April
22, 2007am On This Mountain
Isaiah 25:6-9
By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the
Fayetteville
Baptist
Church
On April 16, 2007 at
Va.
Tech. this past Monday a madman
went through a college campus with two handguns.
When all was said and done he had taken 32 lives, wounded many others,
and eventually took his own life. What
can we do? Many assume that Humanity
can fix all the problems that we face. Can
we? We have been given a call and a
command to go out to make a difference, but we realize that Humanity’s only
hope can be seen on this Mountain. What
does God have to say about this mountain of tragedy?
Scripture
Text: Isaiah 25:6 On
this mountain the Lord Almighty
will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the
best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On
this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet
that covers all nations; 8
he will swallow up death forever. The
Sovereign Lord will wipe away the
tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the
earth. The Lord has spoken. 9
In that day they will say, “Surely this
is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord,
we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” [1]
A Mountain of
despair, death, and disaster. Pslam
23. speaks of the valley of the
shadow of death. This week 32 people
made their way through the valley and climbed the mountain at the end of life.
Their tribulation and their course of time has ended and they have
graduated from this life.
A
Mountain
of
Tragedy
: occurred this past Monday.
This has shaken our lives but not our faith or our God.
A
Mountain
of
Teaching
and Understanding: On the
mountain God gave the law to Moses. God
gives us understanding through the tragedies that we must face.
One of the greatest understandings is that we need the Lord.
God is on the
mountain. Moses went to the
mountain where God lives. On this
mountain we will find that the Lord is there.
He is God of the mountain.
A
Mountain
Temple
: On the mountain God dwelt in
his holy temple and holy city.
On the mountain
called
Calvary
Christ gave his life outside the city gates.
On the mountain
Noah’s arc came to rest after God carried his people through the judgment.
God will carry his people through the judgment.
On the mountain he
will prepare for us a feast of rich food for all peoples.
On this mountain he
will destroy the shroud of death.
On this mountain the
Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.
On this mountain he will remove the disgrace of his people.
A
Mountain
of
Trust
: On this mountain we will trust
in the Lord.
A
Mountain
of
Promise
: On this mountain He will save
us.
A
Mountain
of
Salvation
: On this mountain we will
rejoice and be glad in his salvation.
A
Mountain
of
Destination
: You must go through the valley
before you can climb the mountain. Matthew
28:16 Then the eleven disciples went
to
Galilee
, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
17 When they saw him, they
worshiped him; but some doubted. 18
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age."
A
Mountain
of
Temptation
and Testing: Matthew
4: 8 Again, the devil took him to a
very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor. 9
"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down
and worship me." 10
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship
the Lord your God, and serve him only.
A
Mountain
of
Transfiguration
: Matthew
17:1 After six days Jesus took with
him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain
by themselves. 2
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and
his clothes became as white as the light.
A Mountain of
Triumph: Revelations
21:10 And he carried me away in the
Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God.
A Invitation to come
to God’s Mountain of Salvation. Will
you come? Will you believe?
Will you worship there? Will
you be encouraged there? Will you
live there and be saved there? Will
you believe there?
[1]The Holy
Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Is 25:6-9).
Grand Rapids
: Zondervan.