All right, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 through 24. We're going to be looking at verse 22 and on today, but I want to read it in the context of verse 18 through 24. Okay, reading out of the NASB. For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, and to a blazing fire, and to the darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of the trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.

For they could not bear the command, if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I am full of fear and trembling. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirit of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkle blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have to be able to come before your throne of grace with confidence because of the blood of Christ. We thank you, Father God, for loving us, persevering with us, and at times correcting us, disciplining us that we may know you, that we may honor you and worship you.

We pray that your word would go forth, only your word go forth, and that it would not return until it has accomplished the purpose that you have ordained. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I think as you guys know, we are in wedding season, right? So we have so many weddings and we know some of you recently got married and we know that some of you just got engaged.

There's weddings coming up. In fact, just this week we had two weddings. We had one here yesterday and then we had another one I think on Tuesday, and so our pastors are busy officiating weddings. So, you know, through the years, I think in our church we have so many young people.

We've had so many weddings and somebody asked me how many weddings have I officiated and actually sat down and counted, and it's been a while since I counted, but it's over 100 and less than 150, so it was quite a few, right? And there's more weddings going on now than ever.

But sometimes, you know, when we have weddings, we get so caught up in the logistics of the wedding that by the time they get to the wedding ceremony, it's kind of like, "Let's get this over with, you know? Get this over with and then let's go to the honeymoon and enjoy ourselves," and they don't actually enjoy the ceremony, which is, you know, obviously nobody plans to do that, but they get caught up and they forget why they're getting married in the first place.

So through the years, I've observed, right? I've officiated weddings that probably cost less than a couple thousand, right? And I've also officiated weddings where it costs almost half a million. And so remembering all of those things, like the highlights, and whether it was an expensive wedding or whether it was an inexpensive wedding, there are certain things that I can look back and remember what made it memorable, right?

And there's a few things that I remember. One, it's obvious that what makes a wedding memorable to me is that those two people wanted to be together. It sounds like, no duh, right? Why are they getting married? And so oftentimes, especially if you've been a Christian for a while, you have a Christian answer and then you have the real answer, right?

So you ask, "Why do you want to get married?" "For the glory of God." Like, "We want to produce and do God's work together," and so you kind of give a Christian answer, but the real honest reason is because she's pretty and he's good-looking, right? And there's something about each other that attracted you and you want to get married.

Nobody twisted your arm. This was not an obligation. If you want to honor God, you have to get married, right? It's a choice you made because you'd rather be with that person and not to be with that person. So the obvious reason is because you want to. And so, of course, everybody gets married for that purpose, but then they get caught up in the context of trying to get the logistics and the guest rights and the food and all this stuff, and then you got the drama between the in-laws and like, "Who wants this?

Who doesn't want this?" And by the time they get to the wedding, they completely forget about why they're getting married in the first place, right? "Let's get this over with. I'm so tired of this." And then they go to their honeymoon. So the weddings that I remember where they just never lost focus and they're just so happy to be there and all the little things that didn't go right, it didn't bother them as much because they get to get married to the person that they want to get married to.

So that's one of the first things that I remember. The other part, especially for Christians, was a genuine worship, right? Where every once in a while we'll have a situation where it's just, "Get this over with." You know, the real wedding is the party, like the reception. We want to get to the reception so that we can celebrate, have good food, and so the ceremony itself is just kind of get it over with.

Keep the sermon as short as possible. We don't want any frills, nothing. Just get it over with, right? And then to get to that. But the weddings that was truly memorable were where the bride and groom came in really wanting to worship God. And you can see, and then that's kind of like a catalyst for the wedding party to worship.

And then it really felt like worship in the context of the wedding ceremony. And I've had non-Christians who are witness to. That's why one of the things that when I officiate weddings, I want to make sure that the gospel is clearly presented, is because I've had so many non-Christians come to me after a worship ceremony, because they've never been to worship.

They've never been to church. And they can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but they knew that this was something that they're missing. You know, if non-Christians fell short of the glory of God, that's the primary thing that they're not able to do. And so at least being in the midst of the celebration, they noticed that this is something that was beautiful that they're not able to participate in.

