back to index2021-07-25 Mount Sinai vs Mount Zion Pt 3
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All right, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 through 00:00:09.560 |
We're going to be looking at verse 22 and on today, but I want to read it in the context 00:00:25.880 |
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, and to a blazing fire, and to 00:00:30.400 |
the darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of the trumpet and the sound 00:00:34.720 |
of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken 00:00:41.140 |
For they could not bear the command, if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. 00:00:46.840 |
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I am full of fear and trembling. 00:00:51.760 |
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem 00:00:55.480 |
and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled 00:01:01.360 |
in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirit of the righteous made perfect, 00:01:06.560 |
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkle blood which speaks better 00:01:16.080 |
Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have to be able to come before your throne 00:01:20.560 |
of grace with confidence because of the blood of Christ. 00:01:25.960 |
We thank you, Father God, for loving us, persevering with us, and at times correcting us, disciplining 00:01:31.840 |
us that we may know you, that we may honor you and worship you. 00:01:36.740 |
We pray that your word would go forth, only your word go forth, and that it would not 00:01:42.080 |
return until it has accomplished the purpose that you have ordained. 00:01:50.200 |
I think as you guys know, we are in wedding season, right? 00:01:53.960 |
So we have so many weddings and we know some of you recently got married and we know that 00:02:06.760 |
We had one here yesterday and then we had another one I think on Tuesday, and so our 00:02:13.880 |
So, you know, through the years, I think in our church we have so many young people. 00:02:20.720 |
We've had so many weddings and somebody asked me how many weddings have I officiated and 00:02:25.280 |
actually sat down and counted, and it's been a while since I counted, but it's over 100 00:02:29.760 |
and less than 150, so it was quite a few, right? 00:02:33.560 |
And there's more weddings going on now than ever. 00:02:38.360 |
But sometimes, you know, when we have weddings, we get so caught up in the logistics of the 00:02:42.200 |
wedding that by the time they get to the wedding ceremony, it's kind of like, "Let's get this 00:02:48.560 |
Get this over with and then let's go to the honeymoon and enjoy ourselves," and they don't 00:02:52.040 |
actually enjoy the ceremony, which is, you know, obviously nobody plans to do that, but 00:02:58.200 |
they get caught up and they forget why they're getting married in the first place. 00:03:05.480 |
I've officiated weddings that probably cost less than a couple thousand, right? 00:03:10.240 |
And I've also officiated weddings where it costs almost half a million. 00:03:15.600 |
And so remembering all of those things, like the highlights, and whether it was an expensive 00:03:21.040 |
wedding or whether it was an inexpensive wedding, there are certain things that I can look back 00:03:32.520 |
One, it's obvious that what makes a wedding memorable to me is that those two people wanted 00:03:44.240 |
And so oftentimes, especially if you've been a Christian for a while, you have a Christian 00:03:47.840 |
answer and then you have the real answer, right? 00:03:51.000 |
So you ask, "Why do you want to get married?" 00:03:54.000 |
Like, "We want to produce and do God's work together," and so you kind of give a Christian 00:04:01.600 |
answer, but the real honest reason is because she's pretty and he's good-looking, right? 00:04:08.680 |
And there's something about each other that attracted you and you want to get married. 00:04:16.400 |
If you want to honor God, you have to get married, right? 00:04:18.920 |
It's a choice you made because you'd rather be with that person and not to be with that 00:04:23.760 |
So the obvious reason is because you want to. 00:04:26.600 |
And so, of course, everybody gets married for that purpose, but then they get caught 00:04:31.320 |
up in the context of trying to get the logistics and the guest rights and the food and all 00:04:37.760 |
this stuff, and then you got the drama between the in-laws and like, "Who wants this? 00:04:42.760 |
And by the time they get to the wedding, they completely forget about why they're getting 00:04:52.240 |
So the weddings that I remember where they just never lost focus and they're just so 00:04:57.100 |
happy to be there and all the little things that didn't go right, it didn't bother them 00:05:00.920 |
as much because they get to get married to the person that they want to get married to. 00:05:05.220 |
So that's one of the first things that I remember. 00:05:07.680 |
The other part, especially for Christians, was a genuine worship, right? 00:05:12.240 |
Where every once in a while we'll have a situation where it's just, "Get this over with." 00:05:16.600 |
You know, the real wedding is the party, like the reception. 00:05:20.400 |
We want to get to the reception so that we can celebrate, have good food, and so the 00:05:24.960 |
ceremony itself is just kind of get it over with. 00:05:34.320 |
But the weddings that was truly memorable were where the bride and groom came in really 00:05:42.120 |
