WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:06.560 If not, you can just touch the requisite buttons on your iPhone and get there, I'm sure. 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.000 Hebrews 12, 18 through 29. 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:20.199 Let me read this text for us. 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:22.480 Right here to Hebrews says, 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:29.400 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.600 And the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:39.219 For they could not endure the order that was given. 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:43.060 If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. 00:00:44.179 --> 00:00:48.539 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:55.820 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 00:00:56.579 --> 00:00:59.260 and to innumerable angels in festal gathering. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.840 And to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:04.859 And to God, the judge of all. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:07.359 And to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:10.879 And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. 00:01:11.620 --> 00:01:15.299 And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:19.799 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:26.759 For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:29.679 At that time, his voice shook the earth. 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:33.900 But now he has promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:40.219 This phrase, yet once more, indicates the removal of things that are shaken. 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:42.240 That is, things that have been made. 00:01:42.940 --> 00:01:46.780 In order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 00:01:48.660 --> 00:01:52.320 Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:58.959 And thus, let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe. 00:01:59.679 --> 00:02:03.199 For our God is a consuming fire. 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:17.539 One of the questions you often get asked living in a transient city like New Haven, where people are always coming and going, 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:20.879 is invariably the question, where are you from? 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:26.460 Now, on the one hand, this is just part of polite conversation, isn't it? 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:31.659 But on the other hand, there's a sense in which your place, where you're from, 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:38.099 can perhaps reveal something about who you are, your identity, your way of being in the world. 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:41.859 And of course, stereotypes abound, right? 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:46.359 People in the Northeast are supposed to be fast-paced, direct, 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:50.039 and people from everywhere else in the country would say they're kind of just a little rude. 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:55.539 Come on, Texans, you know that's what you thought when you moved here, right? 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.539 Midwesterners are down-to-earth and generally all-around nice folk. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:05.919 Southerners are incredibly hospitable, but, you know, they know how to hold a grudge. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:13.019 And those on the West Coast, well, they're just kind of laid back and they love their hobbies and they don't take anything too seriously. 00:03:14.079 --> 00:03:15.800 And that's just the U.S., right? 00:03:16.519 --> 00:03:21.280 We can keep going and think about how all the different parts of the world tend to get pigeonholed. 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:31.379 But, you know, stereotypes aside, as humans, I do think we tend to develop strong connections to concrete places. 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:38.019 And those connections can have profound, shaping influences on who we are. 00:03:39.519 --> 00:03:44.560 It seems as if humans were sort of hardwired to be connected to a place. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:59.939 And in our text this morning, Hebrews wants to show us that as Christians, we've come to belong to a whole new place, spiritually speaking. 00:03:59.939 --> 00:04:09.400 He wants us to see that in our conversion, a great geographical shift has occurred, that we no longer live where we once lived. 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:13.680 He wants us to see that in our pilgrimage of faith, we have come. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:21.360 As he says in the contrast of verse 18 and verse 22, we have come to a whole new destination. 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:28.120 And this place shapes now who we are. 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:33.720 That's what's going on in the first part of our passage, verse 18 through 24. 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:44.620 And then in verses 25 through 29, he's going to show us how all of that has deep implications for how we ought to hear God and how we ought to worship God. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:48.500 So that's where we're going this morning. 00:04:48.580 --> 00:04:51.460 Let's take a look first at where we have come. 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:59.680 Now, I've heard it said, I don't know if this is actually true, if you're a history buff afterwards, maybe you can correct me on this. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:13.639 But I've heard it said that in 1638, when the city of New Haven was founded, that the Puritans who established our city intentionally situated us between those two great rock faces that we now know affectionately as East Rock and West Rock. 00:05:14.780 --> 00:05:16.920 Now, whether that was intentional or not, I don't know. 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:24.519 But it's true, right, today that no matter where you go in our city, it seems like one of these rocks is almost always visible. 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:29.319 One of these great red cliffs is almost always sort of looming. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:30.560 In the background. 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:44.639 Now, much like New Haven is sort of situated between these two rocks, between these two mountains, the landscape of the Old Testament is dominated by two mountains. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:51.879 That is Mount Sinai on the one hand and Mount Zion on the other. 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:59.319 It's these two peaks that form the spiritual geography of nearly the whole Old Testament. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:09.060 Mount Sinai, you'll remember, was where God gave the law to Israel through Moses, where God entered into a covenant with Israel. 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:21.780 And Mount Zion was where David, 500 years later, established the monarchy and built the city of Jerusalem, and where later Solomon, his son, built the temple. 00:06:21.779 --> 00:06:22.779 Sinai, Zion. 00:06:22.779 --> 00:06:30.519 And in our passage this morning, the writer of Hebrews is picking up this imagery. 00:06:31.039 --> 00:06:42.679 He's picking up this theological landscape, and he's transforming it for us into a way of thinking about where we've come in Christ. 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:54.420 In verses 18 through 21, it's the experience of Israel at Mount Sinai that becomes a vivid picture of living under the Old Covenant. 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:57.980 Now, of course, in these verses, he doesn't mention Sinai by name, right? 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:01.280 But given the description, that's certainly what he's talking about. 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:10.100 And Mount Sinai here comes a way, a stand-in for one way of thinking about and living in a relationship with God. 00:07:12.200 --> 00:07:12.720 Sinai. 00:07:14.220 --> 00:07:18.840 But Hebrews says in verse 22, that's not where you've come. 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:25.119 No, you've not come to Mount Sinai, but you've come to Mount Zion. 00:07:27.599 --> 00:07:36.399 And it's clear as we read through, just scanning through verses 22 through 24, that he means clearly not the earthly city of David located in the middle of Israel somewhere. 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:46.279 He's talking about the heavenly city, the true dwelling place of God, the city that is to come, that that mere earthly city always just pointed towards. 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:54.019 And for Hebrews, this heavenly city stands for the realities of the new covenant, of this new relationship with God. 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:57.039 So there it is. 00:07:57.099 --> 00:08:06.439 Hebrews wants us to see in this contrast between Sinai and Zion, the reality of where we've come spiritually. 