Are You Coming to The Right Mountain?

It was quite an event — a powerful, one of the most powerful scenes in all the Scripture. We'll notice how this is described for us here in Hebrews 12. Read along on that sheet.

"For you have not come to what may be touched — in other words, you have not come to Mount Sinai as Israel did — and blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to a trumpet blast and a sound of words that made the hearers beg that no further message be given to them, for they were unable to bear the command. If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. And the spectacle was so awesome that Moses said, 'I am terrified and trembling.'"

"On the contrary, you have come to Mount Zion, even to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable companies of angels, a festival gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn inscribed permanently in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of righteous persons made perfect, and to Jesus, mediator of a new covenant, and to sprinkled blood, speaking more effectively than the blood of Abel."

"Be careful that you do not disregard the one who is speaking, for since those did not escape when they disregarded the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns us from heaven? At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once again, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.' The phrase, 'once more,' points to the removal of what can be shaken, as of things that have been made, so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. And through thanksgiving, let us worship God in an acceptable manner with fear and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

Let us pause to pray.

Our Father, as we approach you, we do pray that you would make us aware in a very real way that we are approaching a consuming fire. You are an awesome God, and you are not to be trifled with. You are not to be taken lightly. We thank you for the grace that we have been [immersed?] in, Father — the acceptance that we have in Christ, the free approach that we have in him, the freedom of speech that we have — [inaudible] — we pray that, as this passage warns, we would not take you lightly, and we would not take this covenant lightly that we live under. Just pray that you would stir up our hearts this morning. You would shake us. You would shake those things in our lives that can be shaken, so that we could see the things that cannot be shaken. We pray that you would move us and change us through your word, in Christ's name. Amen.

Entering a covenant is a very common experience. Everyone who is an adult in this room no doubt has entered into one kind of covenant or another. Those of us who are married, of course, have entered into a marriage covenant. In fact, most of us — the majority of us who have entered into the marriage covenant — went through a formal ceremony. There were witnesses there who heard us with our own lips make the promises and express our desires. It was solemnized by a pastor who officiated there, and these promises and desires were given with the understanding that we were making them in the sight of Almighty God, and that we have a responsibility before God to live up to this covenant that we have made.

A covenant is something that defines a relationship. As far as the marriage covenant, we are told in Scripture — because the Scripture is the place where that marriage covenant was established — God, the creator of man and woman, is the one who designed the marriage covenant. And when we have a Christian marriage, the very vows that we make are based upon the Word of God, and upon this revelation about the kind of relationship and covenant that we are entering into when we come into marriage. And that covenant spells out the rules and the roles that we are to play within this relationship. It creates an atmosphere in this relationship that we live out in these marriage vows, and the person's understanding and their faithfulness to that covenant will be reflected in the way they treat one another.

The fact is, in our culture, well over half of the people who make marriage covenants violate them — are unfaithful to them in one way or another — and ultimately end up breaking them and abandoning them completely. It is vitally important, not only in marriage, but it is vitally important in our relationship with God, that we come to understand the covenant that we are living within.

Many people view marriage as a swinging-door kind of covenant: if it works out — no matter what words you say at a marriage ceremony — if it works out, fine; if it doesn't work out, we abandon the covenant. And I think sometimes we reflect that upon our God. We have kind of a lazy, laissez-faire attitude about our relationship with God, because we don't really understand the covenant. We're not aware of the covenant that we are living under in our relationship with the living God — that we have certain privileges, and there are roles to this relationship, and there are roles that we are to play and that God plays. There is an atmosphere that has been created by this covenant, and there is a certain kind of approach that we must make to God because of the covenant that he has made with us.

The only way that you can have a relationship with God is one way. Now, there are many approaches to God, but only one of them will get you to him, and that approach is through the new covenant — the covenant that was established by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way to get to God. There is no other approach by which we may live in relationship with him.