And you can see, and then that's kind of like a catalyst for the wedding party to worship. 00:05:46.720 |
And then it really felt like worship in the context of the wedding ceremony. 00:05:51.840 |
And I've had non-Christians who are witness to. 00:05:54.840 |
That's why one of the things that when I officiate weddings, I want to make sure that the gospel 00:05:58.800 |
is clearly presented, is because I've had so many non-Christians come to me after a 00:06:03.480 |
worship ceremony, because they've never been to worship. 00:06:07.760 |
And they can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but they knew that this was something that 00:06:14.640 |
You know, if non-Christians fell short of the glory of God, that's the primary thing 00:06:21.560 |
And so at least being in the midst of the celebration, they noticed that this is something 00:06:26.040 |
that was beautiful that they're not able to participate in. 00:06:29.360 |
And so genuine worship, that you don't get so caught up in the logistics that you forget 00:06:37.480 |
Before we ask for blessings of family and friends, that we're asking for God's blessing. 00:06:43.400 |
And then the third, the final thing I remember about what was memorable to me was the gathering 00:06:50.400 |
of people who were there to truly celebrate together. 00:06:54.960 |
You know, I've been to weddings where, you know, the parents are very influential, and 00:07:01.240 |
And the wedding has like five, six, seven hundred people, and more than half, or maybe 00:07:09.600 |
And so some of them come because they genuinely saw you grow up and want to participate. 00:07:16.440 |
Oh, he came to my wedding, so I have to invite them to our wedding. 00:07:21.440 |
And so they have a lot of that dynamic going on. 00:07:24.520 |
And in order to not be cussed out, they get the honored seats in the front, and then the 00:07:32.400 |
And then they go through the motion, and they feed them, and then they leave. 00:07:36.040 |
They're the first ones to leave because they've shown their face, given their gift, they've 00:07:40.120 |
And then they wait until their friends in the back, you know, "Hey, can you come to 00:07:43.320 |
the front so we can start this real ceremony?" 00:07:47.240 |
And so I've been to weddings like that where they're just kind of like appeasing people 00:07:51.200 |
who are there, but just not genuinely celebrating what's happening. 00:07:54.760 |
And so those are the three things that stand out to me, like what was memorable to a wedding. 00:07:59.480 |
So husband and wife, they're there, and they, like, that's their focus. 00:08:02.800 |
They really are happy that they're getting married. 00:08:08.240 |
And third, there was a genuine celebration of what's going on. 00:08:12.280 |
Now all of this is connected to the text that we're looking at because Mount Zion is described 00:08:21.560 |
If you look at Hebrews chapter 12, 22, in the NASB, it doesn't really flesh out the 00:08:27.000 |
meaning behind it because it just says it's an assembly of myriads of angels, a general 00:08:34.200 |
That word "general assembly" has more significance than what it says in the NASB. 00:08:38.160 |
NASB is just literally, if you translate it, that's what it means. 00:08:42.780 |
But if you look at the ESV, and I'm going to also read the NASB, it says this, "But 00:08:46.840 |
you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 00:08:50.500 |
and to innumerable angels in festal gathering." 00:08:56.060 |
And then in Hebrews 12, 22, NIV, "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, 00:09:02.480 |
You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly." 00:09:07.120 |
Do you notice what's different between the NASB and the NIV and the ESV? 00:09:13.600 |
In the NASB, it just says "general assembly." 00:09:16.640 |
It just seems like, you know what I mean, you're having a town hall meeting or you're 00:09:20.600 |
getting together, we're going to clean the church, everybody assemble, right? 00:09:24.540 |
We're having a, you know, a members meeting after this, so that's also an assembly, general 00:09:30.320 |
The meaning behind this is actually fleshed out in the ESV and NIV. 00:09:41.120 |
That is why it's called, again in NIV, a "joyful assembly." 00:09:45.640 |
So the description here is more akin to like a wedding ceremony, where there is an assembly, 00:09:52.200 |
but the assembly is for the purpose of celebration. 00:09:59.600 |
It's not just people, you know, we saved you from eternal damnation, so we're just going 00:10:03.720 |
to, everybody who's not condemned, just gather here. 00:10:10.200 |
In fact, the word for gospel, right, what is the Greek word for gospel? 00:10:16.840 |
And what is the meaning of that word, euangelion? 00:10:22.160 |
When we use the term "good news," we apply it to pretty much everything, right? 00:10:27.600 |
They're having a half-off sale at some boba shop. 00:10:36.040 |
So we use the term "good news" for anything good. 00:10:38.320 |
But the word "good news" here in euangelion, culturally was a very specific word. 00:10:44.300 |
It wasn't just something that was good versus bad. 00:10:48.720 |
That word, culturally, was specifically used to convey to us the meaning of the gospel. 00:10:56.400 |
Culturally, it was not the only way it was used, but one of the primary ways that it 00:11:00.880 |
was used was when the soldiers of your country went to war, and people are eagerly waiting 00:11:11.440 |