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.179 He wants us to see where we now belong as Christians. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:16.459 He wants us to see the place now where we are meant to be. 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:22.840 And notice at least three contrasts between these two mountains. 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:27.720 There are three ways at least that I think Hebrews is drawing a contrast. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:34.960 First, he says, you've not come to a place of fear, but you've come to a place of joy. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:48.960 Isn't the resounding sense that we get from verses 18 through 21 with the blazing fire and darkness and gloom and the piercing trumpet blast, one of overwhelming fear? 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:58.280 And as we look back at Exodus 19 through 20 and Deuteronomy 4 and 5 where this event is recorded in Scripture, we see that that was indeed the case. 00:08:58.580 --> 00:09:01.900 That the people assembled at the foot of Sinai trembled with fear. 00:09:03.040 --> 00:09:09.500 And Hebrews, perhaps drawing on some Jewish tradition, tells us that even Moses trembled as well. 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:20.679 The mountain shook with the awesome holiness of God and the people trembled. 00:09:24.580 --> 00:09:31.799 Maybe you've been walking down the street and someone drives by in their car and they're sort of bumping their favorite new rap tune. 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:39.799 I don't think they say bumping anymore, but you can tell I went to college in the early 2000s. 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:43.979 And can't you feel sometimes the bass as the car drives by? 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:48.679 Also not going to win any awards for beatboxing. 00:09:48.979 --> 00:09:53.399 But you can feel it just rattle your bones, can't you, sometimes? 00:09:55.179 --> 00:09:59.439 Now, friends, if that's true of a mere speaker in a car driving down the street, 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:08.000 think of what it must have been like to stand at the foot of Sinai and heaven ripping in to a mountain itself 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:14.260 in something that the biblical writers can only describe as blazing fire and darkness. 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:22.940 And trumpets ripping through heaven and their bones just quaking in the presence of God. 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:28.120 It was a place of fear. 00:10:32.380 --> 00:10:34.760 Now compare that to verse 22. 00:10:34.760 --> 00:10:44.480 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 00:10:45.540 --> 00:10:49.820 and to innumerable angels in festal gathering. 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:55.040 You see, on Sinai, the angels gather to blare trumpets of warning. 00:10:56.280 --> 00:10:59.520 But in Zion, the angels are gathered in festal array. 00:11:00.180 --> 00:11:03.500 That is, in celebration, in festivity. 00:11:04.280 --> 00:11:05.740 They're gathered in joy. 00:11:07.180 --> 00:11:10.200 The language here is of a civic celebration like the ancient Olympics, 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:13.060 or like one of the great annual Jewish festivals. 00:11:13.059 --> 00:11:17.539 This place where you've come, Hebrews says, is not a place of fear, 00:11:18.479 --> 00:11:21.219 but a place of festive joy. 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:29.279 Joy, C.S. Lewis once said, is the serious business of heaven. 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:31.839 Isn't that a beautiful phrase? 00:11:33.579 --> 00:11:36.959 But friends, I wonder how many people looking at our lives, looking at my life, 00:11:37.099 --> 00:11:40.919 would be able to guess that our permanent spiritual address, as it were, 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:44.899 the place where we belong, the place where we've come by faith, 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:49.599 is the place whose serious business is indestructible permanent joy. 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:53.679 Do people see joy in us? 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:58.620 Of course, we're not talking about bubbly, outgoing personalities, 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:00.360 or being chipper all the time. 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:02.059 That's not biblical joy. 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:07.279 We're talking about the kind of resilient satisfaction in God, 00:12:07.339 --> 00:12:14.119 the kind of current running deep that can rejoice in God's goodness, 00:12:14.719 --> 00:12:16.239 even when things are hard. 00:12:18.359 --> 00:12:20.319 But when things do get hard, 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:24.639 how quickly our joy seems to fly away. 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:29.759 How quickly we forget where we've come. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:36.259 You see, friends, we don't live under the dark clouds of Sinai anymore. 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:39.019 We don't live in the gloom and in the fear. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.899 We live in the light of the hills of Zion, the city that is to come. 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:45.860 Not a place of fear, but a place of joy. 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:51.620 But let's push ahead to the second contrast. 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:54.460 Not a place of fear, but a place of joy. 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:57.580 Second, you've come not to a place of distance from God, 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:00.280 but to a place of intimacy with God. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.340 When God gathered the people at Sinai, 00:13:02.400 --> 00:13:04.900 his instructions were basically, stay away. 00:13:06.020 --> 00:13:07.620 God warns the people in Exodus 19, 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:11.000 if even a beast touches the mountain, stone him. 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.139 Now, if that's true for an irrational animal 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:17.300 that accidentally strays onto the mountain, 00:13:17.520 --> 00:13:20.580 how much worse for a rational human being 00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:23.460 who intentionally decides to go near without God's permission? 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:30.920 At Sinai, the people beg to be kept at a distance. 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:35.100 They beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:41.920 Sinai's a place where God is inaccessible and unapproachable. 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:46.420 Even the images have a sense of impersonalness, don't they? 00:13:46.680 --> 00:13:50.240 Fire, gloom, darkness, the sound of a trumpet. 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:56.259 But you see, friends, if Sinai says, stay away, 00:13:58.100 --> 00:14:01.919 Zion is a place that says, draw near. 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:06.519 Look at the description in the next verse, in verse 23. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.180 You've come to the assembly of the firstborn 00:14:09.180 --> 00:14:10.480 who are enrolled in heaven, 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:12.500 and to God, the judge of all, 00:14:12.560 --> 00:14:14.700 and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. 00:14:14.740 --> 00:14:17.620 Notice that God is in the center and surrounding him, 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:20.639 gathered around him, welcome before him, are his people. 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:24.740 And on the one hand, there's the assembly of the firstborn, 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:27.259 we're told, gathered to God. 00:14:28.820 --> 00:14:32.500 And this assembly of the firstborn refers inclusively 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:35.860 to all those before and after Christ 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:38.299 who belong to the people of God through faith. 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:42.980 Their names are written and ruled in heaven, we're told. 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:46.940 This is the universal church of all times and all places, 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:49.200 Old Testament and new, who belong to Jesus. 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:54.600 And we know from Hebrews that Jesus is the firstborn par excellence. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.320 He is God's one and only son, the heir of all things. 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:01.960 But surprisingly, what do we see here? 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:04.960 That those who belong to him, 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.740 they too are called the firstborn. 