Now notice in our text this morning. If you have a Bible, in Hebrews 12 — in verse 18, and then notice down in verse 22 — there's a comparison going on here between two covenants, two mountains, two mediators. He's making a comparison and a contrast, because the people that he is writing to are beginning to abandon — to draw back from — the covenant that they are living under, and they are looking back at another covenant: the covenant that was made at Sinai. They are being tempted to be drawn back to that covenant and that kind of approach to God. And so he is making clear that these are two different covenants — the old and the new.

In verse 18: "For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched." In verse 22: "But on the contrary, you have come to Mount Zion."

Notice that little phrase: "you have come to." This is kind of a technical term in the Bible — it's used many times throughout Scripture. When the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek before the New Testament was written, in that translation they used a word — this word that's translated "come to" — as a technical term to describe approaching God as a worshiper in covenant relationship with God. And so when it appears here, they had the understanding, when they read this, that when he used these terms "to come to God," it was speaking about their approach as a person in covenant relationship with the living God.

If you are not in covenant relationship with God, you have no relationship with him. If you have a relationship with God, you are living under a covenant. And the writer of Hebrews is explaining the difference between these two covenants. And so this technical term of "coming to God" — the whole passage hangs on this concept of our approach to God.

Back in Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 11, Moses recalls Israel's experience back at Mount Sinai and what they experienced at the foot of that mountain as God appeared there. Listen to these words. He says to the nation: "You approached, and you stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds."

I want to tell you: if we had experienced that — I started to say, if we had to experience that — there are a lot of us who wouldn't have the attitude that we have when we meet like this to talk about the living God and to hear his voice through his word. We wouldn't have the kind of attitude we do. But you know, I'm not so sure that's true, because when you look back at the children of Israel and — after having this experience — how they turned a deaf ear to God, how their eyes were blinded to the reality of who he was.

It would be good therapy for all of you to have to stand up here a few times. It would be great therapy for you as a Christian to stand up here and watch as people respond to the Word of God, and to see the attitudes that are clearly displayed by the face, the body language, the eyes, and the attention span. You know, it's an amazing thing — as though we were talking about some hobby that maybe you'd like to get involved in. But that's the same problem they had, and they had experienced this burning mountain blazing with fire.

Well, this context is all about our approaching God. It was absolutely essential for them to understand the kind of approach they had to God, and I want to tell you, Believer, it is absolutely essential that you understand the same distinction. You need to understand the approach that you have to the living God.

And so let's look at this passage, because we have in the passage, as we just read, this comparison between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, heavenly Jerusalem. And notice the distinction.

First of all, he describes for us the old covenant — that covenant, the approach to God made in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai. I'm going to put this up on the overhead so you're all forced to look at the text — except it doesn't work. I'm back here — but, well, I'm glad I'm going on vacation.

Notice the description of this Mount Sinai experience in verses 18 through 21: the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant. And we have a description here of Israel's frightening experience at Sinai, where they encountered the living God in a fiery epiphany, a manifestation of his very presence. And this created an incredible impression upon the people of Israel. It should create an impression on us as we read the account of it.

The approach to God in the old covenant is initiated in the most incredible kind of way — a way that is filled with sights and sounds that was designed to impress upon the people of God the awesomeness and the holiness and the greatness of this God whom they are approaching.

And notice these seven things. It's interesting that what he does is he talks about seven elements of this Sinai experience, and then seven elements of the Mount Zion experience, which you and I are living under.

First of all, they came to a mountain that may be touched. He says, "We do not come to a mountain which may be touched" — and he's describing what they did. They came to a mountain, Mount Sinai, a physical mountain that could be touched. And literally what it says in the text is they came to "that which may be touched" — something physical, tangible, palpable. They could see it with their eyes; they could perceive it with their senses. It made an impression upon them. That moved into the realm of sight and sound and touch when he initiated this covenant with his people.

Secondly, to a blazing fire — an overwhelming of the senses by the presence of a holy God that cannot be approached. And then to darkness. This expression is what was used back in the account of Israel when God brought the plagues upon Egypt. Remember the plague of darkness? They said that the darkness was so thick that you could feel it — you could touch it. Have you ever been in a place that dark? It was so dark it was as though you could feel the darkness. Awesome.