Because if the soldiers representing your nation to protect and to fight for you, if 00:11:15.920 |
they lost, there would be immediate consequence, that your children, mother, daughters, they 00:11:21.840 |
would be taken into captivity, and they may become slaves the rest of their lives. 00:11:26.000 |
So it wasn't just their livelihood or just their pride. 00:11:30.040 |
And so it was eager waiting to see if you won. 00:11:33.360 |
And so when they win, and they come back and they would celebrate, they would come back 00:11:41.900 |
So culturally, the meaning of good news isn't just something good versus bad. 00:11:49.240 |
It's kind of like the news that would break out into a parade, right? 00:11:53.480 |
And just like if you've seen video clips, maybe on YouTube, after World War II, you 00:11:59.640 |
know, the U.S. conquers their enemies, and they would come back and have a huge parade. 00:12:04.560 |
And that's the kind of idea that this word euangelion has. 00:12:08.000 |
So the very word itself has the idea of celebration, right? 00:12:15.760 |
Jesus himself, in John 10:10, in the description of why he came, he says, "The thief comes 00:12:25.760 |
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." 00:12:29.160 |
And you know the difference in the Greek between the word bios and zoe. 00:12:33.600 |
Bios is biology, where we get the word biology means the length of life, right? 00:12:38.680 |
He didn't come so that we could live forever, because we all live forever. 00:12:42.760 |
Whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian, we have souls, we have spirits that will live 00:12:47.400 |
It's just the difference between will it be in heaven or will it be in hell. 00:12:52.060 |
So he's not saying that he came so that you can exist forever. 00:12:55.160 |
The word here used is zoe, where we get the word to be alive, where you can be living 00:13:05.920 |
And that's exactly what happened at the fall. 00:13:08.200 |
Soon as they disobeyed God, zoe is what they lost. 00:13:15.180 |
So he describes his very ministry, and that's why he says he came to give zoe and to have 00:13:22.160 |
In other words, to celebrate, to restore the joy that was extinguished because of sin. 00:13:28.340 |
In fact, in Matthew 22, 1 through 14, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a wedding feast, 00:13:38.240 |
Verse 1 through 14, where he went out and invited people to come to his son's wedding, 00:13:43.840 |
and people would say no, and then that's the whole parable that he gives, that the kingdom 00:13:52.160 |
So Zion in this text is a description, not simply of a gathering, but of a wedding celebration 00:13:59.580 |
that people are being gathered for the purpose of experiencing this joy, this zoe that was 00:14:13.240 |
And I know that there are some of you who've just experienced it, and some of you who are 00:14:19.000 |
What's the first thing that you're concerned about when you're preparing for a wedding? 00:14:27.040 |
Well the venue is taken care of, it's Zion, right? 00:14:31.760 |
So what's the second thing that you're concerned about? 00:14:37.840 |
And so we're talking about this celebration, this wedding feast that's described in Mount 00:14:43.520 |
And so we know what the venue is, it's at Zion, right? 00:14:49.040 |
But the guest list is what he describes here, who's going to be at the celebration. 00:14:53.800 |
And so the first guests that are there, people who are there in celebration, it says there 00:15:02.960 |
Why are the angels the first ones on this list? 00:15:06.160 |
Remember when we were studying Hebrews chapter 1, many, many years ago? 00:15:09.680 |
Okay, so those of you who are here, he begins, Hebrews chapter 1, description of all the 00:15:17.680 |
things and all the people that Jesus Christ is superior over. 00:15:23.720 |
He's superior than Moses, more than the covenant, the high priest, the sacrifice itself. 00:15:37.480 |
He starts the list of all the things that Jesus is superior over, and he starts at the 00:15:44.280 |
So I'm not going to revisit this sermon in why this was significant, but the angels were 00:15:50.320 |
so venerated in the Jewish mind, it says in Colossians 2.18, that some of them were actually 00:16:00.200 |
So it naturally had a sense of, they had a sense of awe and respect for the angels, and 00:16:05.840 |
rightfully so, because the angels were very powerful beings. 00:16:09.960 |
In fact, at Mount Sinai, when the law was given, the angels were present, the Bible 00:16:15.960 |
The angels were so powerful, in Genesis chapter 19, verse 13, when God brings judgment upon 00:16:21.200 |
the nation of, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, only two angels were needed to wipe them out. 00:16:29.360 |
In 2 Kings 19.35, this, you know, whenever we talk about the Assyrians, they were the 00:16:34.800 |
scary people who went and conquered and were so brutal. 00:16:37.980 |
When God brought judgment upon the Assyrians, it only required one angel to wipe out 185,000 00:16:48.640 |
So naturally, they were very powerful beings. 00:16:52.560 |
And so whenever humans encountered angels, their natural, natural inclination was to 00:17:01.300 |
So there are many instances in the Bible where the angels have to stop them, and say, "Do 00:17:05.200 |
not worship me, because I don't want to be judged." 00:17:12.640 |
And so whenever people would bow down because they see something so much greater than them, 00:17:17.480 |
they would have to stop and say, "I'm just an angel. 00:17:23.360 |