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:12.000 That through our union with Christ, 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.340 the true firstborn, 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.100 we too become those 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.200 who are rightful heirs 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:20.639 of God's kingdom. 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:22.980 We too become 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.220 rightful sons and daughters 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:26.060 in Christ. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:29.799 Verse 23 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:31.320 goes on to tell of the spirits 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:32.919 of the righteous made perfect. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:35.639 And this points most likely 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:37.180 to those who have died in the faith. 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:38.639 If the assembly of the firstborn 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:40.539 is all believers everywhere, 00:15:40.699 --> 00:15:42.079 then the spirits of the righteous 00:15:42.079 --> 00:15:43.699 made perfect refer particularly 00:15:43.699 --> 00:15:44.500 to those 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:46.839 who have died in the faith. 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:47.959 The faithful departed, 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:49.219 as it's sometimes put. 00:15:50.819 --> 00:15:52.219 And what a comfort to know 00:15:52.219 --> 00:15:55.620 that those who die in Christ, 00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:57.419 though they are awaiting 00:15:57.419 --> 00:15:58.459 the final resurrection, 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:00.179 they are even now, 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:01.799 Hebrews tells us, 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:02.919 made perfect 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:04.539 in God's presence. 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:05.679 That is, 00:16:05.719 --> 00:16:06.719 they lack nothing 00:16:06.719 --> 00:16:07.860 in their relationship 00:16:07.860 --> 00:16:08.500 with God. 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:13.439 Now, in contrast 00:16:13.439 --> 00:16:14.519 to the picture of Sinai, 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:15.759 what all this points to 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:16.799 at the very least 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:18.740 is the incredible 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:20.139 intimacy 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:21.240 with God 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:22.559 that is enjoyed 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:23.339 by those 00:16:23.339 --> 00:16:24.439 who have come 00:16:24.439 --> 00:16:25.360 to Zion. 00:16:26.839 --> 00:16:27.399 Surprisingly, 00:16:27.579 --> 00:16:28.259 God's character 00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:29.059 hasn't changed, 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:29.459 right? 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:31.340 He's still the holy 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:32.320 judge of all. 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:34.720 But now, 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:35.759 instead of distance 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:36.980 and exclusion, 00:16:37.780 --> 00:16:39.120 there's intimacy 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:40.500 and fellowship 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:41.920 and even 00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:42.920 a familial 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:43.920 relationship 00:16:44.420 --> 00:16:46.060 with God. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.480 Think of the White House. 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.680 I had the privilege 00:16:54.680 --> 00:16:55.539 of going to D.C. 00:16:55.680 --> 00:16:56.340 this spring. 00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:57.240 You know, 00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:57.840 and if you ever sort of 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:58.720 go by the White House, 00:16:58.820 --> 00:16:59.519 you'll often see 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.039 standing across the lawn, 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:02.460 outside the fence, 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:04.259 crowds of people 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:05.019 gawking, 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:05.920 taking pictures 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:06.860 with their smartphones, 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:08.460 trying to catch a glimpse 00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:09.339 of some dignitaries 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:10.059 coming and going. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:12.400 And in one sense, 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:13.420 many people in that crowd 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:14.860 do have a certain relationship 00:17:14.860 --> 00:17:15.620 to the president, 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:15.960 right? 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:17.680 If they're U.S. citizens, 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:19.200 there is a certain bond 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:20.220 between them 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:21.099 and the president. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.500 But we know 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:24.500 that that's nothing 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:25.980 compared 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:27.740 to his actual family, 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:29.339 to his wife, 00:17:29.620 --> 00:17:30.420 and to his children. 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:31.500 They enjoy 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:32.559 intimate access. 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:33.240 They don't need to 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:34.620 stand across the lawn. 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:35.400 They don't need to 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:37.000 stand outside the fence. 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:37.700 They don't need to 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:39.160 gawk with a smartphone. 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:40.000 They can approach. 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:41.680 They can draw near. 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:43.759 And of course, 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:45.019 how strange it would be 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:47.640 for the president's daughters 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:48.500 to stand out 00:17:48.500 --> 00:17:49.279 with that crowd 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:51.920 across the lawn, 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:52.940 outside the fence. 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:53.579 We would think 00:17:53.579 --> 00:17:54.180 that they were playing 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:55.399 some sort of practical joke, 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:55.819 wouldn't we? 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:56.839 That they were doing 00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:58.299 some sort of social experiment. 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:01.879 We would think 00:18:01.879 --> 00:18:02.940 that was very strange. 00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:04.279 And yet, 00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:05.379 how many of us Christians, 00:18:06.379 --> 00:18:07.940 forgetting that we've come 00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:08.779 to Mount Zion, 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:11.240 in our relationship with God, 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:12.019 tend to stand 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:13.539 across the lawn, 00:18:14.379 --> 00:18:15.319 outside the fence, 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:17.339 worried that we don't belong, 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:19.659 living in shame and guilt, 00:18:20.939 --> 00:18:22.419 when in reality, 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:24.779 we can draw near 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:27.720 as firstborn sons and daughters 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:30.439 whose names are enrolled in heaven, 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:32.759 that when we come 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:34.579 to the gates of God's presence, 00:18:35.939 --> 00:18:37.439 he finds our name written there. 