And to gloom — that is, the sense of despair that they are unfit to stand in the presence of this holy God. To a whirlwind — a storm, a hurricane, a manifestation of power that does not do something constructive but destroys. To a trumpet blast — what's a trumpet blast? It's a warning. God is present, and it's to warn those that are there that they ought to be very careful because the God of the universe has come down. And then seventh, to a sound of words.

It's an interesting expression — it emphasizes a lack of understanding by those who heard the voice. In fact, Moses describes it this way. He says, "Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of his words, but you saw no form; there was only a voice." You heard the words — the auditory part of the words that your ears heard — but you had no understanding of what was being said. Kind of like going to a rock concert: you go to a rock concert, you hear all this noise, but you don't have a clue as to what they're saying. And that's why kids don't think parents should get upset about the lyrics of the music — because they don't know what they're saying anyway. Well, that's kind of how this was. There was this incredible noise; they knew God was speaking to Moses, but they had no idea what he was saying.

So the picture that we get is this: they were being repelled rather than being drawn to God. There was this sense of fear rather than understanding, a sense of dread rather than a sense of God revealing himself in an intimate and close way. What a great difference between this epiphany of God at Mount Sinai and that little stable when Jesus showed up at the incarnation. If you had been there — if you had seen Jesus in that manger — you would have been drawn to him. You wouldn't have been repelled; you would have been moved to come close and to touch him. That's an incredible difference.

Remember back in the first chapter of this book, it says that God, after speaking in past times in many different ways — many different methods he spoke to the fathers — has in these last days spoken to us in a Son. That's how he spoke to us. But what they came to was something that was awesome, something that drove them back, something that caused them great fear. The sights that they saw obscured their vision to the thing that was being revealed. The sounds that they heard did not give them understanding — it just let them know that God was there. It was an awesome thing. They didn't see him; they simply knew that he was present.

Notice the effects of this event on the people. First of all, it says that his voice was a sound they found too terrifying to listen to. Look at the expression: "He made the hearers beg that not another word would be spoken to them." As they heard the Word of God speak, they said, "Please don't speak to us anymore."

Listen to Exodus chapter 20: "When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and they trembled and they stood at a distance and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, Moses, and we will listen to you, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.'"

You get the picture. Remember when Elijah was taken up on the same mountain — and I believe in the same cave that Moses went into — when God took him up to the cave on the mountain and God spoke to him there. Elijah was very discouraged, and God wanted to speak to him. And so he takes him up on this mountain and calls him out of the cave. First of all, he sees this great wind, and the wind was so strong that it was literally blowing the mountain apart — but it says that God was not in the wind. And there was a great earthquake, and that mountain shook so severely — the power of God being displayed — but God was not in the earthquake. And then it said there was a fire that literally circled that mountain, just like here, when these people were at the foot of the same mountain: a fire came right down and circled that mountain and he was right in the midst of it — but it says, "But God was not in the fire." And then it says, "And then there was a gentle blowing" — a still, small voice — and God comes close to Elijah and speaks to him as his child.

[But] at this mountain, at this occasion, they are saying, "Don't let God speak anymore to us, Moses. Let him talk to you and you talk to us, because if we hear his voice, we'll die."

And not only did they find his voice something they didn't want to hear, but it says they found his commands a burden that was just too heavy to bear. Notice the expression: "For they could not bear the command." "If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned" — and in the context it said if a man or even a beast were to come up on this mountain, he was to be stoned or speared to death because of this violation. In other words, God was unapproachable. That's what this covenant said in its initiation.

What a difference the kind of relationship you have! First John chapter 5, verse 3 says: "For the love of God is this: that we obey his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome." When you're living under this new covenant and you understand this covenant and you live in relationship — in the role that you have in this new covenant — you will discover that the commandments of Christ are not burdensome. If you find them burdensome, it's because you're not really living in the covenant as God wants you to live in the covenant.

