Long ago, a man named Moses was walking up a hill, and he discovered a bush that was burning, the flames rushed through the bush over and over, but, the bush was not consumed by the flames. The bush held the flames, the bush allowed the flames to flow through it, but the bush remained safe in the flames, bearing the flames without being harmed.
God spoke from the flames to Moses, and called Moses to a great mission, a mission that one day would lead Moses into Egypt, and out of Egypt again, with the entire Hebrew nation, all the way back to Mount Sinai, also known as Mount Horeb, where he first met God in the burning bush.
We’re going to be looking at Hebrews chapter 12 today. The author of Hebrews is writing to Jewish Christians who were facing severe persecution, after having fled persecution in Israel, they now faced new persecutions throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire.
Being Jewish converts to Christianity, their entire history is steeped in the Old Testament, steeped in Jewish traditions and beliefs, much of them centering around the words of Moses in the Torah. The Torah is what Jews called the first five book of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Number and Deuteronomy. So, throughout the book of Hebrews, the author is going to reference Old Testament events and activities thoroughly.
Chapter 12 is no exception. In particular, we're going to see Mount Sinai referenced, as well as as second mountain, Mount Zion.
Today we’re going to be looking at these two mountains, the activities surrounding these two mountains. We’re going to see one of these mountains represents a temporary kingdom and one of these kingdoms an eternal kingdom. We’re going to look at the danger of turning away, as well as the safety of the eternal foundation, the shaking that God brings about, the fire of God, and the we’ll touch on paradise and damnation today.
I hope you’re excited, I know I am.
We come to the first mountain, described in verses 18-21. This is Mount Sinai, the text is taking us back in time to the moments when God had brought millions of Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and they were now camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, the place where God first met with Moses in the burning bush.
Have you ever gone back to a place that meant the world to you when you were younger? Maybe it was Grandma’s kitchen, or the house you grew up in? Can you imagine the emotions Moses was feeling as he led the Hebrews toward the mount where he met with God in the burning bush?
Yet this was a scary situation for Moses and the Hebrews. They were told, you must not even touch mount Sinai. There was thunder, lightning, and the fear of God. Only Moses and Aaron were permitted to come up to meet with God.
And the writer of the book of Hebrews is helping us understand that the situation is different now, than it was back then. The writer tells us, it’s “not” quite like coming to this mountain.
It’s written, verses 18-21: "18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c] 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
Mount Sinai symbolizes justice for us today. A dark mountain, a mountain of fear, and laws, and a system that we could not obey. The law showed us our sinfulness, and that we could not be good without god.
This is not the mountain we are journeying toward as Christians.
We are all on our pilgrimages through this world to a particular mountain, the mountain of God. And though we are grateful for Moses and the burning bush, the 10 commandments, the old testament laws and regulations, they do not primarily define our current journey with God.
Our journey with God is different. It’s built on those events, built on those commandments and historical events, but, our story is centered on Jesus. We’re on a journey, similar to the Hebrews as they journeyed out of Egypt. We’re journeying out of the world of sin, and toward a new world. The author calls is “Mount Zion.”
Verses 22-24 say this: "22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
We are at the second mountain. But really, it’s a city. Our journey is toward a city. A city that God has made. A home for all of us.
Now I’ve been to a few cities in my life, Chicago, built along the edge of lake Michigan, San Francisco, built along the ocean, St. Louis built at the gateway to the western part of the nation, and Washington D.C. built on seven hills. But this city of God talked about in scripture is very different from any city we’ve visited.
This city is not built along a lake or in a valley, but it is built around the throne room of the eternal infinite God who made the universe in which we currently reside.
If you flip in your Bible back to Revelation 21, it describes the layout of the city, in verses 16-19:
“16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits[d] thick.[e] 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.”
That’s about 1,500 miles in length, and width and height. 200 feet thick walls. These are very specific measurements, don’t you think? Much like the measurements given for Noah’s ark in Genesis 6:14-16, and the instructions for Solomon’s Temple in 1st Kings 6-7. Which tells me the Bible isn’t speaking in symbolic terms here, but specific terms.
To visualize 1,500 miles, imagine driving from Traverse City, mi to Florida.
Our Christian journey ends at this city. And a new life begins when we reach this city. It is the heavenly Jerusalem. It is filled with endless billions and billions of angels. It is a place in which your names are written right now in heaven.
If you are truly born again through Jesus Christ, your name is written in the book of life right now.
Ultimately, coming home to the new Jerusalem is coming home to God himself, your true father, the God who designed you, spoke you into existence, crafted your soul, and placed you into the body within the body of your mother before you were even born.
Your mom and dad cared for you and raised you, but something deep within you longs for your true Father, your God, the one who made you, and knows you more deeply than anyone ever could imagine.