00:18:40.379 --> 00:18:41.519 You've not come to a place 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:42.319 of distance, 00:18:42.899 --> 00:18:43.839 but of intimacy. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:48.459 But there's a third contrast 00:18:48.459 --> 00:18:49.000 at work here, 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:50.319 and we see it in verse 24, 00:18:50.619 --> 00:18:51.419 as we work through 00:18:51.419 --> 00:18:52.119 this description 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:53.659 of the heavenly Zion. 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:55.539 In verse 24, 00:18:55.639 --> 00:18:56.500 Hebrews is telling us 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:56.939 that you've come 00:18:56.939 --> 00:18:58.240 not to a place of law, 00:18:58.919 --> 00:19:00.259 but to a place of grace. 00:19:02.159 --> 00:19:02.899 Sinai, of course, 00:19:02.959 --> 00:19:03.720 it goes without saying, 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:04.299 was the place 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:05.139 where God issued 00:19:05.139 --> 00:19:06.619 the law to Israel. 00:19:06.699 --> 00:19:07.319 The law revealed 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:08.799 not only God's holy character, 00:19:08.899 --> 00:19:09.779 but it also gave Israel 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:10.379 the picture 00:19:10.379 --> 00:19:11.419 of what holiness 00:19:11.419 --> 00:19:12.500 would look like for them. 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:14.299 And in line with that, 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:15.220 the law covenant 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:16.339 at Sinai promised 00:19:16.339 --> 00:19:17.759 God's blessing to Israel 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:19.119 if they kept it, 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:20.140 if they obeyed it, 00:19:20.220 --> 00:19:21.759 but warned of his curse 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:23.019 if they broke it, 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.220 if they disobeyed. 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:26.759 And as we know 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:27.220 from the story 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:27.920 of the Old Testament, 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:29.279 since Israel 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:30.539 could not keep the law, 00:19:31.500 --> 00:19:32.700 they fell under the curse 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:34.099 of condemnation. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:37.440 And before we think 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:38.420 that we would do any better, 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:39.240 we need to realize 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:40.380 that the story of Israel 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:41.180 really is the story 00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:41.960 of all of us. 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:44.779 that because of our sin, 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:46.220 this is basically 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:47.640 what Mount Sinai becomes. 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.380 A place of law. 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:51.680 A place of condemnation. 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:53.900 A place, as Hebrews has said, 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:55.160 that cannot make us perfect. 00:19:56.860 --> 00:19:58.759 A place that can only show us 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:01.059 our deep problem. 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:03.759 And at best, 00:20:03.819 --> 00:20:04.620 can point us 00:20:04.620 --> 00:20:05.960 to a solution 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:06.880 apart from itself. 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:11.880 And it's that solution 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:12.860 that Hebrews says 00:20:12.860 --> 00:20:14.060 we've come to 00:20:14.060 --> 00:20:15.620 in verse 24. 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:17.660 You have come 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:19.300 to Jesus, 00:20:19.760 --> 00:20:21.040 the mediator 00:20:21.040 --> 00:20:22.020 of a new covenant, 00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:24.220 and to the sprinkled blood 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:24.700 that speaks 00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:26.060 a better word 00:20:26.060 --> 00:20:27.240 than the blood 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:28.120 of Abel. 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:29.960 Friends, 00:20:30.020 --> 00:20:30.700 haven't you been wondering, 00:20:30.840 --> 00:20:31.240 what is it 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:31.880 that makes Zion 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:32.400 Zion, 00:20:32.780 --> 00:20:34.200 a place of joy 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:35.260 and inclusivity 00:20:35.260 --> 00:20:35.880 and intimacy. 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:37.380 And now finally, 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:38.880 we see why this heavenly city 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:39.980 is this place of fear 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:40.680 and not joy, 00:20:41.060 --> 00:20:42.020 and this place of intimacy 00:20:42.020 --> 00:20:42.720 and not exclusion. 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:44.100 It's because of Jesus. 00:20:46.300 --> 00:20:46.920 You see, 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:47.900 we all fall short 00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:48.600 of God's standard, 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:49.620 and under the law, 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:51.480 under our own efforts 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:52.280 at obedience, 00:20:52.380 --> 00:20:53.420 we stand condemned. 00:20:53.420 --> 00:20:57.380 Under the menacing hill 00:20:57.380 --> 00:20:58.560 of Sinai, 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:00.340 we stand ruined. 00:21:02.600 --> 00:21:03.960 But Jesus mediates 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:05.300 a new covenant 00:21:05.300 --> 00:21:06.840 between us and God. 00:21:07.700 --> 00:21:08.480 And this covenant 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:09.320 is not dependent 00:21:09.320 --> 00:21:10.480 on our obedience, 00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:12.180 but on His perfect obedience. 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:13.300 And this covenant, 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:13.720 we're shown, 00:21:13.800 --> 00:21:14.440 is ratified 00:21:14.440 --> 00:21:15.039 and made effective 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:16.380 by His own blood, 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:18.440 His own sacrificial death 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:19.700 that pays the penalty 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:20.420 for our sins 00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:21.160 and gives us 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:22.120 a clean conscience 00:21:22.120 --> 00:21:22.640 with God. 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:24.960 And that's why 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:25.880 Jesus' blood speaks 00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:26.960 a better word 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.019 than the blood of Abel. 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:31.259 After Abel was murdered 00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:32.500 by Cain in Genesis 4, 00:21:32.600 --> 00:21:33.060 God said, 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:35.560 the voice of your brother's blood 00:21:35.560 --> 00:21:36.800 is crying to me 00:21:36.800 --> 00:21:37.840 from the ground. 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:39.320 You see, 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:40.180 Abel's blood 00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:41.420 cried out 00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:42.680 for vengeance. 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:45.039 And yet, 00:21:45.080 --> 00:21:45.980 the blood of Christ 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:46.980 cries out 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:48.360 for forgiveness 00:21:48.360 --> 00:21:50.180 and for mercy 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:51.860 and for justification. 