And notice — this is kind of funny in a way, although it's quite serious — notice the effect on the mediator himself, Moses. Moses is the mediator; he's the one who is to represent the people before God. And notice what it says about him: "And so terrible is the sight that Moses said, 'I am full of fear and trembling.'" That would be kind of scary, wouldn't it — that you're sending someone to represent you before God, to plead your case, and the mediator himself says, "I am full of fear and trembling. I'm afraid to go myself." Even the mediator is gripped with fear.

What a difference — we have a mediator who is seated at the right hand of God, seated right there in the midst of heaven with his Father, at peace in a perfect relationship with him, to represent us. But this mediator is full of fear. And I think what you see in this description is these words: stay away, stay away, stay away — keep your distance. Now, a lot of people live the Christian life that way, because they assume they're under this kind of covenant.

But now listen to the description of the covenant that we are under, in verses 22 through 24. It is a different mountain — it's Mount Zion that we come to — and it's a new covenant. He says: under the new covenant, we are to order our lives according to a totally different revelation of God. And there are seven features to this approach to God, just like there were seven to the old covenant. And the thing that this covenant says to us, as we read about it, is continually: come, come closer, come closer, come closer, come closer.

In fact, that's been the message of the book of Hebrews as we've gone through it. Back in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 16, it says, "Let us therefore approach the throne of grace" — same word — "let us come to, come near to, the throne of grace with boldness" — that is, with freedom of speech — "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." See, under the new covenant relationship, you have freedom of speech. And when we come to God under this new covenant, we are to speak from the very depths of our heart.

You know, there are a lot of people who entered into a marriage covenant and did not know that the rules of the covenant were that you became one flesh — which means there are no barriers. In that human relationship of the marriage covenant, there are no secrets, there is open communication, there is open intimacy and closeness — no barriers, no distance, intimacy. And some people never learn that. And so they live out their Christian life... I've actually heard of counselors telling men who've fallen into immorality — when they come to repentance, they tell them, "Now, you don't need to tell your wife this; it will only break her heart." That is a foolish bit of counsel. There are no barriers, no walls between a husband and wife, because you live in a covenant that God designed. And that covenant is to picture the covenant that we live under in our relationship with Christ, according to Ephesians chapter 5. And that's the way this covenant is — this new covenant. It is an atmosphere of intimacy.

And not only that, it's an atmosphere of festivity. It's an incredible thing. The sights of the old covenant — the blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom — and notice the sights of this new covenant: the city of the living God, the place where God dwells, a heavenly Jerusalem. The sounds of the old covenant was this cacophony of whirlwind and trumpet blast and a sound of words that you couldn't understand, that weren't clear, that only brought fear to the heart. But the sounds of this covenant are a bunch of angels praising God in festival gathering, and you hear these voices of happiness and rejoicing. That's the kind of sounds you hear at this approach to God.

And then notice the response. Back at Sinai, there was a trembling congregation of Israel gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai, wanting to pull back away from God. But at this assembly, we see those whose names are permanently enrolled in the books of heaven, and they draw close to the living God. What a difference this is.

I think it almost takes the orthodox Jew who understands the Old Testament to appreciate what we have under this new covenant — that we can approach God with such intimacy and closeness and openness, that we can speak with freedom of speech, that we can tell him what's really in our heart. That's the kind of relationship we have with this God — an overwhelming impression of approachability, in place of this overwhelming impression of unapproachability under the old covenant. Every image in here is an image that tells us: come close, come close, live in intimacy, stay close.

Let's look at these seven things. First of all, we come to an unseen reality — not something that can be touched, but something that is unseen at this time. That is, it is an approach of faith, not sight. We come to God today through faith — that is our approach to God. It is not to a mountain that can be seen, but to a mountain that cannot be seen. "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" — the place where God himself dwells. Before, God invaded their world, came down into the world of sight and sound and touch. But today we are drawn right up into the place where God dwells, into the heavenly Jerusalem, through faith that grasps future reality as though it were present reality. We can experience the presence of God right now in this heavenly Jerusalem.