And so genuine worship, that you don't get so caught up in the logistics that you forget that this is a worship before God. Before we ask for blessings of family and friends, that we're asking for God's blessing. And that was at the center. And then the third, the final thing I remember about what was memorable to me was the gathering of people who were there to truly celebrate together.

You know, I've been to weddings where, you know, the parents are very influential, and they have so many friends. And the wedding has like five, six, seven hundred people, and more than half, or maybe two-thirds are guests from parents. And so some of them come because they genuinely saw you grow up and want to participate.

Some of them come out of obligation, right? Oh, he came to my wedding, so I have to invite them to our wedding. So they gave a hundred, I'll give a hundred. And so they have a lot of that dynamic going on. And in order to not be cussed out, they get the honored seats in the front, and then the friends get the back seat.

And then they go through the motion, and they feed them, and then they leave. They're the first ones to leave because they've shown their face, given their gift, they've eaten, they're gone. And then they wait until their friends in the back, you know, "Hey, can you come to the front so we can start this real ceremony?" You know?

And so I've been to weddings like that where they're just kind of like appeasing people who are there, but just not genuinely celebrating what's happening. And so those are the three things that stand out to me, like what was memorable to a wedding. So husband and wife, they're there, and they, like, that's their focus.

They really are happy that they're getting married. And two, worship was at the center. And third, there was a genuine celebration of what's going on. Now all of this is connected to the text that we're looking at because Mount Zion is described as a celebration. If you look at Hebrews chapter 12, 22, in the NASB, it doesn't really flesh out the meaning behind it because it just says it's an assembly of myriads of angels, a general assembly.

That word "general assembly" has more significance than what it says in the NASB. NASB is just literally, if you translate it, that's what it means. But if you look at the ESV, and I'm going to also read the NASB, it says this, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering." And then in Hebrews 12, 22, NIV, "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly." Do you notice what's different between the NASB and the NIV and the ESV? Did you catch that? In the NASB, it just says "general assembly." It just seems like, you know what I mean, you're having a town hall meeting or you're getting together, we're going to clean the church, everybody assemble, right?

We're having a, you know, a members meeting after this, so that's also an assembly, general assembly. The meaning behind this is actually fleshed out in the ESV and NIV. It's not just any gathering. It is a celebration. That's why it's called a "festal gathering." That is why it's called, again in NIV, a "joyful assembly." So the description here is more akin to like a wedding ceremony, where there is an assembly, but the assembly is for the purpose of celebration.

And that's how Zion is described here. It is not just an assembly. It's not just people, you know, we saved you from eternal damnation, so we're just going to, everybody who's not condemned, just gather here. It's described as a joyful assembly. In fact, the word for gospel, right, what is the Greek word for gospel?

Euangelion. And what is the meaning of that word, euangelion? Good news. When we use the term "good news," we apply it to pretty much everything, right? They're having a half-off sale at some boba shop. That's good news, right? Or you get let go of a ticket. That's good news.

So we use the term "good news" for anything good. But the word "good news" here in euangelion, culturally was a very specific word. It wasn't just something that was good versus bad. That word, culturally, was specifically used to convey to us the meaning of the gospel. Culturally, it was not the only way it was used, but one of the primary ways that it was used was when the soldiers of your country went to war, and people are eagerly waiting to see who won.

Because if the soldiers representing your nation to protect and to fight for you, if they lost, there would be immediate consequence, that your children, mother, daughters, they would be taken into captivity, and they may become slaves the rest of their lives. So it wasn't just their livelihood or just their pride.

And so it was eager waiting to see if you won. And so when they win, and they come back and they would celebrate, they would come back and say, "I have good news," right? Good news. So culturally, the meaning of good news isn't just something good versus bad. This is fantastic news.

It's kind of like the news that would break out into a parade, right? And just like if you've seen video clips, maybe on YouTube, after World War II, you know, the U.S. conquers their enemies, and they would come back and have a huge parade. And that's the kind of idea that this word euangelion has.