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:56.340 everyone who takes hold 00:21:56.340 --> 00:21:57.500 of the risen Christ 00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:58.340 by faith 00:21:58.340 --> 00:21:59.620 can know 00:21:59.620 --> 00:22:01.180 that that better word 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:02.400 is spoken over them, 00:22:02.840 --> 00:22:04.300 that their sins are covered, 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.420 that their conscience 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:06.240 is cleansed, 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:07.220 and that their hope 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:07.800 is secure. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:10.279 So friend, 00:22:10.320 --> 00:22:11.039 let me ask you this morning, 00:22:11.120 --> 00:22:11.800 what voice 00:22:11.800 --> 00:22:12.759 are you hearing 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:16.640 as you draw back 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:18.480 from the rush 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:18.980 of events 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:19.980 that fill your day, 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:22.059 as the onslaught 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:23.079 of the busyness 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:23.879 of everyday life, 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:25.420 as you take a step 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:26.259 back from that 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:26.879 for a second 00:22:26.879 --> 00:22:27.799 and catch your breath, 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:28.940 what voice 00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:30.720 do you hear? 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:33.279 Is it the voice 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:33.779 of the law, 00:22:35.100 --> 00:22:36.319 the voice telling you 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:37.180 that your sins 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:38.440 are great 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:40.140 and that you stand 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:40.620 guilty 00:22:40.620 --> 00:22:41.860 before God? 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:45.000 Of course, 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:45.360 you can try 00:22:45.360 --> 00:22:46.440 to deny that voice, 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:48.839 but it won't go away. 00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:50.980 You can try 00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:51.920 to change your ways 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:53.120 and become a better person, 00:22:54.120 --> 00:22:55.160 but you'll never 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:56.079 quite be good enough. 00:22:58.440 --> 00:22:58.900 You see, 00:22:58.940 --> 00:22:59.440 there's only one 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.220 lasting solution. 00:23:01.940 --> 00:23:02.759 When you finally 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:03.440 start to see 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.059 that the word 00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:04.600 of the law 00:23:04.600 --> 00:23:05.220 is true, 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:07.660 that we are guilty, 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:09.460 that even our best 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:10.480 selves 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:11.559 aren't acceptable 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:12.160 to God, 00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:15.080 then you must turn 00:23:15.080 --> 00:23:16.000 from the word 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:16.539 of the law 00:23:16.539 --> 00:23:17.580 to the word 00:23:17.580 --> 00:23:18.140 of the gospel, 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:20.059 to the good news 00:23:20.059 --> 00:23:20.799 that says there's only 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.000 one who is innocent 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:24.080 and he died for you, 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:26.840 taking your penalty 00:23:26.840 --> 00:23:27.440 for sin 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:28.360 and offering you 00:23:28.360 --> 00:23:29.180 his righteousness 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:30.259 and speaking 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:31.060 over your life 00:23:31.060 --> 00:23:31.880 by his own blood 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:33.019 a better word, 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:35.160 a word of peace. 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:39.940 And when you turn 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:41.360 to that word, 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:44.140 then you'll find 00:23:44.140 --> 00:23:44.680 that you have come 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:45.500 not to Sinai, 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:46.460 a place of fear 00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:47.060 and exclusion, 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:48.799 but desire, 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:50.900 a place of joy 00:23:50.900 --> 00:23:52.160 and intimacy. 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:52.420 Friends, 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:53.440 this is everything 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:54.420 that Hebrews 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:54.960 has been trying 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:55.560 to tell us 00:23:55.560 --> 00:23:56.680 for 12 chapters 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:57.640 and pretty much 00:23:57.640 --> 00:23:58.240 everything 00:23:58.240 --> 00:23:59.060 that we've been 00:23:59.060 --> 00:23:59.400 preaching 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:00.720 for the last year. 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:02.200 Can you believe 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:02.920 we've been in this book 00:24:02.920 --> 00:24:03.940 for a whole year? 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:05.600 And this has been 00:24:05.600 --> 00:24:06.279 the message. 00:24:06.860 --> 00:24:07.680 The old covenant 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:08.480 can never 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:09.980 make you perfect, 00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:11.240 no matter how much 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:11.680 you obey, 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:12.840 no matter how many 00:24:12.840 --> 00:24:14.080 sacrifices you offer. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:15.859 but in Christ 00:24:15.859 --> 00:24:17.119 the new has come, 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.159 that the door 00:24:19.159 --> 00:24:20.500 has swung open 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:22.199 and light 00:24:22.199 --> 00:24:23.299 is rushing in, 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:25.159 that the path 00:24:25.159 --> 00:24:26.139 to Zion 00:24:26.139 --> 00:24:28.000 has been blazed 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.099 by Jesus, 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:32.799 the pioneer 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:33.660 and perfecter 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:34.339 of our faith, 00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:36.140 and that there 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:37.380 is free entry 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:38.000 for all 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:38.940 who take hold 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:40.339 of him 00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:42.319 in faith. 00:24:44.420 --> 00:24:44.799 Friend, 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:45.059 if you're here 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:45.500 this morning 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:46.400 and you're exploring 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:47.019 Christianity, 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:47.640 if you're new 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:48.460 to spiritual things, 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:49.880 realize that Christianity 00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:51.400 is not an invitation 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:53.019 to another Mount Sinai, 00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:54.519 to law 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:55.420 and to fear. 