He Knows You.
To enter the city of God we must be washed in the blood of Jesus. We must be as the text says, 'the righteous ones, made perfect.'
And in that city we will meet Jesus, our King, our Lord, our friend, our brother. The one who loves us and died to bring us there safely.
By his sprinkled blood, on the altar, his blood removed all our sins. And that blood speaks a word over us.
It’s not like the blood of Abel, mentioned here in the text. The blood of Abel if you recall in Genesis, cried out from the ground to God, as God told Cain his brother: "The blood of your brother cries out to me." It cried out for justice.
So it was during the time at Mount Sinai, the law cried out for justice, the ten commandments, and no one could fulfill the law. Everyone fell short. We were guilty, like Cain, with the blood of his brother calling out for justice.
Does this mean that Mount Sinai was bad, or that the law was wrong? Not at all. The law was perfect. It displayed God’s perfect standard. And Jesus did not do away with the law, he fulfilled the law, he lived under the law, and he perfectly obeyed the law for us.
But now the sprinkled blood of Jesus speaks a new word over us, not like the word Abel’s blood spoke, crying out for justice. Instead, Jesus’ blood cries out a new word over us: Justified. Redeemed. Forgiven. Innocent.
This blood of Jesus covered us, covered over our sins, and we were declared clean. But it did more than that. It didn’t end there, it began there. When Jesus was pierced on Calvary by the spear, a flow of blood and water came from his side.
Jesus said, (John 4:14) “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
This represents the Holy Spirit. The blood covers us, and instantly we are born again, of water and the spirit, and this begins our journey toward the eternal city, like a spring within us, bubbling up toward eternal life.
Again, turn back to Revelation, 22:1-5: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
That is your destiny. That is your future. The living water bubbling up within you now, is the water that flows down the great main street of the city of God. And it flows from the Father and the Lamb, down from the throne like a waterfall, and toward the tree of life. That is the city we long for, that is the place our hearts long to be. No place really feels like home in this life, our hearts always long for something more. They long for this city, for the God at the center of this city, and the adventure we shall enjoy for all eternity at this city, and in the new heavens and new earth. Praise God!
So we’ve looked at the two mountains, Sinai, and Zion. Now the author of Hebrews is going to challenge us.
Verse 25: "See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?"
Again we’re getting a comparison between the two mountains. The Hebrew nation traveling through the wilderness was warned by Moses, obey the Lord, follow the Lord, don’t turn aside to idols. But as scripture says, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. The generation that was delivered from Egypt died in the wilderness without seeing the promised land, except for Moses (saw it), Joshua and Caleb (went in).
Similarly, we today are on a journey through another wilderness. The wilderness of this world. This world is not our home. The author of Hebrews challenges us, do not turn away from the God who speaks from heaven. If they didn’t escape in the wilderness of sin (Exodus 16:1), how will we escape in our wilderness of sin, if we turn away from the living God?
I’ve seen it happen many times. A once dedicated believer begins to drift away from the Lord, and eventually they end up back in the world, worse off than before. Guard against this danger. Hold fast to the Lord. He who endures to the end shall be saved. Indeed, much of the book of Hebrews deals with this command: Do not fall away. Do not drift. Hold close to the word of truth.
Next, verses 26-27: "26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[e] 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain."
At Mount Sinai God’s voice when he spoke, shook the Earth. But now, God promises he will not only shake the Earth, but also the heavens. What does that mean? The author of Hebrews tells us, the “once more” statement points to an end, and a new beginning. Meaning, we currently dwell in the old heavens and old earth system. They will be removed, destroyed, and replaced with the new heavens and new earth discussed in Revelation 21 and 22. That is one form of shaking, shaking that removes the old and reveals the new.
Another form of shaking, is how God "shakes" us. God shakes us from time to time through trials and difficulties, so we are slowly becoming mature, we become spiritual, which is to be unshakable. But the shaking will continue on the Earth, and the culmination is the end times talked about in Revelation, leading to the end of the old system, and the beginning of a new system, new heavens and new earth.
When the author writes, what cannot be shaken may remain, he’s talking about you.
Lastly, verses 28-29: "28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Let’s pull all this together: We are receiving an eternal kingdom as our inheritance: The new city of God, the new Jerusalem. We must not turn aside on the journey. We must not let ourselves be distracted by worldly pursuits.
I’ve seen so many different layers and levels of being a Christian. From a Christian who you can barely tell they’re a believer, to a Christian who is growing but still caught in sins, to a Christian who is devoted but distracted by the world at the same time, to a fully devoted believer who is truly on fire for Jesus. My only challenge to you is, to have the mindset of slowly giving more and more of yourself to Jesus. See it as a spectrum in which you’re moving from one end to the other. You do that through slow gradual changes. If you do that, you’ll be moving toward full devotion, and arrive there one day.
