Going the Right Direction

Going the Right Direction: Hebrews 12:18-29 April 30, 2023 Open your bibles to Hebrews 12:18-29. Before cell phones and GPS systems, we lived in the map or the MapQuest days. For me, it was printing 3-4 pages of step-by-step directions to get somewhere. Nowadays, we have it easy, just pull out our phones, which are usually out already, type in an address or location, and it gives you step-by-step directions, and usually several options if you want to avoid certain routes. Not only that, but it even tells you out loud, so you're not fumbling around with the papers or taking your eyes off the road. Newer cars even have them built into the car's system, too. It makes for much easier travel. Often, however, we miss a turn or an exit, don't we? What does the GPS function do? It "recalculates" and sends us back on track. Isn't that what the writer of Hebrews is doing in his letter? The writer has just concluded a long section reminding the Hebrews about living by faith. He also reminds them that our faith journey is a lot like an endurance race, one that comes with challenges and even some heartache. Last week, we saw that this is a journey that God doesn't expect or desire that we do it alone. The next challenge is knowing and understanding how to focus and ensure we're going in the right direction. Please follow along as I read our text this morning, beginning at verse 18: 18 FOR YOU HAVE NOT COME TO WHAT MAY BE TOUCHED, A BLAZING FIRE AND DARKNESS AND GLOOM AND A TEMPEST 19 AND THE SOUND OF A TRUMPET AND A VOICE WHOSE WORDS MADE THE HEARERS BEG THAT NO FURTHER MESSAGES BE SPOKEN TO THEM. 20 FOR THEY COULD NOT ENDURE THE ORDER THAT WAS GIVEN, "IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT SHALL BE STONED." 21 INDEED, SO TERRIFYING WAS THE SIGHT THAT MOSES SAID, "I TREMBLE WITH FEAR." 22 BUT YOU HAVE COME TO MOUNT ZION AND TO THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD, THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM, AND TO INNUMERABLE ANGELS IN FESTAL GATHERING, 23 AND TO THE ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRSTBORN WHO ARE ENROLLED IN HEAVEN, AND TO GOD, THE JUDGE OF ALL, AND TO THE SPIRITS OF THE RIGHTEOUS MADE PERFECT, 24 AND TO JESUS, THE MEDIATOR OF A NEW COVENANT, AND TO THE SPRINKLED BLOOD THAT SPEAKS A BETTER WORD THAN THE BLOOD OF ABEL. 25 SEE THAT YOU DO NOT REFUSE HIM WHO IS SPEAKING. 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. 26 AT THAT TIME HIS VOICE SHOOK THE EARTH, BUT NOW HE HAS PROMISED, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH BUT ALSO THE HEAVENS." 27 THIS PHRASE, "YET ONCE MORE," INDICATES THE REMOVAL OF THINGS THAT ARE SHAKEN-THAT IS, THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE-IN ORDER THAT THE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN MAY REMAIN. 28 THEREFORE LET US BE GRATEFUL FOR RECEIVING A KINGDOM THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN, AND THUS LET US OFFER TO GOD ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP, WITH REVERENCE AND AWE, 29 FOR OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE. The writer of Hebrews, who is not named, was Jewish, and as such would have a Hebrew mindset. What he does in this passage, which is worth noting, is that it appears to be written in a chiasm [KAI-ISM] which is "a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order." Why is this important? Well, it helps to identify the writer's emphasis of the passage. I'm not going to spend the time going through all the stages of this chiasm, but if you look closely at the passage, the middle finds itself right around verses 22-23, which appears to be the emphasis that the author is surrounding. With this, we can identify our main idea for today: The right direction is where the Lord dwells. So, this morning, I want to discuss from the passage FOUR WAYS TO GO TO WHERE THE LORD DWELLS: First, is to ... * Accept God's grace over fearing God's Law. o This set of verses are one of the warning passages of the book of Hebrews. o The warning is simple, do not return to the Law, but remain under grace. Once again, we're reminded of the context of this whole letter, one that warns a disgruntled people not to return to their old ways, but instead to look ahead to the promises of God. o Verse 18 describes the scene found in Exodus 19, and later recounted by Moses in Deuteronomy 4, when God delivers the Law (the Ten Commandments and the other 600 plus laws) to Moses to deliver to the people). o This scene was frightening - filled with