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:57.519 Maybe that's been 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.340 your experience 00:24:58.340 --> 00:24:58.860 of religion 00:24:58.860 --> 00:24:59.539 in the past. 00:24:59.660 --> 00:24:59.900 Maybe 00:24:59.900 --> 00:25:01.460 it's been a lot 00:25:01.460 --> 00:25:01.880 of law 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:03.440 and a lot of fear. 00:25:05.080 --> 00:25:06.060 But let me tell you 00:25:06.060 --> 00:25:06.600 that that 00:25:06.600 --> 00:25:08.140 is not true 00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:09.279 biblical Christianity. 00:25:10.820 --> 00:25:11.360 Christianity 00:25:11.360 --> 00:25:12.480 is an invitation 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:14.560 to Mount Zion, 00:25:15.320 --> 00:25:16.420 if you're following 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:16.880 the metaphor, 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.539 to grace 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:19.840 and to joy 00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:21.039 and to intimacy 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:22.279 through the finished 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:23.920 work of Jesus. 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:28.840 And what this means 00:25:28.840 --> 00:25:29.420 for those of us 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:29.880 who have come 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:30.759 to faith in Christ 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:32.039 is that we must 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:33.360 press on. 00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:34.620 You see, 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:35.180 this vision 00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:35.779 of Mount Zion 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:36.740 is meant to spur us 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:37.700 on to run the race 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:38.200 with endurance. 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:39.300 For the last three weeks, 00:25:39.340 --> 00:25:39.740 we've been thinking 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:40.900 about this marathon 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:41.620 of faith. 00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:47.880 And now that we see 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:49.019 our destination, 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:50.720 it's meant to draw us forth. 00:25:51.580 --> 00:25:51.940 Of course, 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:52.400 it's been clear 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:52.720 in Hebrews 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:53.880 that this heavenly city 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:55.180 is still to come. 00:25:55.820 --> 00:25:56.539 In chapter 13, 00:25:56.620 --> 00:25:57.220 Hebrews will say 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:58.340 that we seek the city 00:25:58.340 --> 00:25:58.960 that is to come. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:00.200 It's still ahead of us, 00:26:00.320 --> 00:26:02.180 but haven't we been seeing 00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:02.920 in our text today 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:04.380 that in a very real sense 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:05.560 we're already citizens 00:26:05.560 --> 00:26:06.340 of that city? 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:08.800 That we already belong there? 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:09.740 That it's already 00:26:09.740 --> 00:26:10.300 our address? 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:11.340 It's already our home? 00:26:13.120 --> 00:26:13.820 And that means 00:26:13.820 --> 00:26:14.800 our goal is secure. 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:17.600 That the finish line 00:26:17.600 --> 00:26:18.380 is ahead 00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:20.300 and joyful celebration 00:26:20.300 --> 00:26:21.220 awaits you. 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:22.100 Indeed, 00:26:22.100 --> 00:26:22.980 it's even now 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:24.039 surrounding you 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:25.299 as you run. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:28.460 So keep running, 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:29.440 Hebrews is saying. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:31.259 Keep running, 00:26:31.619 --> 00:26:33.079 knowing where you've come to 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:34.659 and where you're going. 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:37.579 What's ahead of you 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:38.259 is grace 00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:39.379 and joy 00:26:39.379 --> 00:26:40.559 and intimacy. 00:26:42.399 --> 00:26:42.779 Run 00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:44.059 for the joy 00:26:44.059 --> 00:26:45.440 set before you. 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:48.920 Now, 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.580 what are the implications 00:26:49.580 --> 00:26:50.279 of all this? 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:51.880 Well, 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:52.440 the rest of our text 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:53.200 goes on to point out 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:53.940 two in particular. 00:26:54.120 --> 00:26:55.400 There are two immediate 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:56.380 applications that Hebrews 00:26:56.380 --> 00:26:56.920 makes for us 00:26:56.920 --> 00:26:57.480 in light of all that 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:58.140 he's said so far. 00:26:58.259 --> 00:26:59.240 And the first is found 00:26:59.240 --> 00:26:59.880 in verse 25. 00:27:00.120 --> 00:27:00.900 See that you do not 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:02.200 refuse him who is speaking. 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:03.680 We've seen in our study 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:04.000 of Hebrews 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:04.900 that some in the original 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:05.820 audience were in danger 00:27:05.820 --> 00:27:06.700 of rejecting Christ, 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:07.680 of going back 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:08.799 to old covenant Judaism. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:10.319 But Hebrews warns them 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:11.000 and us 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:11.799 that if rejecting 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:12.680 God's law 00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:13.960 was disastrous, 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:16.279 now rejecting 00:27:16.279 --> 00:27:17.099 God's son 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:18.399 is doubly so. 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:21.240 Let us not think 00:27:21.240 --> 00:27:22.099 that God's grace 00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:22.839 in the new covenant 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:23.700 means that we can be 00:27:23.700 --> 00:27:24.159 flippant 00:27:24.159 --> 00:27:25.379 or dismissive 00:27:25.379 --> 00:27:27.680 or presumptuous. 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:29.480 all these things 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:30.279 that we've been celebrating, 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:31.720 joy, access, grace, 00:27:31.779 --> 00:27:32.420 are found in Christ 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:33.400 and to reject him 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:34.580 and to reject the new covenant 00:27:34.580 --> 00:27:35.700 and to turn away from him 00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:37.779 is not to go to a place 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:38.580 of neutrality 00:27:38.580 --> 00:27:40.440 but go back 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:41.380 to a place of judgment. 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:45.759 In verses 26 and 27, 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:46.519 Hebrews goes on 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:47.700 to speak of the great day 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:49.799 of God's justice. 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:51.779 He quotes a verse 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:52.799 from the prophet Haggai 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:54.560 that speaks of a great shaking 00:27:54.560 --> 00:27:55.759 that is to come. 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:58.339 It's not just the earth 00:27:58.339 --> 00:27:59.140 that will shake 00:27:59.140 --> 00:28:00.779 like what happened at Sinai 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:01.519 but the heavens, 00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:01.940 he says, 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:02.980 will be shaken as well. 