It's significant because this, this wedding ceremony is a king's ceremony. 00:17:29.960 |
If somebody invited you to a wedding ceremony and you found out that all the superstars 00:17:34.100 |
of this generation is going to be there, you're naturally going to want to be there. 00:17:39.200 |
You're naturally going to be all your favorite sports, all your favorite movie stars, all 00:17:42.840 |
your favorite scientists, whatever it is that, that you look up to. 00:17:49.920 |
And so for that reason, he's saying the angels, it's not just, it's not just one or two, myriads. 00:18:02.480 |
And if you, those of you who are a little bit older, when we were younger, when we described 00:18:12.960 |
Today if you own a home in Orange County, you might be a millionaire. 00:18:16.480 |
For sure if you own a home in San Jose, you're a millionaire. 00:18:21.000 |
But if we want to describe somebody very rich, we say multimillionaire or a billionaire. 00:18:27.040 |
Because millionaire doesn't just, just doesn't have the same ring. 00:18:31.240 |
And obviously because the, you know, the way we use the term now just has lost its significance. 00:18:37.480 |
So at this particular time, in order to describe something great in number, they would say 00:18:45.440 |
And so what, what he is saying here is that there's countless number of angels who will 00:18:51.520 |
In other words, right off the bat is to convey the significance of this event. 00:18:57.680 |
When you get to Zion, there's going to be myriads of angels that are going to be there 00:19:04.400 |
Revelations 5, 11, 14 is a specific description of what he says here in Hebrews chapter 12. 00:19:12.160 |
He says, "Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living 00:19:16.220 |
creatures and the elders and the number of them was myriads upon myriads and thousands 00:19:21.120 |
upon thousands saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power 00:19:26.200 |
and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. 00:19:30.920 |
Every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea 00:19:35.080 |
and all things in them I heard saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb 00:19:39.800 |
be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.' 00:19:42.520 |
And the four living creatures kept saying, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshipped." 00:19:49.080 |
That's the same scene that's being described here in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 where 00:19:53.640 |
there's going to be this festival, this joyful gathering, this wedding feast where myriads 00:20:02.720 |
Would you notice how in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 that this gathering is going to be 00:20:08.840 |
a joyful festival gathering but the same scene is described here as worship? 00:20:20.040 |
That joy and worship is used interchangeably. 00:20:25.400 |
Now if you don't have that idea of worship, it's just like worship, like what time is 00:20:31.640 |
Especially if you grew up in the church and worship has become a habit, you don't think 00:20:43.940 |
This idea of worship is something that we do to attend. 00:20:59.680 |
So therefore a Christian who is constantly grumbling cannot be in worship because worship 00:21:10.640 |
You can't be celebrating if you're constantly grumbling about something. 00:21:15.360 |
So if you notice here, worship and joy are described interchangeably. 00:21:20.960 |
We worship what causes the greatest joy in our life, do we not? 00:21:27.820 |
Because the word worship comes from the Latin word, we are skipping, and it means to give 00:21:33.500 |
That's the very definition of the English word worship. 00:21:36.940 |
We see value in it, so therefore we give praise. 00:21:42.160 |
So we naturally end up worshiping what brings the greatest joy. 00:21:48.640 |
If God is not the producer of the greatest joy in your life, you're going to see God 00:21:59.020 |
You know, a lot of people get very frustrated if my sermon goes over, and not at this church. 00:22:09.780 |
If it goes over at certain times, like I've allowed you 40 minutes, 45 minutes, and I'll 00:22:20.060 |
If you're insensitive, there's nothing you're going to say that's important enough to listen 00:22:28.100 |
So I get kind of scowls, and I can see it on your faces sometimes. 00:22:35.780 |
As soon as I go over that allotted grace that you've given me, and it's like I've ruined 00:22:44.900 |
You got to go eat with your friends, and you're supposed to do something. 00:22:50.260 |
But what produces the greatest joy is not necessarily worship. 00:22:53.220 |
It's just this is something that has to be done, and then so that we can get to what 00:22:59.460 |
But true worship is directly linked to what brings the greatest joy. 00:23:05.740 |
And if worship is what causes the greatest joy, whatever causes the greatest joy is constantly 00:23:19.560 |
If you're a Dodgers fan, is Dodgers playing today? 00:23:22.700 |
I have no idea because I'm not a big Dodgers fan. 00:23:24.740 |
But if you're a Dodgers fan, you probably know. 00:23:27.820 |
And you probably know the stats of the people who are playing. 00:23:31.140 |
You probably know how they played the last game. 00:23:35.940 |
You probably know what they have to do in order for them to advance. 00:23:40.140 |
And you get frustrated and happy based upon how your team does because it produces a great 00:23:48.060 |
Whatever that causes the greatest amount of joy is on our mind constantly. 00:23:53.660 |
