There’s nothing like the view from higher up. About 13 or 14 years ago, I was flying over Texas, on my way to Fort Bliss in El Paso, when we flew over this terrific thunderstorm. This was no ordinary storm, and it had so much lighting that it made the news. To view a thunderstorm from the ground is one thing, but to see it as an even bigger picture from high above was awesome. It was hard to watch in awe and not think about the power of nature and the even greater power of our Creator. There’s nothing like the view from higher up.

A little girl was on a cruise ship with her parents, and as they were looking out over the deck, the girl said to her father, "Look daddy, I can see farther than my eyes can see." When God took Moses up on Mount Nebo, he said to him, "I have let you see it with your eyes" and Moses was able to see farther than his eyes could see because of what God showed him.

What a life Moses had with the people of God. He led about two million people out of Egypt, away from a life of captivity and slavery. He led them to freedom. But while they celebrated their newfound freedom on the banks of the Red Sea, that spirit of celebration didn’t last long. It wasn’t long before they started to grumble and complain. There’s nothing to eat. There’s nothing to drink. Why has the Lord brought us here? Can’t we just go back?

Before Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, he instructed the people to wash themselves and prepare to be in the presence of God. But when Moses came back down the mountain, he saw the people dancing and singing praises to a golden calf. Moses saw the people of Israel at their best and at their worst.

There are times in life when we see one another at our best and at our worst. Not just as a pastor, but I have seen people in all kinds of conditions – storm victims, accident victims, victims of domestic violence, murder victims, and sometimes the families of those people. I have served our country in times of war and loaded my friends and fellow soldiers on planes and watched their family members as their loved ones left for destinations and conditions unknown.

As a pastor I have seen people’s struggles and pain and their grief and sorrow. I see people’s weaknesses and failings, their repentance and yearning for inner peace. I suppose those moments are when I see people at their best and worst. And of course, I struggle with my own pain and weaknesses and failings.

What is it that God sees when he looks at your life? Of course he sees your best and worst. But God also sees your potential.

Long before Moses’ time, God said the Abraham, "Go from your country and your kindred, and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you." While the Lord told Abraham that he would make him a father of many nations, the Lord had to tell Abraham that news time and time again.

Because of his age and because he didn’t see it start to happen quickly, he started to doubt. Abraham was like Moses, both still living by faith when they died. When the Lord took Moses to the top of Mount Nebo that day, it was as if he were reminding Moses of the potential of all the things the Lord longs to do in the lives of his people. Whether Moses saw it or not, it was still going to happen.

Someone once said that the vision one generation has is usually realized 25-35 years later. Nevertheless, great visionary leaders keep that vision alive and before the people again and again. What the Lord showed Moses that day was God’s vision for his people.

I remember when we were trying to get moved into this building. If any of you have not seen the pictures that were taken when we bought this place, they are worth a few minutes of your time. This place barely resembles what it looked like when we bought it. And there is one picture where the whole congregation is seated in just one of these pews.

No we’re not huge now, but we won’t all fit in one pew and we are running out of room for some functions. We will discuss later this morning what to do about that "problem." Sometimes our vision is shortsighted. I think it’s almost funny that we figured out that this place could easily hold about 80 and 100 would make us really full.

We were and still are counting on God to fill these pews if that’s His will. But when we built the area where we have our pot luck meals, somehow we didn’t figure out that we needed room for 80 in there too. We used the space we had as well as we could. Maybe we could have done a few things differently. It just seemed plenty big when we first moved in. I imagine parking will be the next issue that we have to deal with. But those are all good problems.

God is a God who keeps his promises. The promise of the Promised Land did not die with Moses. Joshua would continue to lead the people to that Promised Land. Through the Law and the Prophets, represented by Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, the people of God were led to the ultimate promise fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Through his miserable death and glorious resurrection, Jesus will lead us to the real promised land of heaven.

There’s a story about a pastor who went to an art museum one day. He was dressed in regular clothes, not his usual clergy attire. He was standing in front of a picture of the crucifixion. As this pastor was reflecting on the picture, a little boy, who appeared to have wandered away from his parents, walked up and stared at the picture for a long time as well.

The pastor leaned over to ask the boy, "Do you know who that is?" Because of the pastor’s casual dress, the boy didn’t know that it was a pastor who had asked him that question. Without hesitation, the boy said, "Sure, that’s Jesus and they’re putting him to death. Those guys standing around the bottom are the soldiers. And that lady in the middle who’s crying – that’s his mother."

Without a "good-bye" or "see you later mister," the boy wandered off to find his parents. The pastor stood there for a few moments smiling over the fact that the boy knew Jesus. After a few minutes though, the boy came back. He said to the pastor who was still standing there, "Hey mister, I forgot to tell you the most important part." Pointing to the picture he said, "You see, this isn’t the way it ends. Jesus didn’t stay dead. He came back to life and he’s still alive today."

Jesus is alive for us today because he kept his promise. Right here on the threshold of Lent, we will soon be walking through some of the dark, dreary days of our Lord. Jesus’ words to Peter were right, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed." But that’s not the end of the story. "On the third day he will be raised." That was God’s promise, and God keeps his promises.

When Moses stood on the top of Mount Nebo with the Lord, looking out over the vast landscape, farther than Moses’ eyes could see, maybe the Lord was picturing in his own mind the land of heaven, where one day there will be people further than the eye can see – people who will be assembled around the throne of God saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power."

This day will come because God keeps his promise. He keeps his promise that he desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." God promises that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God keeps his promises. In the announcement of forgiveness, in the gift of salvation, in the hope of heaven, in the gift of Jesus to you, God keeps his promises.

As a resident of Lookout Mountain, and having worked on that mountain a lot during my career as a Game Warden, I know there are places on that mountain where you can see a long way. I have also seen it where even at mid-day it was so foggy that visibility was next to nothing. I have seen it clear at night in downtown Fort Payne and going up the mountain, seen it so foggy that I could barely find my own driveway.

No matter where we are in life, sometimes there are things that happen that cloud how well we can see what God is doing in our lives. The problems of life – health and medical issues, family troubles, marital strife, financial worries, the death of a friend or loved one, and so on, can all cloud our vision for what we think God is doing or what we think he isn’t doing for us.

During those times when there are cloudy, foggy conditions in life, we need to be reminded of God’s promises once again. Even when we can’t see things clearly, even when our view is from higher up, God’s promises still remain. Amen.