people will say you're very good. He's a good steady brother and all this business. But have you missed the call of God? You can even get up as far as a her or an heir and some of the other elders and be equal with them. What you see of God is not what Moses saw of God. This explains everything. You know it can be said of a lot people. They're all right as far as they go. Nothing wrong with them as far as they go. Come right up here Moses. Moses goes up in his basic innocence of perfect trust and lives up there with the Lord. Of course he was a dead man. You know that don't you? That's what they thought. They thought well what's become of him? He's dead. Wasn't a tremendous thing that happened. Well you know how that there's the story of the golden calf being made and God saying to Moses go verse 7 get thee down for thy people which thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves and so he goes right down. Verse 15 no sorry the Lord says to Moses verse 9 I've seen this people behold it's a stiff-necked people now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them that I may consume them and I will make of thee a great nation beloved that's a wretched revelation that this you see the place of intimacy and friendship into which God Moses had passed with God that God had opened himself up to Moses in a marvelous way and he said you know let me alone do you realize this that Moses and the Lord were on first name terms with one another did you know that not that Moses lived in these this terrible familiarity of this age where we keep calling God you you are my deliverer you are the basic common lowering of God the too terrible he's got to be thee you always got to be the great singular God high and holy I refuse to sing the rubbish until at times perhaps you can't just alter it in the nick of time from you to thee this over familiarity that is one of the stenches of this modern charismatic movement Moses was brought into this blessed intimacy it's nothing to do whether that's our with well it's our form of speech in these days that this speaks of the way in which we've lowered God it wasn't our form of speech so many years ago didn't suddenly become that it's it's the cheating of God he's not like us he's got to be made distinct and higher in our thinking so surely as the churches keep on this line so surely will they drag themselves down to a lower plane it's nothing to do with it if we're in the in the 20th century and in the late 20th century well it is I suppose but nothing to do with education it's to do with honor that's what it's to do with to do with the set of the heart what a tremendous and glorious truth it is to understand what it's all about and here is God saying to Moses he had let Moses into the secret in the fire he says let me alone Moses he allowed Moses to come into such a glorious relationship but you'll never find Moses demeaning God never I tell you wish what if you honor a person you set them on high if you love a person you honor them that's what you do they hold a position that you can never allow and to be shared with anybody else and all the common people I'm one of the common people if you love somebody else in that way that I'm talking about it's distinct it's wonderful and in your heart you hold that person there that's what you do and I want to say to any of you men or women that are thinking about courting or marriage if the other person doesn't hold you like that have nothing to do with them they don't love you they don't know what love is we all have to start to learn to love perhaps years after we think we already know how to it's got to be progressive it's got to be more and more distinct and wonderful as the years go by that's what it has to be it's so glorious and true amen and amen and I only wish I had words in which to communicate all I feel about it you honor the Lord and don't you drag him down I can call you you because you're the common herd like I am but if it was God sitting there I wouldn't God knows I wouldn't and neither would you so don't you do it in your cheap chorus singing unless you're not singing to God and just going through the mouthings of a nice tune and words know what we're doing hallelujah God is wonderful you might come under first on the first name terms with him but you'll never demean him never now what a glorious thing Moses besought the Lord God in verse 11 said Lord why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people which thou has brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand did you notice something in that verse 11 Moses says to God they're thy people doesn't say they're your people did you notice that ever so intimate with him it wasn't lack of education nothing to do with the centuries this has to do with eternal worth has to do with the state of the mind and notice he says they're thy people are you ready now in verse 7 the Lord says to Moses get thee down for they're thy people God said to Moses they're thy people Moses says to God they are thy people and on that basis he turned God from what God was going to do that's a tremendous thing did you think it was impossible to make God change his mind no it isn't look at verse 14 the Lord repented now that word repent simply means change of mind doesn't do with sin he was going to do an evil thing to the people what was that he was going to plague them cut them off and finish with them that's not a good thing that's an evil thing God can do evil as well as good don't mistake evil for sinful or iniquitous you know I wouldn't count it to be the best thing if somebody dropped a bomb on the lodge tonight and all this sort of thing I would think that was an evil thing