In fact, you get frustrated when other fans don't know. 00:23:59.020 |
You call yourself a Dodgers fan and you don't know. 00:24:05.540 |
Whatever causes the greatest joy is on your mind constantly. 00:24:10.740 |
And if it causes the greatest joy in your life, you end up sharing it. 00:24:15.620 |
This has nothing to do with being an extrovert and an introvert. 00:24:18.540 |
Oh, I'm not good at witnessing because I'm an introvert. 00:24:20.780 |
I've never seen an introvert who keeps their greatest passions to themselves. 00:24:26.100 |
You may not be screaming it, but your wife, your children know exactly what you like and 00:24:34.180 |
So if that's your greatest joy, you end up sharing it. 00:24:41.640 |
So whatever produces the greatest joy, it ends up leaking. 00:24:46.900 |
You end up telling other people about it because they say, "Oh, that makes that guy so happy." 00:24:56.400 |
And whatever is creating the greatest joy in your life, automatically you feel a community 00:25:07.440 |
So if you're a Dodgers fan, my guess is you're in some sort of a chat room with other Dodgers 00:25:12.520 |
fans, and when you're sad, you're sad together. 00:25:16.420 |
When you're happy, you're happy together, right? 00:25:20.760 |
And the people in that room, you may not even know, right? 00:25:25.720 |
The other parts of their life, all you know is that the same thing causes joy in your 00:25:34.540 |
So if you're a church and you have a church filled with people whose not the greatest 00:25:41.040 |
joy is not Christ, you have to produce a community with artificial things. 00:25:48.000 |
We have a rock climbing church, rock climbing fellowship at the church. 00:25:51.600 |
So anybody who's rock climbing, let's get together. 00:25:54.360 |
Anybody who's older than 50, we're going to have a community there. 00:26:06.720 |
Like fishing or, so you have to create this artificial love that's not Christ to get together 00:26:17.120 |
But if you have true, true joy from, let's say, playing Dodgers, do you have an age limit 00:26:25.640 |
Is that, oh, we're going to have a chat room for Dodgers fans, but you have to be 30 and 00:26:37.720 |
And whoever loves Dodgers, whether you are a 13 year old or a 70 year old, the fact that 00:26:42.000 |
you are sharing this joy together produces this community. 00:26:46.440 |
And so the church is a gathering of place that have people who have seen the glory of 00:26:50.920 |
the gospel of Jesus Christ and loving Christ, proclaiming Christ produces the greatest joy 00:26:59.480 |
That's what happened in the early church with the Jews, the Gentiles, the tax collectors, 00:27:05.400 |
the fishermen, the educated, uneducated slave owners and former slaves. 00:27:10.000 |
They all gathered together because the same thing produces joy in them. 00:27:15.400 |
Whatever causes the greatest joy is the source of the greatest community. 00:27:22.380 |
That's why our primary goal is to proclaim Christ. 00:27:26.360 |
Because if you love Christ, this gathering is not a, so that we can produce a false sense 00:27:33.160 |
We went to the same school, we're the same age, we speak the same language, same culture, 00:27:40.000 |
But what's unique about the church is that no matter what background, no matter where 00:27:45.560 |
you came from, no matter how different we were before we came in together, what causes 00:27:58.240 |
Fifthly, whatever produces the greatest joy in our life, we are more than willing to pay 00:28:07.000 |
Again, if you're a Dodgers fan and they're at the World Series and even though you're 00:28:11.480 |
struggling financially, you will sell your car if you have to. 00:28:21.480 |
Because it produces the greatest joy in your life. 00:28:24.720 |
You're willing to pay whatever the cost is and not because you are more disciplined than 00:28:30.680 |
other people, because you're more noble, it's because it produces the greatest joy. 00:28:36.560 |
And because it produces the greatest joy, you're willing to pay the highest price. 00:28:42.240 |
So when Jesus says to pick up your cross, it's not just a cross, oh we got to bear, 00:28:48.040 |
we got to suffer for Jesus Christ, but it produces the greatest joy. 00:28:52.840 |
And that's how it's described in Matthew chapter 13 to 46, he says, "The kingdom of heaven 00:28:56.920 |
is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man found and hid again, and from joy over 00:29:02.240 |
it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." 00:29:07.800 |
And then again he says in verse 45, "Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking 00:29:11.640 |
fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he 00:29:19.040 |
There are two things I want to emphasize here. 00:29:21.600 |
One, the reason why they were willing to pay the ultimate price, sell everything for that, 00:29:33.680 |
And if a Christian either forgets or distracted and are more tempted by the things of this 00:29:39.280 |
world and we forget what it is that we have in Christ, worship is faked. 00:29:44.520 |
Because worship happens as a result of seeing the value of what it is that we have in Christ. 00:29:50.640 |
And you notice because he knew the value, what was his motivation? 00:29:58.680 |
So his sacrifice wasn't sacrifice, he was trading something that is of lesser value 00:30:06.240 |
So he was investing for the future, but the primary motivation was joy. 00:30:14.200 |
And what produced joy is because they recognized the value. 00:30:18.640 |