fire, darkness and heavy winds. o When I was younger and living at home, I can recall a large fire in the nearby mountains. I recall watching this fire from my bedroom window, and I swear it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Many of you experienced that in June 2020 during the Bighorn Fire. Think of the damage that fire caused. The fear that fire caused for residents nearby. o What's remarkable about this is the fact that something seemingly so powerful and large like a mountain can become so vulnerable and insignificant. o This is why the writer contrasts this earthly mountain with this Spiritual Mountain, Mt. Zion. o Mt. Zion represents the New Covenant, the New Jerusalem, the place where God will gather the heavenly hosts and His chosen people together with Him for eternity. o So, when we compare Zion and Sinai, we're looking at the Law and Grace - the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant. o A simple way to approach the idea of the Law is to see that what the Law did was expose sin. o The Apostle Paul describes what this looks like in Romans 7:7 when he says, WHAT THEN SHALL WE SAY? THAT THE LAW IS SIN? BY NO MEANS! YET IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE LAW, I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN SIN. FOR I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN WHAT IT IS TO COVET IF THE LAW HAD NOT SAID, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET." o Just prior to this, in ROMANS 6:14, Paul said: FOR SIN WILL HAVE NO DOMINION OVER YOU, SINCE YOU ARE NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE. o So, as we look at these two mountains, we can approach where the Lord dwells through the means of grace, and not by returning to the old ways. o Maybe you're struggling today. Don't go back to your life before grace. Don't return to that place of fear and darkness. The Bible says that God is light. o Next, we go to where the Lord dwells as we ... * Listen to the voice of Jesus, not the voice of fear. o Verses 19-20 describes the aftermath of the deliverance of the Law to Moses. The people, as previously noted, lived in a place of fear. So much in fact, that they asked Moses to speak, and for God to be silent. o Motivation is one of those key drivers in a person's behavior. o We've all seen it - and likely have done it. * You're driving along, a peaceful 15 miles an hour over the speed limit, and you see a police vehicle behind you or just ahead hiding in the bushes. What do we do? We begin to slow down - hoping and praying that you don't see those lights turn on - so, we're watching our mirrors as we continue driving. Why? We don't want to get pulled over and get a ticket. That's motivation by fear. o Here, the voice of Jesus, although attached to a warning, leads us to Zion. It leads us to the Father. It leads us to eternity without tears, hurt, sorrow, and pain. o But what does that look like? o I can't help but think about Paul and Silas in Berea. In Acts 17:10-11 we read: 10 THE BROTHERS IMMEDIATELY SENT PAUL AND SILAS AWAY BY NIGHT TO BEREA, AND WHEN THEY ARRIVED THEY WENT INTO THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE. 11 NOW THESE JEWS WERE MORE NOBLE THAN THOSE IN THESSALONICA; THEY RECEIVED THE WORD WITH ALL EAGERNESS, EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY TO SEE IF THESE THINGS WERE SO o We, like the Bereans, must examine the scriptures when we're dealing with life. * You may have seen something like this before (Bible Emergency Numbers). * It's a little guide for situations when you're hurting, discouraged, worried, sad, sick, and other situations. o The writer of Hebrews is pleading with the saints not to return to that place where they were trapped under the Law. o That place that caused so much fear because they could never meet those requirements and face a Holy God on their own. o Who are you listening to? Where are you getting your answers from? Seek first the kingdom of God. Seek the Lord who can make straight, what we've made crooked. o Next, we go to where the Lord dwells as we ... * Get cleansed by the blood of Jesus. o Verse 21 is referencing Deuteronomy 9:19 where Moses is retelling of the events to the generation that was getting ready to go to the promised land. It reads: 19 FOR I WAS AFRAID OF THE ANGER AND HOT DISPLEASURE THAT THE LORD BORE AGAINST YOU, SO THAT HE WAS READY TO DESTROY YOU. BUT THE LORD LISTENED TO ME THAT TIME ALSO. o Even though Moses represented the people, He was afraid of God's anger because of the disobedience of the people. His