Now, understand: heavenly Jerusalem is not the eternal home of God. Heavenly Jerusalem is a place that God has established for the future in which God is going to dwell with his people. And so when we come to a heavenly Jerusalem, what he is saying is we are coming by faith to experience a future reality — something that is not yet come to be our possession, but something that is being given to us at this very moment.

The second thing is: we come to a festive gathering. Notice this expression — "to myriads of angels in festival gathering." It says here: "to myriads of angels, to the general assembly." Well, "general assembly" is a translation that doesn't deal with the difficulty of this passage, because this literally says "to a festival assembly," and it's describing these angels. It's not just talking about some general assembly, but an assembly of individuals who've gathered together for a festival, for rejoicing, for celebration. He's describing the angels of heaven — there is a festive gathering there.

Now notice the comparison. Back at Sinai, there was this terror, and the Israelites were dispersed, fearful, gripped with fear. But at Zion, you have this fervent joy — these sounds of joy that you hear as the angels are rejoicing in their joy and wonder at being in the presence of the living God. And it makes you want to get closer; it makes you want to come closer into the very presence of God and rejoice with the angels and the archangels and the cherubim and the seraphim, because they are rejoicing in the very presence of God.

David said in Psalm 16, verse 11: "In your presence, God, there is fullness of joy." I have a friend who's a Hebrew scholar, and he translates this, "In your presence there are a lot of laughs" — because that's what this means. It means there's laughter in the third heaven. Now, I know there's not a lot of laughter in most churches, and I don't think it's just because we don't know how to tell jokes — although I admit that I don't think that's the only reason. I think the reason there's not a lot of laughter in our churches is we have lost the sense of the presence of the living God. Because David said, "In your presence there are a lot of laughs; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

There's no tears being shed in heaven. A lot of people have this idea that God is up there, nervous, biting his fingernails, worried about what you may do and what this world may do. I want you to know: in heaven there is a festive gathering of angels who are rejoicing over the victory that has been won through the work of Jesus Christ.

And the third thing is: we come to a church meeting. I know some of you are really disappointed to find out that when you get to heaven, you are going to enter into a church meeting. That's exactly what it says. We come to a church meeting — "to the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." What a wonderful expression. This literally says we come to "the church of the firstborn ones." Now, Jesus is the firstborn, but all those who come to him in faith become recipients of the place of the firstborn — we have the inheritance, we have the blessing of the firstborn. And so we are the church of the firstborn — all of us who have been connected to Jesus Christ.

So when we come to God today in prayer, and we come to him in worship, we come into the very presence of the living God where the church of the firstborn ones are already gathered. As far as God is concerned, it says we are enrolled — it's a beautiful expression here, because the enrollment has already taken place, and it's going to continue to be a reality throughout all eternity. We have been enrolled in the books of heaven. Those of us who have come to rest our faith in Jesus Christ are permanently inscribed in the rolls of heaven.

And then he says, fourth, we come to a judge who is God of all — that's literally what that expression says: "to a judge who is God of all." The creator has the right to judge. One of the most foolish things that men do is to strut before the living God. In the book of Acts, we are told that one of the very primary aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that God has appointed a day in which every single man, woman, boy, and girl will stand before their judge.

For the unbeliever, it is called the Great White Throne judgment — a judgment in which Jesus Christ will sit as judge as the creator of this universe and judge his creatures. And imagine that day: when the unbeliever stands before Christ, when they walk into the room and they are startled by the fact — when they walk before the Great White Throne judgment — that it is a man sitting on a throne with holes in his hands that speak of his death for sin. And they're going to be judged by him. He's the judge of all.

And then it says we also come to the saints who have been perfected in the presence of God. Just imagine what it was like for the Old Testament saint once the work of Christ was completed, and he ushered them into the very presence of the living God — and that's where they stay: "the spirits of righteous men made perfect." Now, the church of the firstborn is talking about all of those who've been identified with Christ, whether we're on the earth or whether we're in heaven. But the spirits of those made perfect are talking about those who have already entered into the presence of the living God.