That's the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian. 00:30:20.680 |
That's why the Bible says that the God of this age has blinded the mind of the unbelievers 00:30:24.680 |
so they do not see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:30:36.680 |
But a Christian is one whose eyes have been opened and have seen the ultimate value of 00:30:44.560 |
And as a result of that, they are willing to sell everything that they have. 00:30:47.640 |
They are willing to give their life in order to have what is given to us. 00:30:54.400 |
So in John chapter 15 verse 11, if you know that passage, John chapter 11 is the passage 00:31:00.000 |
where Jesus gives the I am divine and you are the branches and you cannot bear fruit 00:31:07.640 |
If you abide in me, my word is abiding in you. 00:31:09.520 |
Ask whatever you wish, it shall be given to you. 00:31:11.540 |
And it is in that text he says in verse 11, these things I have spoken to you so that 00:31:15.880 |
what my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full. 00:31:27.700 |
And so if we don't understand the value of what it is that we have in Christ, his imperative. 00:31:33.700 |
So oftentimes people say, oh man, when we talk about the grace of God, the love of God, 00:31:38.560 |
it is unconditional and it causes joy because we have this unconditional love of God. 00:31:44.920 |
And then when we talk about imperatives, about picking up the cross and sacrificing, suffering 00:31:49.240 |
for the name of Jesus Christ, man, that's heavy. 00:31:55.160 |
But he says here the reason why he gives the indicatives and the reason why he gives imperatives 00:32:04.720 |
He tells us to pick up our cross because he's trying to produce in us the joy that he has. 00:32:12.640 |
That's why in Hebrews chapter 11, 15 to 16, all these people who have sacrificed everything 00:32:20.080 |
Indeed, if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would 00:32:32.160 |
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them. 00:32:37.520 |
See, the reason, if our joy comes from something that this world produces, then naturally you're 00:32:49.920 |
Because if you see that whatever it is that you want, you find fulfillment is in this 00:32:54.740 |
world, then God kind of is a hindrance to that. 00:33:01.200 |
Even though you proclaim to be a Christian, if what you value is something that you can 00:33:05.480 |
attain in this world, then you're going to do everything in your power to pursue what's 00:33:12.600 |
So you want just enough God so that you can have insurance for eternity, but God is not 00:33:21.120 |
God is just somebody to help you pursue this, and you realize after time goes by that that's 00:33:29.040 |
If God's not going to give me this, I don't want him. 00:33:32.600 |
And so that's part of the reason why so many people drift and so many people choose to 00:33:37.960 |
It's not because at one point in their life God disappointed them. 00:33:41.920 |
From the get-go, God is not what they wanted. 00:33:45.640 |
They wanted something from God, but it is not God that they wanted. 00:33:49.080 |
See, worship to many people is nothing more than putting their time in. 00:33:56.920 |
Worship at Bering Community Church happens at 9 o'clock, and then it happens at 11 o'clock, 00:34:05.160 |
Don't go over hour and a half, because after an hour and a half, you're ruining my life. 00:34:14.100 |
But the biblical definition of worship is where we come to receive life in the presence 00:34:23.560 |
And so in John chapter 4, 21 to 23, I'm not going to read the whole passage where he has 00:34:29.600 |
She recognizes that he is no ordinary person, and he said, "You Jews want to worship in 00:34:36.480 |
We have different opinions of where we should worship." 00:34:38.440 |
And it is to that response he says, "What God is looking for is true worshipers." 00:34:44.720 |
Whether you worship in this mountain or that mountain, whether it's 9 o'clock or 11 o'clock, 00:34:50.000 |
What God is looking for are people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. 00:34:58.360 |
People who are coming to God because they recognize the value of what it is that we 00:35:05.280 |
And that's why the Bible is filled with the word, "Remember." 00:35:11.200 |
Remember the height from which you had fallen. 00:35:15.620 |
Remember the beginning of your faith where that meant everything to you. 00:35:20.220 |
If you've drifted from that, spiritual maturity is not knowing more. 00:35:26.980 |
It's not finding out the deep mysteries that you can only find by reading so many books. 00:35:33.700 |
Spiritual maturity is remembering what you had from day one. 00:35:39.140 |
Everything that you needed for life and godliness has been given to you in the knowledge of 00:35:43.660 |
And that's why He says, "Remember," repeatedly, over and over. 00:35:47.740 |
Because God is looking for people who are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. 00:35:54.860 |
And that should be the goal and is the goal of every single church. 00:36:00.220 |
We don't call a church a successful church because we have more people than the church 00:36:05.560 |
We're better programmed or better preaching or better whatever it is that we think the 00:36:10.700 |
A good church and a bad church, the distinction is worship. 00:36:16.380 |
Are people worshiping in spirit and in truth? 00:36:19.380 |
Or are they just checking in and checking out? 00:36:31.140 |
