The Cost of Sin

Good morning. Let's start this morning in Deut. 34:10-12 "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel". There arose not a prophet since, how great would it be for God to say that about you? Think about it, there was Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and then there was Daniel who God allowed to prophesy about the second coming through visions, and yet none of these was as great as Moses.
However, turn back to 32:48-52 "And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain...and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: and die in the mount whither thou goest up...Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel...because ye sanctified me not...Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel". At several times, Moses had sinned, therefore God would not allow him to experience the joy of inhabiting the land of Canaan, the promised land he had been toiling over 40 years to get to. He was allowed to see the land, but not enter in. He got to see what he was missing out on. I feel God allowed him that much because he had been so faithful, but sin has a price, a price that has to be paid. There is no discount on this price, there are no "sale days", no "Christmas sales" (notice I did not spell that with an X, that is just blasphemy).
At first glance it seems weird that God would tell that Moses had sinned, and the punishment he received, then make the statement "there arose not a prophet since like unto Moses". But think about it like this, yes Moses sinned he was only human, however he was also faithful, in the end he repented of his sins, and he kept the commandments of God. That is all God asks of us, is that when we sin we repent. In Ps 103:14 the Psalmist says that God remembers that we are but dust, and can not help ourselves. His mercy and grace both provide a way for us to be forgiven. Even so, sin has a price that has to be paid.
Christ paid the sin price for us on Calvary, the sin price of death has been taken care of. But still there is a price we must pay. Sometimes that involves forfeited blessings, sometime God will mete out punishment equal to our sin. Why would God punish us if He has already paid the price for our sins? Because He loves us enough to chastise us, to keep us in His will where we are safe, and profitable to both Him and ourselves. After all any thing we do that is profitable to Him, is added to our account, and is profitable to ourselves.
In my life I have forfeited numerous blessings, and many times I have required God to chastise me in order to get me back in His will. What I want you to remember though is just because you fall under God's chastisement does not mean that you have forfeited everything. Moses was first allowed to see the Promised Land, but more importantly, God said he was the greatest prophet Israel had ever, or would ever see. Despite his sin and failure, God said he was still the greatest. What does God say about you? What will God say about you? I intend on hearing Him say "well done thou good and faithful servant", if that is all He says about me, I'll be happy. What do you want Him to say about you, are you striving toward that goal?