leadership, although great, was not nearly enough to take the people to the land of promise. o But God. He sent His only Son, to shed His blood and to usher in the New Covenant. o This - as we've seen - is the only way to enter into the presence of the holy God. o That's what we see in verse 24. Oddly, the writer speaks of the blood of Abel. Back in Hebrews 11:4 we see that Abel still speaks. * It speaks because the shedding of his blood called for justice and judgement, but the blood of Jesus speaks for redemption and forgiveness. * When Cain killed Abel, he lived in guilt, but the blood of Christ removes that guilt, opening up the way into the presence of God in His Holy City. o Finally, we go to where the Lord as we ... * Approach God with awe and reverence. o Verses 28-29 develops this action. o Notice that it begins with thanksgiving. "LET US BE GRATEFUL" the writer says. * We are to be grateful because Jesus died and rose again, because His sacrifice was the only worthy sacrifice. * We are to be grateful that Jesus went to the cross, that He took all our sins with Him, and if you are a follower of Jesus, you have been declared forgiven before God, allowing us access to Him. * We are to be grateful because the Bible promises us a New Heaven, a New Earth, a new body, and a new residence with God Himself. * But, notice, the writer says that we are grateful for RECEIVING A KINGDOM THAT CANNOT BE SHAKEN. This is confidence, ladies and gentlemen. God's Word is as good as done. o Next, we see that we must respond appropriately to this gift. * That response? An offering of ACCEPTABLE worship. * What is acceptable worship? o One that is filled with reverence and awe. This phrase here helps us to channel fear in the right direction. It's a careful and deliberate acknowledgement of God and His holiness. It's a fear and respect driven by His holiness and love for us. It drives us to want to serve Him, to want to be obedient to Him. o This is counter to our culture today, isn't it? Many people do not have a healthy and reverent fear of God, instead they are pushing agendas that only lift up themselves. o If you are a Christian, then you respond in reverence and awe of the Lord. o Why do we respond this way? o Because GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE. * The imagery here is of judgement and God's holiness. * There's two ways one can respond to this idea of God as a consuming fire. * Back in chapter 12, we were reminded that discipline from the Lord is an act of love. So, the first response is that we accept this, and repent. * The other way is to run back to Mt. Sinai in fear. * When we approach the Lord in reverence and awe, we're approaching Him in His terms, not our own. * This verse also reminds us that the Lord is a Lord who will judge. o We see this in 2 Corinthians 5 that all believers will stand before the Lord and be judged for their actions while here on earth. o In Revelation 20, we see that those who are not believers are judged and cast into the lake of fire. * You see, the people that the author is speaking to wanted to go back to the old way of doing things, because they thought it would be easier to simply follow a set of rules, rather than to live a life of faith. We've seen this morning that the right direction is where the Lord dwells. Earlier this year, we studied the book of Exodus. For one reason or another, I didn't make the connection that Mt. Sinai was a fearful place for the Jews. It wasn't fearful because of its physical size, but rather because it represented the Law which could never be kept. The writer addressed this back in chapter 10 that the priests had to atone of the sins of the people every year, where Christ died once for all to atone for our sins. Back in John, Christ says that He was preparing a place for us. So, Christ is preparing the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21 - this spiritual Mt. Zion - for us right now, until we are all united with the Lord there. But that means that we all must decide. We must decide on which mountain we're headed to. So, which direction are you heading to? For many of you, you've already made that decision and have already set your GPS, but for others, maybe you keep reverting back to Sinai. Frankly put, Sinai is a religion that leads to death, because no amount of sacrifice will meet the payment required to be made right with God. Keeping your eyes on Zion, where the Lord dwells, where Jesus paid the price for our souls, that leads to life. Which direction are you heading? Let's pray. 2