And that's why He says, "Myriads and myriads, but secondly, this is the gathering of the 00:36:35.380 |
church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." 00:36:41.300 |
When we say church, there's always two parts. 00:36:43.620 |
There's a universal church and the local church. 00:36:46.180 |
The universal church is God's program, God's membership, and only God knows. 00:37:01.060 |
So as long as we're here physically, there will always be some wheat and tares in the 00:37:08.220 |
He's going to discern at the end who they are. 00:37:12.180 |
So even at the best of our celebration, it's always going to have some mix in the church. 00:37:18.140 |
Some people who genuinely love Christ and want to meet Christ, and that's all they want. 00:37:24.820 |
And then there's going to be people in the church who say, "I don't fit in." 00:37:32.820 |
There's all the things that's going to be mixed in. 00:37:36.300 |
But the celebration that you and I are going to experience when we get to Zion is going 00:37:50.860 |
And they come, but then they don't suffer with you. 00:37:58.660 |
And so we want to preach in a way that those who don't have genuine faith wake up, and 00:38:05.500 |
hopefully that the true gospel causes them to come to Christ. 00:38:10.420 |
So our celebration at best is always going to have some mixture in the church. 00:38:16.180 |
But in Zion, he says it's going to be perfect. 00:38:20.100 |
Only true fans of Christ are going to be there. 00:38:22.860 |
So when we celebrate, we're going to be around other people who are going to be celebrating 00:38:28.300 |
I think if you're a sports fan, you know exactly what I'm talking about. 00:38:33.860 |
If your team wins and you just happen to be with other people who is a true fan, not a 00:38:40.260 |
bandwagoner, but a true fan, you know the joy, the celebration, the koinonia that you 00:38:52.060 |
They may be from rival gangs sitting next to each other, and they're hugging each other, 00:38:57.980 |
celebrating, high-fiving, because it's pure worship. 00:39:03.220 |
In heaven, we're going to experience that pure joy, because he's going to separate the 00:39:08.900 |
wheat and the tares, and only true worshipers of God are going to gather together worshiping. 00:39:23.340 |
In Revelation 7, 9-10, it says, "After these things, I looked, and behold, great multitude 00:39:27.380 |
which no one could count, from every nation, and all the tribes, and the peoples, and tongues, 00:39:33.140 |
standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches 00:39:38.340 |
And they cry out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, 00:39:46.420 |
If you are not a true worshiper of God, that sounds boring. 00:40:06.100 |
If you are not a true worshiper of God, this is not something to look forward to. 00:40:11.220 |
That's why non-Christians always say, "Ah, heaven's boring. 00:40:13.820 |
I want to go to hell so that I can party with people like me." 00:40:23.820 |
In Hebrews 12-2, that's why it says, "Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 00:40:27.440 |
of our faith, for the joy set before Him endured the cross." 00:40:34.060 |
He didn't go to the cross because He was attracted to the cross. 00:40:38.420 |
He said He put up with the cross in order to have joy. 00:40:49.300 |
Because that's why He didn't have it this side of the cross. 00:40:52.700 |
He was willing to endure the cross so that He can have joy in us, and that we can have 00:41:05.940 |
It's not like, "Hey, here's a bunch of things that you should do. 00:41:08.300 |
Here's the Ten Commandments, and if you're a good person, you do these ten things. 00:41:13.180 |
You wake up early in the morning, and you're just gritted and more disciplined than other 00:41:18.660 |
You're going to work harder than everybody else, and next thing you know, your joy is 00:41:23.020 |
Again, there's nothing wrong with these things if that's our pursuit of joy, if that causes 00:41:31.140 |
But if what we're doing as Christians is causing us to be bitter and angry and upset, 00:41:38.940 |
it's the exact opposite of what God is trying to produce in us. 00:41:45.900 |
The best witness as a church is to become the best worshippers. 00:41:52.620 |
Because the non-Christians, when they come see us, and if what produces joy in us is 00:41:57.400 |
no different than the world, there's no reason to come here. 00:42:01.580 |
If we're happy when we make money, and we're sad when we don't make money, if we make good 00:42:05.540 |
investments and we get sick and not get sick, and if the world sees that our joy is no different 00:42:14.180 |
than what produces joy in them, there's no difference in us than them. 00:42:18.180 |
What's unique about our fellowship is what produces joy that the world does not understand. 00:42:24.900 |
Why are you so happy in the middle of a pandemic? 00:42:28.140 |
Why are you so happy when your job is the way it is? 00:42:31.340 |
Why are you so happy when you're so tired raising kids? 00:42:39.380 |
And that causes us to say it's because of God, who does not fade, who does not perish, 00:42:48.260 |
Our salvation, our promise, our inheritance is preserved for us by the power of God until 00:42:56.420 |
So our joy and our worship is not like the world. 00:43:02.020 |
A person who is not worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and you try to share the gospel 00:43:07.220 |
with somebody, all you're doing is regurgitating information. 00:43:18.940 |