And then, sixth, he says we come to the mediator of the new covenant — to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. Just compare these two mediators: Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, who was gripped with fear, terrified, trembling in the presence of God — and Jesus Christ, who is peaceful and rejoicing and who sits in the presence of his Father representing us.

And then finally, we come to the sprinkled blood — and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See, this tells us how Jesus became the mediator. The way that Jesus Christ came to be the one who was to represent us under this new covenant was by the shedding of his blood. And the expression says that his blood continually speaks — it is continuing to speak even today. This is a powerful metaphor.

The blood of Jesus Christ — throughout the Bible, the word "blood" always speaks of a violent death under judgment, the violent death of an innocent victim. And it says the blood of Jesus Christ continues to speak. But Jesus' blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel. What did Abel's blood speak? Remember back in the book of Genesis, when Abel was slain — he experienced a violent death, the violent death of an innocent person — and it cried out. But what did it cry out? It cried out for vengeance. And as a result of the shedding of the blood of Abel, a curse came upon Cain, the curse of Cain.

But what is the blood of Jesus crying out? The blood of Jesus does not cry out for vengeance. Jesus himself, while hanging on the cross, said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" — that is, forgive the men themselves who are performing this crucifixion; they do not understand what they are doing. Nobody is going to be judged for crucifying Christ, because Isaiah 52 and 53 says it was the delight of the Father to pour out his wrath on his own Son to pay for our sins. So what is the blood of Christ crying out? It cries out forgiveness. Instead of bringing a curse, it brings the blessings of the new covenant.

The blood of Jesus — when we approach God, we approach... if we could go right into the heavenly Jerusalem, Mount Zion, if we could see with our physical eyes, we would hear the blood of Jesus crying out, speaking clearly: forgiveness, forgiveness, for all who come to him in faith.

Back in chapter 9, verse 12, it says that eternal redemption has been obtained through this blood — through the shedding of Christ's blood. In verse 14, it says that we can worship with a cleansed conscience. Isn't that wonderful — that you can worship God with a cleansed conscience? Not a clean conscience — a cleansed conscience. Not a conscience that says, "I've never done anything wrong; my life's in good order." But a conscience that is bathed in the blood of Jesus Christ — that I know my sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ.

In chapter 10, verse 19, it says we've been given confidence to enter the sanctuary because of and through the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus cries out: come, come into the very presence of the living God. And in the next chapter — chapter 13 — it says that you have been sanctified by his blood. You've been set apart as uniquely and completely God's through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Can you see the great contrast between these two mountains — Mount Sinai and Mount Zion — and between this old covenant and the new covenant? You know, a lot of Christians live under an old covenant. There are a lot of Christians who treat God as though they're living under the old covenant. Under the old covenant, the people wanted to run away — they wanted to live at a distance, they wanted to stay far enough away that they felt out of danger, they wanted God to ignore them. And I'm sure there are some of you here today who've named the name of Christ, but you really wish God would ignore you. That's old covenant living. We live under a new covenant.

How should we live? How are we to live under this new covenant? He gives us the answer in the last section of this chapter, verses 25 through 29.

First of all, he says: listen to him — that is, to God — with attentive ears. "See to it," he says, "that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if those" — that is, those who were at Mount Sinai — "if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven."

Now I want you to understand: you can't soften this. This is a hard rebuke concerning apathy or complacency as someone living under the new covenant. It's a hard rebuke. "Be careful," he says, "that you do not disregard the one who is speaking." Under this covenant, it is designed so that you can hear and understand the voice of God. If they were judged because they turned away from this voice that they could not understand — that only said to them, "God is present, and he is awesome, and he is fearful, and we must run from him" — if they refused him and were judged, what will happen to us when we turn our backs on him? How will we escape who turn away from him?