So the very word itself has the idea of celebration, right? Fantastic news. Jesus himself, in John 10:10, in the description of why he came, he says, "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." And you know the difference in the Greek between the word bios and zoe.

Bios is biology, where we get the word biology means the length of life, right? He didn't come so that we could live forever, because we all live forever. Whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian, we have souls, we have spirits that will live forever. It's just the difference between will it be in heaven or will it be in hell.

That's a distinction. So he's not saying that he came so that you can exist forever. The word here used is zoe, where we get the word to be alive, where you can be living and not be alive, right? And that's exactly what happened at the fall. Soon as they disobeyed God, zoe is what they lost.

Bios kept on going. So he describes his very ministry, and that's why he says he came to give zoe and to have it abundantly. In other words, to celebrate, to restore the joy that was extinguished because of sin. In fact, in Matthew 22, 1 through 14, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a wedding feast, right?

To the wedding feast. Verse 1 through 14, where he went out and invited people to come to his son's wedding, and people would say no, and then that's the whole parable that he gives, that the kingdom of God is like a wedding feast. So Zion in this text is a description, not simply of a gathering, but of a wedding celebration that people are being gathered for the purpose of experiencing this joy, this zoe that was lost because of the fall.

So when we think about the wedding, right? And I know that there are some of you who've just experienced it, and some of you who are in the middle of doing that, right? What's the first thing that you're concerned about when you're preparing for a wedding? Venue, right? Where are you going to get married?

Well the venue is taken care of, it's Zion, right? Venue is taken care of, so it's Zion. So what's the second thing that you're concerned about? Guest list, right? Who's coming to this? And so we're talking about this celebration, this wedding feast that's described in Mount Zion. And so we know what the venue is, it's at Zion, right?

It's a spiritual Jerusalem. But the guest list is what he describes here, who's going to be at the celebration. And so the first guests that are there, people who are there in celebration, it says there are myriads of angels, right? Why are the angels the first ones on this list?

Remember when we were studying Hebrews chapter 1, many, many years ago? Okay, so those of you who are here, he begins, Hebrews chapter 1, description of all the things and all the people that Jesus Christ is superior over. So he just goes down the list. He's superior than Moses, more than the covenant, the high priest, the sacrifice itself.

But what does he begin with? Do you remember? Hebrews chapter 1? Okay, angels, right? Those of you who remember. He starts the list of all the things that Jesus is superior over, and he starts at the very top. Angels. So I'm not going to revisit this sermon in why this was significant, but the angels were so venerated in the Jewish mind, it says in Colossians 2.18, that some of them were actually guilty of worshiping them.

So it naturally had a sense of, they had a sense of awe and respect for the angels, and rightfully so, because the angels were very powerful beings. In fact, at Mount Sinai, when the law was given, the angels were present, the Bible says. The angels were so powerful, in Genesis chapter 19, verse 13, when God brings judgment upon the nation of, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, only two angels were needed to wipe them out.

In 2 Kings 19.35, this, you know, whenever we talk about the Assyrians, they were the scary people who went and conquered and were so brutal. When God brought judgment upon the Assyrians, it only required one angel to wipe out 185,000 soldiers. One angel. So naturally, they were very powerful beings.

And so whenever humans encountered angels, their natural, natural inclination was to bow down and worship. So there are many instances in the Bible where the angels have to stop them, and say, "Do not worship me, because I don't want to be judged." Right? That's exactly what Satan wanted. Satan wanted to be worshipped.

And so whenever people would bow down because they see something so much greater than them, they would have to stop and say, "I'm just an angel. I'm a creative being just like you." Why is this significant? It's significant because this, this wedding ceremony is a king's ceremony. If somebody invited you to a wedding ceremony and you found out that all the superstars of this generation is going to be there, you're naturally going to want to be there.

Right? You're naturally going to be all your favorite sports, all your favorite movie stars, all your favorite scientists, whatever it is that, that you look up to. Right? So they're all going to be there. And so for that reason, he's saying the angels, it's not just, it's not just one or two, myriads.