This is where I get the joy, this is where I feel I find life, and you want to share 00:43:25.340 |
That's true worship, that's what he's seeking for. 00:43:27.300 |
Let me get to the third thing, and then the final part we're going to save for next week, 00:43:38.060 |
He says, millions of angels are going to be there. 00:43:42.360 |
This is the gathering of the true church, who's going to be worshiping together, and 00:43:53.180 |
Why would you, there's all kinds of things that you could describe God as. 00:44:05.780 |
No, God, the judge of all, is also going to be there. 00:44:12.980 |
There's all kinds of things going to be described. 00:44:16.500 |
But when the word judge, if I ask you to describe the word judge, what does the word judge mean? 00:44:27.900 |
But why do we, when we hear the word judge, it's automatically negative. 00:44:39.860 |
God the judge, and all of a sudden, what do we see? 00:44:47.460 |
Why is God described as the God of Mount Sinai? 00:44:50.740 |
The word judge, in and of itself, is a neutral word to discern right and wrong. 00:44:59.940 |
The reason why it produces a negative emotion is because there's something guilty in us. 00:45:05.980 |
A guilty person standing before a holy God, and you hear the word judge, immediately judgment 00:45:15.020 |
But those who have been covered by the blood of Christ, God the judge is our protector. 00:45:27.660 |
And that's what you and I need to remember when we get to heaven, is that God the judge, 00:45:31.660 |
and it's just like the way, remember the book of Judges? 00:45:35.700 |
The book of Judges, the theme is, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. 00:45:40.220 |
And you notice there, it doesn't say everyone did what was wrong in their own eyes, it said 00:45:45.420 |
everyone did what was right in their own eyes. 00:45:48.820 |
Some of the greatest sins that are committed in human history are committed by people who 00:45:54.140 |
are convinced that they are right, based on their own moral compass. 00:45:59.880 |
That's what's going on right now in our generation. 00:46:02.060 |
Everyone is proclaiming what they're doing is righteous. 00:46:05.940 |
And they're willing to do whatever it takes to get their point across. 00:46:08.980 |
And he says, the reason why Israel kept on falling is because everyone did what was right 00:46:16.700 |
And then as a result of that, the judgment would come, and they would cry out to God, 00:46:25.540 |
So the judge in nation's history was a deliverer. 00:46:33.920 |
Judge is the one who brought righteousness in the nation of Israel. 00:46:36.960 |
So here when he says, God the judge will be there, for those who are unrepentant, is not 00:46:43.460 |
covered by the blood of Christ, yes, the God the judge will bring condemnation. 00:46:49.840 |
We will have to give account of every sin, every careless word the Bible says. 00:46:56.960 |
Just like if you were to stand before a human judge. 00:47:01.100 |
But the judge that he's referring to here, Mount Zion, are those who stand before a holy 00:47:05.200 |
God and have been declared righteous because of the blood of Christ. 00:47:10.500 |
He will protect us, he will provide for us, he will guide us, he will lead us, and righteousness 00:47:14.900 |
will prevail because of the blood of Christ for eternity. 00:47:27.660 |
We're not here to say, you know, I attended worship. 00:47:37.820 |
Worship is a time of celebrating, celebrating what God has done for us. 00:47:42.860 |
So again, I want to encourage you and I want to ask you this question. 00:47:46.260 |
And as we take some time to pray, as we ask our worship team to come back up. 00:47:52.240 |
When was the last time you really came to God seeking life? 00:48:01.520 |
I came to God years ago, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago, and I wanted life. 00:48:06.580 |
I wanted my sins to be justified by the blood of Christ. 00:48:10.500 |
But when was the last time you came to Christ to experience this life, to have greater joy, 00:48:24.220 |
And if we've seen something in the world that produces joy and then church just as a maintenance 00:48:31.380 |
so that we can have insurance to go to heaven, you're completely missing the whole point 00:48:36.520 |
of our existence, the purpose of our salvation, so that we may have this joy and have it to 00:48:43.900 |
So my prayer and my encouragement is to see our gathering as the greatest place of joy. 00:48:56.160 |
And stop complaining that we're on this plane together to Zion and grumbling that you didn't 00:49:12.360 |
And you're on the coach seat and you're coveting the people who are in the business class. 00:49:26.720 |
Maybe God put you on the coach because there's people in the coach that you'll be celebrating 00:49:33.560 |
Maybe you're going to get greater reward because you're in the coach. 00:49:38.080 |
But to be grumbling because we're in the coach because we're closer to the toilet? 00:49:47.600 |
Think about what's at the other side when we land. 00:49:50.960 |
Think about what's coming when Christ comes so that we would learn to celebrate and have 00:50:02.760 |
Again, as our worship team leads us, let's take some time to pray and reflect and let 00:50:20.700 |
Everything that needs to be done, and I've made the world my treasure. 00:50:34.480 |
Take some time to honestly confess before God. 00:50:38.720 |
Open my eyes that I may see once again the treasure that I have in you so that I may 00:50:45.440 |
Let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.