See, the very nature of the new covenant demands that you draw close. It demands that you live in intimacy with this God. It took the blood of Jesus Christ to purchase for you this entrance — this approach to God that can get you right into the face of God. And for you to live miles away, for you to hope that God's paying no attention to you, for you to live as though God were not involved in your life — how will you escape? This phrase "to turn away" is a very strong term. It means to turn a deaf ear to God, to turn your back on him, to refuse to listen to his voice.

Why is it so important that we don't turn a deaf ear to God? Look at the verse: "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but the heaven as well.'"

Now you have to understand this phrase — "the shaking of the earth." If you're a Bible reader, you know that this is a common phrase throughout the Bible. It speaks of God's judgment throughout the Old Testament. When it talked about the judgment of God, it talked about shaking nations, shaking the earth. And it was always pointing to an ultimate shaking — a final shaking that is going to take place, that will shake not only the earth but the heavens — an eschatological shaking, a shaking of the last days, a shaking of final judgment.

Now get this expression — he draws this from Haggai the second chapter. Listen to these words from Haggai. I won't have you turn there; I don't want you to be confused. But Haggai chapter 2 says, "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth.'"

Now, the historical event was this: they had seen God's judgment of Babylon, and God manifesting his power to bring his people back into Jerusalem and to reestablish his temple and his presence there in Jerusalem. He shook Babylon — and you know about the overthrowing of Babylon. He says, "But there's a future shaking coming that's going to be much greater." And listen to this: "I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine and the gold, says the Lord of hosts."

God says, "You think, people of Israel, because Babylon has come down and taken your wealth and stripped the temple of all the precious things that were a part of your worship — you think that Almighty God can't restore that temple? One of these days I'm going to shake the heavens and the earth and all the nations and all their riches, and it's going to be shaken right back. Everything that has value is going to be shaken right back into this temple. I'm going to refurnish the temple. In a most clever way, I'm going to shake the nations." The shaking of the heaven and earth is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament, pointing towards the ultimate judgment of God.

What's the purpose of the shaking? Notice in verse 27, back in Hebrews 12: "Yet once more" denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken — as of created things — in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain steadfast. That's the idea — may become permanent.

Now understand this: throughout the Old Testament, the prophets use this picture of the shaking. And it uses this idea that those who are shaken are those who are under judgment. Nations that were shaken by God were under the judgment of God. And when it talks about the shaking of the heavens and the earth, it's talking about the ultimate judgment of God of these heavens and the earth. And those who would not be shaken were the righteous — those who had come to have a relationship with God, who clung to God. He says: when everything is shaken, you will remain unshaken.

Now, what are those things that are going to be shaken? Listen a little further down in — Habakkuk... or rather in Haggai, chapter 2. He says: "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, 'I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the thrones of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and to overthrow the chariots and their riders — and the horses and their riders shall fall, everyone by the sword of a comrade. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,' says the Lord of hosts. You are unshakable."

Now, what is he going to shake? He's going to shake everything that is in opposition to God. Everything that raises its head against God is going to be shaken. Isaiah chapter 2 — an incredible passage, the first passage in all the Bible that talks about the day of the Lord — says, in the day of the Lord, this is what's going to happen: everything that is high and lofty and lifts itself against God will be brought low, and everything that is humble and has humbled itself before God will be raised up. That's the promise of God. The things that are going to be shaken are all those things that are independent of God, that raise themselves in opposition to God — every attitude, every man, every kingdom, every ruler, every power in this universe that raises itself against God will be shaken. And that which remains will be those who bowed the knee to Almighty God through faith in Jesus Christ.

I'd like to ask you: what are the things in your life that won't be shaken? What is there in your life right now that's going to stand the shaking, that's going to remain? And what is there in your life right now that — if the shaking were to take place — would no longer remain? I'm not talking about physical possessions. I'm talking about attitudes, relationships, assumptions, habits, character. What's unshaken and unshakable in your life?