This literally is translated thousands. Now thousands, that doesn't seem like a lot. And if you, those of you who are a little bit older, when we were younger, when we described somebody rich, right? What did we say? He's a millionaire. Today if you own a home in Orange County, you might be a millionaire.

For sure if you own a home in San Jose, you're a millionaire. Right? But if we want to describe somebody very rich, we say multimillionaire or a billionaire. Because millionaire doesn't just, just doesn't have the same ring. And obviously because the, you know, the way we use the term now just has lost its significance.

So at this particular time, in order to describe something great in number, they would say thousands or thousands upon thousands. And so what, what he is saying here is that there's countless number of angels who will be present here. In other words, right off the bat is to convey the significance of this event.

When you get to Zion, there's going to be myriads of angels that are going to be there in celebration. Revelations 5, 11, 14 is a specific description of what he says here in Hebrews chapter 12. He says, "Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the number of them was myriads upon myriads and thousands upon thousands saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

Every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them I heard saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.' And the four living creatures kept saying, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshipped." That's the same scene that's being described here in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 where there's going to be this festival, this joyful gathering, this wedding feast where myriads of angels are going to be gathered together.

Would you notice how in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 that this gathering is going to be a joyful festival gathering but the same scene is described here as worship? You notice that? That joy and worship is used interchangeably. Now if you don't have that idea of worship, it's just like worship, like what time is worship?

Especially if you grew up in the church and worship has become a habit, you don't think of worship as joy, you think of it as time. What time is worship? When is this worship over? This idea of worship is something that we do to attend. But the biblical concept of worship is joy.

What time do we come to celebrate? That's the idea of worship. So therefore a Christian who is constantly grumbling cannot be in worship because worship by definition is to celebrate. You can't be celebrating if you're constantly grumbling about something. So if you notice here, worship and joy are described interchangeably.

We worship what causes the greatest joy in our life, do we not? Because the word worship comes from the Latin word, we are skipping, and it means to give worth to something. That's the very definition of the English word worship. We see value in it, so therefore we give praise.

So we naturally end up worshiping what brings the greatest joy. If God is not the producer of the greatest joy in your life, you're going to see God as an obligation and then something else. Take this worship over with. You know, a lot of people get very frustrated if my sermon goes over, and not at this church.

If it goes over at certain times, like I've allowed you 40 minutes, 45 minutes, and I'll be gracious 50 minutes. If you're insensitive, there's nothing you're going to say that's important enough to listen to over 50 minutes. So I get kind of scowls, and I can see it on your faces sometimes.

Most of you are good. Some of you are not. As soon as I go over that allotted grace that you've given me, and it's like I've ruined your life because you have plans. You got to go eat with your friends, and you're supposed to do something. But what produces the greatest joy is not necessarily worship.

It's just this is something that has to be done, and then so that we can get to what produces joy. But true worship is directly linked to what brings the greatest joy. And if worship is what causes the greatest joy, whatever causes the greatest joy is constantly on our mind.

Those of you who are sports fans, right? If you're a Dodgers fan, is Dodgers playing today? I have no idea because I'm not a big Dodgers fan. But if you're a Dodgers fan, you probably know. And you probably know the stats of the people who are playing. You probably know how they played the last game.

You probably know their standing. You probably know what they have to do in order for them to advance. And you get frustrated and happy based upon how your team does because it produces a great amount of joy. Whatever that causes the greatest amount of joy is on our mind constantly.

You don't have to be reminded. In fact, you get frustrated when other fans don't know. You call yourself a Dodgers fan and you don't know. You're not angry that they lost. What's wrong with you? Whatever causes the greatest joy is on your mind constantly. And if it causes the greatest joy in your life, you end up sharing it.

This has nothing to do with being an extrovert and an introvert. Oh, I'm not good at witnessing because I'm an introvert. I've never seen an introvert who keeps their greatest passions to themselves. You may not be screaming it, but your wife, your children know exactly what you like and don't like.