to do providing I was alive to think it afterwards you might say well it would be a sinful thing wouldn't it no it might be that there was a an RAF plane flew over and it fell off by accident but it was an evil thing happened to me it wasn't done with any sinful intention I'm trying to get you to see things straight because most people are twisted in their thinking and cannot see straight on these things God changed his mind he was going to do something you know do you think he did an evil thing to pharaoh I would think so he brought a lot of evil on pharaoh we're twisted in it because when men partook against the will of God of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil evil became sinful because they did it under the devil's power so ever since we've never been able to dissociate sin from evil amen what a glorious thing for us to understand now let's move on and Moses is a man with God listen he's not only got his hand on the throne he's got the ten commandments in his hands as well now praise God he's got them in his hand two tables of stone glorious he's in the covenant and in that covenant now he's got an audience with God not just a hand on the throne either and he can talk to God through God's mercy and his grace it's wonderful let's go and I get excited about this I don't know why you can sit there so impassively I get real excited about this something glorious it thrills me Moses turns he goes down the mount the two tables of the testimony were in his hand the tables were written on both their sides on the one side and on the other where they written and the tables were the work of God and the writing was the work right writing of God graven upon the tablets Joseph and Joshua hears the noise of the people as they shouted you must always understand this that almost always certainly this time when Moses went into the presence of God Joshua went with him Joshua here is as you know Jesus it's the old Hebrew word Jesus was with Moses all right Jesus was a minister of the circumcision Jesus was born under the old covenant Jesus was with Moses keep that very clear I'd like to be able to discuss that but not tonight some other time they come down the mountain Jesus hears the noise in the camp Joshua does he says there's a noise of war in the camp and Moses said it's not the voice of them that shout for mastery neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome but the noise of them that sing do I hear and it came to pass as soon as he came out of the camp that he saw the calf and the dance sing and Moses' anger waxed hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and break them beneath the mountain he took the calf which they had made and burnt it in the fire and ground it to powder and scalded upon the water and made the children of Israel drink of it you will know that this later got defined into the law of jealousy you'll find it in numbers the red heifer this is exactly what happened God was a jealous God and he was very jealous for the Lord God of of Israel's sake and and he he threw the gold back into the fire and to distort the horrible shape of the calf and pulled the thing out and ground it to powder and there went their gold and he floated it on the water that was still flowing there and he made them drink it God's jealousy amen he was very jealous for the Lord God of heaven's sake tremendous the thing that burned in this man's heart he'd been up into the fire oh verse 25 when Moses saw that the people were naked for Aaron had made them naked under their shame among their enemies then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said who is on the Lord's side let him come unto me and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him and he said unto them thus saith the Lord God of Israel put every man he saw by his side go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp slay every man his brother and every man his companion and every man his neighbor and the children of his Levi did according to the word of Moses and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men for Moses had said consecrate yourselves today to the Lord even every man upon his son upon his brother that he may restore upon you a blessing this day oh listen what do you know about consecration what do you know about consecration do you just associate it with Francis Ridley Havergill on a tune to a hymn called consecration take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee what do you mean oh here is the true word of consecration hallelujah the great word of consecration what a tremendous truth it is hmm go on put the sword in your hand it's not just singing a nice tune written by Mozart is it because that's who wrote it they came back with their swords dripping with the bloods of their sons and their companions and their neighbors that's consecration why because the Levites had sold the children of Azrael out to sin and it had been done by the chief of the Levites Aaron consecration entails the redemption of the name too and of the standing and I hope you understand it that isn't just something that you do in an emotional moment it's something that you do with a sword in a moment who's on the Lord's side come here all right you see that's not too bad go and stand by him oh Moses now he said here's the real consecration draw your sword what a dreadful thing what a dreadful thing consecration in the end means utter separation doesn't it unto God it's a it's a great big thing may the immensity of it grasp our hearts beloved it wasn't in the response coming and standing there it was in the reception of the word of God and going right through with God amen that wasn't the end of it either it