Notice the second thing he tells us we are to do under this covenant. Not only should we live with an attentive ear that listens to the voice of God — it cost God the death of his own Son, the shedding of his blood, so that you could hear the voice of God. He's given you his word, and under this new covenant you can listen to his word. And so he says, since we live under the new covenant and not in the old, listen with attentive ears. The second thing he says is: worship. Worship him with grateful hearts.

Notice verses 28 and 29: "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, let us be thankful, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe." "Since we are receiving a kingdom" — that's the idea of it; there is this present-tense idea — we are continually in the process of receiving a kingdom. We haven't got it to the point that we are living in it completely yet, but we are receiving this kingdom, we are living under kingdom blessings. And he says, since we are receiving this kingdom, let us show gratitude. That's the appropriate response to this incredible gift of being brought into kingdom living.

How do you show the gratitude? Notice: by service. And the word he uses here for "service" — "to serve God" — is the word that means to serve as a priest. To live your life as a priest — what does that mean? It means I live my life in worship of God.

Let me ask you to do something in your mind right now. Think about this past week. Think about the things you did and the thoughts you had — all the things you were involved in. How much of it was worship? How much of it did you do consciously as a worshiper, as a priest of God? How much of it did you live out as a priest in worship of the living God? You know, that's what you're supposed to do under this new covenant — that's your covenant responsibility: to live as a priest, to live your life as worship.

So under the old covenant, the only ones who could act as priests were a literal Levitical priesthood. But under the new covenant, every single believer who comes into union with Jesus Christ is a priest and can serve him out of gratitude.

And notice this — think about this: what's changed here? When you compare the old covenant and the new covenant — what is it that has changed? Did God change? Well, if you know anything about biblical theology, you know: no, God did not change. He is immutable; he cannot change; he's unchangeable. Then what has changed? Why is there such a drastic comparison — a drastic difference — between the old covenant and life under the old covenant, and life under the new covenant? God hasn't changed. You have changed. I have changed.

The reason there is a different approach is because God has changed us under the new covenant. Under the new covenant, our hearts have been changed. We have experienced regeneration; we've been given the Spirit. We have now been so changed that we can come into the presence of the living God and serve him as priests. New covenant relationship is based upon the work of Jesus Christ. It's based upon the fact that he has reconciled us, redeemed us from sin, propitiated Almighty God because of our sin, brought us into the very presence of the living God, clothed in his righteousness. And we are to live there — that's how we're to live out our lives.

The old covenant says: stay back, stay back, stay back. Keep your distance, keep your distance.

The new covenant says: come closer. Listen, and live your life in worship toward me.

That's what we're called to do. As you live out your life this week, I implore you, I encourage you, I exhort you: live it out in light of this new covenant relationship that you have with the living God. Stop living under the old covenant. Stop living in a no-covenant relationship, and begin to live under the new covenant relationship. Draw close. Have attentive ears and a heart full of worship to the living God.

Let's stand together as we pray.

Our Father, as we leave this place today and go in all different directions and begin to participate in all kinds of things — I pray that those of us in this room who've come to have a covenant relationship with you, that we would leave this place with a sense of what it means to be under the new covenant. Father, I pray that those last words — "our God is a consuming fire" — would not miss us. That we would see that under this new covenant relationship there is far greater privilege, but there is also far greater responsibility. There's greater judgment because we have so much more privilege. And I pray you'd help us to live our lives out today in worship, in attentiveness toward you. As we enjoy people and things and activities, I pray that we would live and enjoy those things with a consciousness of our relationship with you. Help us to center our lives around you. Father, there are so many things that are vying for that place — so many things today that demand that we put them at the center of our lives.

I pray for those who've truly trusted Christ this morning, who are living in covenant relationship with him, that you would be at the very center — that everything else would reflect that reality. I pray: help us to encourage one another, to incite one another to love and good deeds. I pray in these evil days that we are living in, that we would get more aggressive about encouraging one another — as the responsibility gets greater, as the obstacles get greater, as the difficulties arise on every hand. I pray you'd help us to get more and more involved in encouraging fellow believers to live in this new covenant. I pray in the name of Jesus, and for his glory we ask these things. Amen.