You don't have to say it. They know it. So if that's your greatest joy, you end up sharing it. You go out and you love this movie. You probably told your friends about it. They know about it. So whatever produces the greatest joy, it ends up leaking. You end up telling other people about it because they say, "Oh, that makes that guy so happy." And so you end up becoming a witness.

And whatever is creating the greatest joy in your life, automatically you feel a community with other people that loves the same thing. So if you're a Dodgers fan, my guess is you're in some sort of a chat room with other Dodgers fans, and when you're sad, you're sad together.

When you're happy, you're happy together, right? And you celebrate. And the people in that room, you may not even know, right? The other parts of their life, all you know is that the same thing causes joy in your life. And so community happens. So if you're a church and you have a church filled with people whose not the greatest joy is not Christ, you have to produce a community with artificial things.

We have a rock climbing church, rock climbing fellowship at the church. So anybody who's rock climbing, let's get together. Anybody who's older than 50, we're going to have a community there. Anybody who likes water or whatever, right? I don't have a lot of hobbies, that's all. Like fishing or, so you have to create this artificial love that's not Christ to get together because that's the connection.

But if you have true, true joy from, let's say, playing Dodgers, do you have an age limit there? Right? Is that, oh, we're going to have a chat room for Dodgers fans, but you have to be 30 and over. Right? You have to have this kind of income. You have to have this kind of hobbies.

No. The only criteria is you love Dodgers. And whoever loves Dodgers, whether you are a 13 year old or a 70 year old, the fact that you are sharing this joy together produces this community. And so the church is a gathering of place that have people who have seen the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ and loving Christ, proclaiming Christ produces the greatest joy and the community happens.

That's what happened in the early church with the Jews, the Gentiles, the tax collectors, the fishermen, the educated, uneducated slave owners and former slaves. They all gathered together because the same thing produces joy in them. Whatever causes the greatest joy is the source of the greatest community. That's why our primary goal is to proclaim Christ.

Because if you love Christ, this gathering is not a, so that we can produce a false sense of unity because we have things in common. We went to the same school, we're the same age, we speak the same language, same culture, we eat the same food. It's so superficial.

But what's unique about the church is that no matter what background, no matter where you came from, no matter how different we were before we came in together, what causes the greatest joy in our lives is the same. And that's what produces a true community. Fifthly, whatever produces the greatest joy in our life, we are more than willing to pay the most price for.

Again, if you're a Dodgers fan and they're at the World Series and even though you're struggling financially, you will sell your car if you have to. If you're a true fan, to get the best seats. Because it produces the greatest joy in your life. You're willing to pay whatever the cost is and not because you are more disciplined than other people, because you're more noble, it's because it produces the greatest joy.

And because it produces the greatest joy, you're willing to pay the highest price. So when Jesus says to pick up your cross, it's not just a cross, oh we got to bear, we got to suffer for Jesus Christ, but it produces the greatest joy. And that's how it's described in Matthew chapter 13 to 46, he says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man found and hid again, and from joy over it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." And then again he says in verse 45, "Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." There are two things I want to emphasize here.

One, the reason why they were willing to pay the ultimate price, sell everything for that, is because they saw the value. They saw the value of what they found. And if a Christian either forgets or distracted and are more tempted by the things of this world and we forget what it is that we have in Christ, worship is faked.

Because worship happens as a result of seeing the value of what it is that we have in Christ. And you notice because he knew the value, what was his motivation? Joy. So his sacrifice wasn't sacrifice, he was trading something that is of lesser value or something of greater value.

So he was investing for the future, but the primary motivation was joy. And what produced joy is because they recognized the value. That's the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian. That's why the Bible says that the God of this age has blinded the mind of the unbelievers so they do not see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So they don't see the value in Christ. They don't see the value of this good news. It's just news. It's just one of many information. But a Christian is one whose eyes have been opened and have seen the ultimate value of God. And as a result of that, they are willing to sell everything that they have.

They are willing to give their life in order to have what is given to us. So in John chapter 15 verse 11, if you know that passage, John chapter 11 is the passage where Jesus gives the I am divine and you are the branches and you cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me.