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.279 That is, 00:28:04.339 --> 00:28:06.039 the whole created order 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:07.379 will come under 00:28:07.379 --> 00:28:09.519 God's holy scrutiny. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.259 And like an earthquake 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:13.420 that lays bare 00:28:13.420 --> 00:28:14.220 the foundations 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:14.920 of a building, 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:16.960 shaking it to the ground, 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.819 so God's day of judgment 00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:20.720 will strip away 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:21.980 all the pretensions 00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:23.379 and all the pride 00:28:23.379 --> 00:28:24.879 and all the excuses 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:27.080 and leave everything 00:28:27.080 --> 00:28:28.500 and everyone 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:29.540 exposed 00:28:29.540 --> 00:28:31.180 to his holy gaze. 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:33.240 And there will be 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:34.520 no hiding on that day. 00:28:35.240 --> 00:28:35.960 And there will be 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:36.660 no excuses 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:37.560 on that day. 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:39.740 And we'll stand 00:28:39.740 --> 00:28:40.660 before our sovereign 00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:41.460 creator 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:42.640 and sustainer, 00:28:42.800 --> 00:28:43.640 the one upon whom 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:44.900 our entire lives 00:28:44.900 --> 00:28:45.800 have depended 00:28:45.800 --> 00:28:47.200 and render an account 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:48.340 for what we've done 00:28:48.340 --> 00:28:48.820 with the life 00:28:48.820 --> 00:28:50.460 he's given us to live. 00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:55.819 Does it seem implausible 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:56.319 to you 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.840 that God would shake 00:28:58.840 --> 00:29:00.079 his creation 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:00.720 in this way? 00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:04.180 Perhaps it's more 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:05.140 comfortable to retreat 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:07.460 to a position 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:08.059 of a deist, 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:08.519 you know, 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:09.340 to believe in a God 00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:10.579 who's sort of far away, 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:11.680 unable, 00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:13.340 or too uncaring 00:29:13.340 --> 00:29:14.340 to bring his creation 00:29:14.340 --> 00:29:14.880 to account. 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:17.799 Or maybe we shrink away 00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:19.039 and back into a more 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:20.119 seemingly comfortable 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:21.339 position of the pantheist 00:29:21.339 --> 00:29:21.859 who thinks that 00:29:21.859 --> 00:29:23.319 all simply sort of 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:24.019 is God 00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:25.000 and that whatever is, 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:25.460 is, 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:26.559 and we all sort of 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.220 are accepted in the end 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:29.180 and return 00:29:29.180 --> 00:29:30.619 to the one being. 00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:35.039 You see, 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:35.680 the reason why 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:37.220 neither of those retreats, 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:38.440 neither of those options 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:39.720 will work for you 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:40.839 at the end of the day 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:43.539 is because everyone 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:44.599 deep down 00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:46.279 wants a world 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:47.839 to be put right. 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:52.099 all of us 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:52.680 deep down 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:53.899 want evil 00:29:53.899 --> 00:29:54.519 and injustice 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:55.839 to not have 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:57.039 the last word. 00:29:58.920 --> 00:29:59.799 And that's something 00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:00.500 that only 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:02.319 the biblical view 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:02.839 of God 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:03.559 and his justice 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:04.220 can give you. 00:30:06.099 --> 00:30:06.759 In fact, 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:07.299 the Psalms 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:08.819 celebrate the fact 00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:09.539 that God 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:10.779 is a just judge 00:30:10.779 --> 00:30:12.399 because that means 00:30:12.399 --> 00:30:13.279 that there's hope 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.759 for a broken world 00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:16.139 to be put right again. 00:30:16.140 --> 00:30:19.080 that our dreams 00:30:19.080 --> 00:30:19.980 of justice, 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:21.820 that our dreams 00:30:21.820 --> 00:30:22.420 of a world 00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:23.220 made whole 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:24.600 aren't just 00:30:24.600 --> 00:30:25.800 fantasies, 00:30:26.320 --> 00:30:27.420 but the coming 00:30:27.420 --> 00:30:28.240 result 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:29.360 of God 00:30:29.360 --> 00:30:30.980 speaking his judgment 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:31.700 into creation 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:33.680 and making things 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:34.180 right again. 00:30:37.780 --> 00:30:38.860 But this drives us 00:30:38.860 --> 00:30:39.680 to a great dilemma, 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:40.520 does it not? 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:42.319 Because you see, 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:43.099 if on the one hand, 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:43.720 on the one hand, 00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:44.980 if there is no divine judgment, 00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:45.660 no final shaking, 00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:46.440 what hope is there 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:47.039 for the world 00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:48.500 that's so weighed down 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:49.680 with injustice 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:50.579 and evil? 00:30:50.639 --> 00:30:51.259 What hope is there 00:30:51.259 --> 00:30:51.859 for our world 00:30:51.859 --> 00:30:53.139 wracked with pain 00:30:53.139 --> 00:30:53.900 and suffering 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:54.839 if there is no judgment, 00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:55.700 if there is no putting 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:56.259 to rights? 00:30:59.160 --> 00:30:59.980 But on the other hand, 00:31:00.019 --> 00:31:01.119 if there is divine judgment, 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:02.180 if there is a final 00:31:02.180 --> 00:31:03.720 shaking to come, 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:06.460 what hope is there 00:31:06.460 --> 00:31:06.879 for me 00:31:06.879 --> 00:31:08.599 weighed down 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:09.319 as I am 00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:10.639 with sin 00:31:10.639 --> 00:31:11.699 and rebellion 00:31:11.699 --> 00:31:12.500 against God? 00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:17.839 And that is why 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:19.539 Hebrews is so adamant here 00:31:19.539 --> 00:31:22.079 that we do not refuse 00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:23.779 him who is speaking. 