wasn't just the sword of the Lord going through for God visited them with a plague just a little lower down because of the sin the sin was this that on the two tablets of stone was written thou shalt have none other God before me that was the first commandment the second thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them nor worship them the third was thou should make no likeness of anything on the earth in the heavens under the earth and they'd broken all the first three commandments by making the golden calf that's what they'd done Moses smashed the 10 commandments smashed them what a terrible terrible thing of course they never understand this man Moses hey verse 31 he returns to the Lord and he says oh this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin and if not blot me I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written what a great man I've already said he wasn't really set on Canaan for himself when he got there he would like to have gone he was set on it for the children of Israel didn't matter whether he got there or not he looked upon these people and sometimes I feel that this position has to be taken by the leaders of God if they're just going to be satisfied with milk and honey and fig trees and houses they've never built they surely had a rough time in Egypt so let them have that let them have it perhaps they deserve it but God that's not good enough for me Lord too many people are too easily content with the goody goodies and the blessings what are you after what are you after after all is it what or is it who somebody will probably be thinking of that marvelous hymn my goal is God himself not joy nor peace nor even blessing but himself my God lovely to sing but I wonder if you're like Moses you know oh lord if thou would forgive I can't see any real reason I came down the mountain there they were I got angry I understand now why you were angry Lord I understand that you were so gracious to repent change your mind about blood in the mouth I understand it he smashed the ten commandments perhaps he wondered whether that was sufficient justification to be plotted out as a book of life himself anyway he said if thou would forgive them didn't know what to say didn't know what to say what could he suggest to God what excuse could he make his own brother Aaron he'd been up in the mountains and he'd heard God talking about Aaron and the Levites and the priesthood and there was Aaron down there leading them away from God he'd been up in the mountains and he'd heard God saying this listen I'm back into chapter 25 when God Moses has gone up into the midst of the clouds and got him up into the fire through the darkness the Lord in chapter 25 says to Moses speak unto the children of Israel that they bring me an offering of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart you shall take my offering verse 8 let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them that's what he'd been saying he'd been warning to live with them and then the the dreadful insults the the terrible innate nature of them to turn against God made him say I'll destroy them Moses I'll start with you I can start with you Moses I can make a nation of you I did it from Abraham I'll do it with you we'll make a fresh start at Moses and Moses said no Lord no no no and what he did and this is for you the thing for all of us to understand he turned God's thinking back to the covenant he'd made with Abraham this is what you promised Lord had God forgotten his promise no this was Moses's training time that's what you said you said you'd bring them in Lord isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to bring God's own words back to his heart isn't it a wonderful thing in full purpose of turning it to power among men not just an ability to quote yards and yards of scripture there is a fallacy among certain people that that pray they think you've got to keep praying quoting scripture it wasn't so long ago I was over in Wales ministering and and a fellow I won't mention his background has gotten hold of this particular man he says you don't pray when you you pray you don't quote the Bible you're supposed to quote the scriptures when you're praying yeah and there are people that believe that with all their heart now it's not a bad thing please don't but they've misunderstood it all people think if you don't just quote the scriptures right you're praying perfectly God doesn't want perfect formation of language in prayer what God wants is an ability to come to his heart if you like and make him do something whether you pray in bad Scots or good Yorkshire or something it makes no difference to God do you understand that again I'm coming back don't get on this over familiar line of you yours and all this business come off it get to respect this great being know with whom you're dealing now if I don't reform my language precisely that's what I am saying well I can't God can if you honor him enough that's the time try it tomorrow this weekend go and stay six hours in the presence of God if you can that'll change you that'll change you six hours 40 days and 40 nights Moses was there and after this occasion would you believe it he goes back for another 40 days and 40 nights oh can't you have enough Moses enough who can have enough of God oh I'm not meaning that now I mean you haven't had your food you didn't have your breakfast you didn't have your dinner you didn't have this you didn't have that but what's it like on a bare mountain I mean cold at night hot in the day whatever he was doing up there Moses I passed into God ah wonderful I think I must finish here with something that I started let's continue shall we with