If you abide in me, my word is abiding in you. Ask whatever you wish, it shall be given to you. And it is in that text he says in verse 11, these things I have spoken to you so that what my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.

The joy that he has so that you can have it. And so if we don't understand the value of what it is that we have in Christ, his imperative. So oftentimes people say, oh man, when we talk about the grace of God, the love of God, it is unconditional and it causes joy because we have this unconditional love of God.

And then when we talk about imperatives, about picking up the cross and sacrificing, suffering for the name of Jesus Christ, man, that's heavy. Man, what a downer. But he says here the reason why he gives the indicatives and the reason why he gives imperatives is for the same reason.

So that we may have joy. He tells us to pick up our cross because he's trying to produce in us the joy that he has. It's for that joy. That's why in Hebrews chapter 11, 15 to 16, all these people who have sacrificed everything because of the promise that God gave.

Indeed, if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them.

See, the reason, if our joy comes from something that this world produces, then naturally you're going to pursue this world, right? And you can't help it. Because if you see that whatever it is that you want, you find fulfillment is in this world, then God kind of is a hindrance to that.

God becomes a hindrance. Even though you proclaim to be a Christian, if what you value is something that you can attain in this world, then you're going to do everything in your power to pursue what's in this world. And God is going to be a hindrance to that. So you want just enough God so that you can have insurance for eternity, but God is not your pursuit.

God is just somebody to help you pursue this, and you realize after time goes by that that's not what God wants for you. So you end up choosing. If God's not going to give me this, I don't want him. And so that's part of the reason why so many people drift and so many people choose to walk away from God.

It's not because at one point in their life God disappointed them. From the get-go, God is not what they wanted. They wanted something from God, but it is not God that they wanted. See, worship to many people is nothing more than putting their time in. Worship at Bering Community Church happens at 9 o'clock, and then it happens at 11 o'clock, and I've permitted hour and a half.

Don't go over hour and a half, because after an hour and a half, you're ruining my life. I have schedules. I have lunch appointments. I've got things I've got to do. But the biblical definition of worship is where we come to receive life in the presence of the only one who can give life.

And so in John chapter 4, 21 to 23, I'm not going to read the whole passage where he has this encounter with the Samaritan woman. She recognizes that he is no ordinary person, and he said, "You Jews want to worship in this mountain. We worship in that mountain. We have different opinions of where we should worship." And it is to that response he says, "What God is looking for is true worshipers." Whether you worship in this mountain or that mountain, whether it's 9 o'clock or 11 o'clock, that's not the point.

What God is looking for are people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. True worship. People who are coming to God because they recognize the value of what it is that we have in Christ. And that's why the Bible is filled with the word, "Remember." Remember. Remember the height from which you had fallen.

Remember when you first heard the gospel. Remember the beginning of your faith where that meant everything to you. If you've drifted from that, spiritual maturity is not knowing more. It's not finding out the deep mysteries that you can only find by reading so many books. Spiritual maturity is remembering what you had from day one.

Everything that you needed for life and godliness has been given to you in the knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ. And that's why He says, "Remember," repeatedly, over and over. Because God is looking for people who are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. And that should be the goal and is the goal of every single church.

We don't call a church a successful church because we have more people than the church down the street. We're better programmed or better preaching or better whatever it is that we think the church is. A good church and a bad church, the distinction is worship. Are people worshiping in spirit and in truth?

Or are they just checking in and checking out? Because that's what God is looking for. Man may look for the human product. What God is looking for is true worship. And that's why He says, "Myriads and myriads, but secondly, this is the gathering of the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." When we say church, there's always two parts.

There's a universal church and the local church. The universal church is God's program, God's membership, and only God knows. True people who genuinely know God. You and I do not have the power to discern. The Bible says there's wheat in the tares. So as long as we're here physically, there will always be some wheat and tares in the church.

He's going to discern at the end who they are. So even at the best of our celebration, it's always going to have some mix in the church. Some people who genuinely love Christ and want to meet Christ, and that's all they want. And then there's going to be people in the church who say, "I don't fit in." Because their primary goal is not God.