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:25.819 From heaven 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:27.379 comes a word 00:31:27.379 --> 00:31:28.599 of forgiveness 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:29.879 and peace 00:31:29.879 --> 00:31:30.779 with rebels. 00:31:31.980 --> 00:31:32.980 From heaven 00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:34.839 comes the better word 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:36.579 of Jesus' own blood 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:37.240 shed for you. 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:40.679 for what would you 00:31:40.679 --> 00:31:41.819 trade in this world 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:43.079 for such a better word? 00:31:44.379 --> 00:31:45.299 What good is it, 00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:45.719 Jesus says, 00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:46.919 to gain the whole world 00:31:46.919 --> 00:31:48.240 and to lose your soul? 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:51.379 What is it that tempts you 00:31:51.379 --> 00:31:52.379 to grow slack 00:31:52.379 --> 00:31:53.699 in your confession of Christ? 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:54.740 What is it that tempts you 00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:55.619 to abandon him 00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:56.740 and his better word? 00:31:58.759 --> 00:31:59.619 Is it the pleasure 00:31:59.619 --> 00:32:00.459 of a relationship? 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:04.099 Is it the desire 00:32:04.099 --> 00:32:05.659 for peer approval? 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:07.120 Is it the prospect 00:32:07.120 --> 00:32:08.380 of increased wealth 00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:09.500 and the security 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:10.060 and power 00:32:10.060 --> 00:32:10.779 that it may bring? 00:32:13.580 --> 00:32:14.519 Is it the dream 00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:14.960 of building 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:15.800 your own kingdom 00:32:15.800 --> 00:32:17.920 and making a name 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:18.560 for yourself? 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:22.200 What good is it 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:23.180 to gain the whole world 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:25.100 and lose your soul? 00:32:26.580 --> 00:32:27.920 Why abandon Christ 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:29.019 even for a kingdom 00:32:29.019 --> 00:32:30.980 if the kingdoms 00:32:30.980 --> 00:32:31.560 of this world 00:32:31.560 --> 00:32:32.259 will be shaken 00:32:32.259 --> 00:32:32.940 to the ground 00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:34.640 and all that will remain 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:36.220 is the kingdom of God? 00:32:38.460 --> 00:32:39.360 Why not live 00:32:39.360 --> 00:32:40.539 for his kingdom instead? 00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:45.840 And rather than refusing 00:32:45.840 --> 00:32:47.519 or rejecting him, 00:32:48.080 --> 00:32:49.600 rather let us worship him. 00:32:51.100 --> 00:32:52.279 That's where the text ends 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:53.600 in verse 28 and 29 00:32:53.600 --> 00:32:55.240 and that's the second application 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.620 that Hebrews wants us to make. 00:32:56.880 --> 00:32:57.980 When God shakes 00:32:57.980 --> 00:32:58.980 the created order, 00:32:59.100 --> 00:33:00.100 it will mean the removal 00:33:00.100 --> 00:33:01.080 of things that are shaken. 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:02.819 All that is opposed to God 00:33:02.819 --> 00:33:03.799 will be swept away 00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:04.919 but all that is done 00:33:04.919 --> 00:33:05.639 in order that the things 00:33:05.639 --> 00:33:06.480 that cannot be shaken 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:07.279 may remain. 00:33:08.399 --> 00:33:09.619 It's like a great sieve 00:33:09.619 --> 00:33:10.899 scooping down 00:33:10.899 --> 00:33:11.759 into the sand 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.939 from a bed of a river 00:33:12.939 --> 00:33:14.019 and shaking 00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:14.980 and shaking 00:33:14.980 --> 00:33:15.939 and shaking away 00:33:15.939 --> 00:33:16.639 the sand 00:33:16.639 --> 00:33:17.599 and the sticks 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:18.679 and the stones 00:33:18.679 --> 00:33:19.720 and after all that 00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:20.240 falls away, 00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:21.139 what's left 00:33:21.139 --> 00:33:22.879 is the gold. 00:33:25.419 --> 00:33:26.779 After all our sin 00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:27.839 and pride 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:29.500 and our self-centered pursuits 00:33:29.500 --> 00:33:30.500 are shaken down 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.680 and fall away, 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:33.920 it's the work 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:34.839 of God's kingdom 00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:36.039 that will endure. 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:37.599 It's the work 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:39.279 of God's new creation 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:40.059 that will last. 00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:43.019 And in light of that, 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:43.500 Hebrews says, 00:33:43.619 --> 00:33:43.839 therefore, 00:33:44.140 --> 00:33:45.759 let us be grateful 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:47.700 for receiving a kingdom 00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:49.160 that cannot be shaken. 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:51.700 Though everything around us 00:33:51.700 --> 00:33:53.579 crumbles and falls, 00:33:54.859 --> 00:33:56.599 what God is giving to us 00:33:56.599 --> 00:33:57.879 will endure forever. 00:33:59.379 --> 00:33:59.740 And thus, 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:00.500 let us offer to God 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:01.480 acceptable worship 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:02.519 with reverence and awe 00:34:02.519 --> 00:34:03.939 for our God 00:34:03.939 --> 00:34:06.339 is a consuming fire. 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:11.039 It's perhaps 00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:11.500 one of the most 00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:12.360 beautiful pictures 00:34:12.360 --> 00:34:13.900 of biblical worship 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:15.099 in all of Sertre. 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:18.219 Glad gratitude 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:20.440 and reverent awe. 00:34:21.139 --> 00:34:21.980 That's worship. 00:34:23.099 --> 00:34:23.639 Reverent awe 00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:24.379 before our God 00:34:24.379 --> 00:34:25.400 who is the... 00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:25.639 ... 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:26.420 ... 00:34:26.420 --> 00:34:27.420 ... 00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:28.420 ... 00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:29.420 ... 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:30.180 na 00:34:30.180 --> 00:34:31.220 ... 00:34:31.220 --> 00:34:32.200 ... 00:34:32.200 --> 00:34:33.260 ... 00:34:33.260 --> 00:34:34.240 ... 00:34:34.659 --> 00:34:34.900 ... 00:34:35.099 --> 00:34:35.860 entendre 00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:36.860 and 00:34:36.860 --> 00:34:37.280 ... 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:39.200 - 00:34:39.200 --> 00:34:39.360 роль 00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:41.260 이� 00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:42.280 sobre 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.320 ... 00:34:44.500 --> 00:34:45.159 first 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:46.079 disturbing 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:48.680 to 00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:50.360 a 00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:51.019 ... 00:34:51.019 --> 00:34:51.360 ... 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:52.220 espe 00:34:52.220 --> 00:34:52.340 ... 00:34:52.340 --> 00:35:22.320 Thank you. 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:52.320 Thank you. 00:35:52.340 --> 00:36:22.320 Thank you. 00:36:22.340 --> 00:36:52.320 Thank you. 00:36:52.340 --> 00:37:22.320 Thank you. 00:37:22.340 --> 00:37:52.320 Thank you. 00:37:52.340 --> 00:38:22.320 Thank you. 00:38:22.340 --> 00:38:52.320 Thank you. 00:38:52.340 --> 00:39:22.320 Thank you. 00:39:22.340 --> 00:39:52.320 Thank you. 00:39:52.340 --> 00:40:22.320 Thank you. 00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:52.320 Thank you. 00:40:52.340 --> 00:41:22.320 Thank you. 00:41:22.340 --> 00:41:24.340 Thank you.