There's all the things that's going to be mixed in. But the celebration that you and I are going to experience when we get to Zion is going to be pure celebration. There's no Poser Dodger fans. They're only there when they win. "Oh, I want some of that." And they come, but then they don't suffer with you.

They don't invest with you. So the church has both. And so we want to preach in a way that those who don't have genuine faith wake up, and hopefully that the true gospel causes them to come to Christ. So our celebration at best is always going to have some mixture in the church.

But in Zion, he says it's going to be perfect. Only true fans of Christ are going to be there. So when we celebrate, we're going to be around other people who are going to be celebrating with us. I think if you're a sports fan, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

If your team wins and you just happen to be with other people who is a true fan, not a bandwagoner, but a true fan, you know the joy, the celebration, the koinonia that you feel. You know nothing about that person. They may be from rival gangs sitting next to each other, and they're hugging each other, celebrating, high-fiving, because it's pure worship.

In heaven, we're going to experience that pure joy, because he's going to separate the wheat and the tares, and only true worshipers of God are going to gather together worshiping. No one's going to be bored there. No one's falling asleep there. No one is tired over there. It's going to be pure worship.

In Revelation 7, 9-10, it says, "After these things, I looked, and behold, great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, and all the tribes, and the peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.

And they cry out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" If you are not a true worshiper of God, that sounds boring. Worship is not going to end at 12-15. It's like, "I gave you 45 minutes. This is eternity." If you are not a true worshiper of God, this is not something to look forward to.

Are you kidding? That's why non-Christians always say, "Ah, heaven's boring. I want to go to hell so that I can party with people like me." Hell is not described as a party. In Hebrews 12-2, that's why it says, "Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, for the joy set before Him endured the cross." He didn't go to the cross because He was attracted to the cross.

He said He put up with the cross in order to have joy. Now what is this joy He's referring to? It's something about me and you. Because that's why He didn't have it this side of the cross. He was willing to endure the cross so that He can have joy in us, and that we can have joy in Him.

That's the purpose of the cross. It's not like, "Hey, here's a bunch of things that you should do. Here's the Ten Commandments, and if you're a good person, you do these ten things. You wake up early in the morning, and you're just gritted and more disciplined than other people.

You're going to work harder than everybody else, and next thing you know, your joy is killed." Again, there's nothing wrong with these things if that's our pursuit of joy, if that causes us to worship God more. But if what we're doing as Christians is causing us to be bitter and angry and upset, it's the exact opposite of what God is trying to produce in us.

True worship. The best witness as a church is to become the best worshippers. Because the non-Christians, when they come see us, and if what produces joy in us is no different than the world, there's no reason to come here. If we're happy when we make money, and we're sad when we don't make money, if we make good investments and we get sick and not get sick, and if the world sees that our joy is no different than what produces joy in them, there's no difference in us than them.

What's unique about our fellowship is what produces joy that the world does not understand. Why are you so happy in the middle of a pandemic? Why are you so happy when your job is the way it is? Why are you so happy when you're so tired raising kids? What's different about you?

What is producing that life and joy in you? And that causes us to say it's because of God, who does not fade, who does not perish, does not spoil. Our salvation, our promise, our inheritance is preserved for us by the power of God until he comes. So our joy and our worship is not like the world.

And that's the best witness. A person who is not worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and you try to share the gospel with somebody, all you're doing is regurgitating information. You're not being a witness. A witness is somebody who's seen life. They've seen life, they've seen joy. This is where I get the joy, this is where I feel I find life, and you want to share that with other people.

That's true worship, that's what he's seeking for. Let me get to the third thing, and then the final part we're going to save for next week, because I don't want to go over 50 minutes. I want you to be happy when we leave. He says, millions of angels are going to be there.

This is the gathering of the true church, who's going to be worshiping together, and then God, the judge of all. Why would you, there's all kinds of things that you could describe God as. God of love is going to be there. God of eternal grace is going to be there.

God, the provider, is going to be there. No, God, the judge of all, is also going to be there. Why does he ruin this with this description? There's all kinds of things going to be described. But when the word judge, if I ask you to describe the word judge, what does the word judge mean?

To discern right and wrong. But why do we, when we hear the word judge, it's automatically negative. We say, judge, don't judge me. Don't be judgmental. God the judge, and all of a sudden, what do we see? Mount Sinai. I thought we were in Zion. Why is God described as the God of Mount Sinai?

The word judge, in and of itself, is a neutral word to discern right and wrong. And it's not negative. The reason why it produces a negative emotion is because there's something guilty in us. A guilty person standing before a holy God, and you hear the word judge, immediately judgment is condemnation.

But those who have been covered by the blood of Christ, God the judge is our protector. God the judge is our leader. God the judge is our provider. And that's what you and I need to remember when we get to heaven, is that God the judge, and it's just like the way, remember the book of Judges?

The book of Judges, the theme is, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And you notice there, it doesn't say everyone did what was wrong in their own eyes, it said everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Some of the greatest sins that are committed in human history are committed by people who are convinced that they are right, based on their own moral compass.

That's what's going on right now in our generation. Everyone is proclaiming what they're doing is righteous. And they're willing to do whatever it takes to get their point across. And he says, the reason why Israel kept on falling is because everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

And then as a result of that, the judgment would come, and they would cry out to God, and who would he raise? A judge. That's why that book is called the Judges. So the judge in nation's history was a deliverer. Judge is the one who protected them. Judge is the one that brought revival.

Judge is the one who brought righteousness in the nation of Israel. So here when he says, God the judge will be there, for those who are unrepentant, is not covered by the blood of Christ, yes, the God the judge will bring condemnation. We will have to give account of every sin, every careless word the Bible says.

And we will have to pay for that. Just like if you were to stand before a human judge. But the judge that he's referring to here, Mount Zion, are those who stand before a holy God and have been declared righteous because of the blood of Christ. He will protect us, he will provide for us, he will guide us, he will lead us, and righteousness will prevail because of the blood of Christ for eternity.

That's what he has called us to. So this is a cause of celebration. We're not here to put in our time. We're not here to say, you know, I attended worship. You know, at least I went. No, we came to celebrate. That's what this is. Worship is a time of celebrating, celebrating what God has done for us.

So again, I want to encourage you and I want to ask you this question. And as we take some time to pray, as we ask our worship team to come back up. When was the last time you really came to God seeking life? Now, I understand, like justification. I came to God years ago, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago, and I wanted life.

I wanted my sins to be justified by the blood of Christ. But when was the last time you came to Christ to experience this life, to have greater joy, to feel alive because of Christ? And if we've seen something in the world that produces joy and then church just as a maintenance so that we can have insurance to go to heaven, you're completely missing the whole point of our existence, the purpose of our salvation, so that we may have this joy and have it to the fullest.

So my prayer and my encouragement is to see our gathering as the greatest place of joy. Remember what it is that we have in Christ. Remember the gift that we have. And stop complaining that we're on this plane together to Zion and grumbling that you didn't get the first class seat.

You know, I wanted to sit on the aisle. How come they get to sit on the aisle? And you're on the coach seat and you're coveting the people who are in the business class. Why do they get business class? Because we've forgotten where we're going. When we land, we're going to be in Zion.

Maybe God put you on the coach because there's people in the coach that you'll be celebrating with. Maybe you're going to get greater reward because you're in the coach. I don't know why we're in the coach. But to be grumbling because we're in the coach because we're closer to the toilet?

Think about where we're going. Think about what's at the other side when we land. Think about what's coming when Christ comes so that we would learn to celebrate and have life here and have it abundantly. Let's pray. Again, as our worship team leads us, let's take some time to pray and reflect and let the Word of God bear fruit in our hearts.

Make an honest confession before God. God, I made you a task in my life. Everything that needs to be done, and I've made the world my treasure. Lord, help me. I believe. Help my unbelief. I'm not able. I need you. Take some time to honestly confess before God. Help me.

Open my eyes that I may see once again the treasure that I have in you so that I may worship you in spirit and in truth. Let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.