Therefore, let us be thankful for what is coming. It’s exciting. Let us thank God every day for the good things he provides. And let us then worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Going all the way back to Mount Sinai and Moses standing in front of the burning bush, the scriptures say, the bush burned but was not consumed by the fire. God was even speaking to Moses in the bush, saying to him, if you believe in me, you will be like the bush, a clay pot, average, but you will carry the fire of God within you. And it will not harm you. It will not consume you. It will burn within you.
So it is for us as Christians. The Holy Spirit of God burns within us. The fire of God does not consume us, it burns within us, and we are consumed with Him.
You will be consumed by something in life, let that thing that we are consumed with, be God.
Consumed with, or consumed by.
The choice is ours: Countless souls are being consumed by the fire of God in a place called hell. They did not seek God. They refused God. And so the fire consumed them.
But we know God. We have accepted his son Jesus into our hearts. And so we are led by the flame of God. It does not consume us. It does not harm us. We’ve allowed that fire to forge us and mold us and shape us. And so we now carry the flame within us, but more so, it carries us.
You may be wondering: How do I apply this to my life? The application for today is simple: See yourself as on a journey to the eternal city of God. See yourself as a pilgrim on the Earth. See yourself as one who carries and follows the flame of God within you. And if you have that mindset about your life and your journey, that God is writing your story, you will be seeing the world rightly, and that is truth, and when you see through the lenses of truth, you will succeed, because the truth will set you free.
Does this mean that Mount Sinai was bad, or that the law was wrong? Not at all. The law was perfect. It displayed God’s perfect standard. And Jesus did not do away with the law, he fulfilled the law, he lived under the law, and he perfectly obeyed the law for us.
But now the sprinkled blood of Jesus speaks a new word over us, not like the word Abel’s blood spoke, crying out for justice. Instead, Jesus’ blood cries out a new word over us: Justified. Redeemed. Forgiven. Innocent.
This blood of Jesus covered us, covered over our sins, and we were declared clean. But it did more than that. It didn’t end there, it began there. When Jesus was pierced on Calvary by the spear, a flow of blood and water came from his side.
Jesus said, (John 4:14) “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
This represents the Holy Spirit. The blood covers us, and instantly we are born again, of water and the spirit, and this begins our journey toward the eternal city, like a spring within us, bubbling up toward eternal life.
Again, turn back to Revelation, 22:1-5: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
That is your destiny. That is your future. The living water bubbling up within you now, is the water that flows down the great main street of the city of God. And it flows from the Father and the Lamb, down from the throne like a waterfall, and toward the tree of life. That is the city we long for, that is the place our hearts long to be. No place really feels like home in this life, our hearts always long for something more. They long for this city, for the God at the center of this city, and the adventure we shall enjoy for all eternity at this city, and in the new heavens and new earth. Praise God!
So we’ve looked at the two mountains, Sinai, and Zion. Now the author of Hebrews is going to challenge us.
Verse 25: "See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?"
Again we’re getting a comparison between the two mountains. The Hebrew nation traveling through the wilderness was warned by Moses, obey the Lord, follow the Lord, don’t turn aside to idols. But as scripture says, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. The generation that was delivered from Egypt died in the wilderness without seeing the promised land, except for Moses (saw it), Joshua and Caleb (went in).
Similarly, we today are on a journey through another wilderness. The wilderness of this world. This world is not our home. The author of Hebrews challenges us, do not turn away from the God who speaks from heaven. If they didn’t escape in the wilderness of sin (Exodus 16:1), how will we escape in our wilderness of sin, if we turn away from the living God?
I’ve seen it happen many times. A once dedicated believer begins to drift away from the Lord, and eventually they end up back in the world, worse off than before. Guard against this danger. Hold fast to the Lord. He who endures to the end shall be saved. Indeed, much of the book of Hebrews deals with this command: Do not fall away. Do not drift. Hold close to the word of truth.
Next, verses 26-27: "26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[e] 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain."
At Mount Sinai God’s voice when he spoke, shook the Earth. But now, God promises he will not only shake the Earth, but also the heavens. What does that mean? The author of Hebrews tells us, the “once more” statement points to an end, and a new beginning. Meaning, we currently dwell in the old heavens and old earth system. They will be removed, destroyed, and replaced with the new heavens and new earth discussed in Revelation 21 and 22. That is one form of shaking, shaking that removes the old and reveals the new.
Another form of shaking, is how God "shakes" us. God shakes us from time to time through trials and difficulties, so we are slowly becoming mature, we become spiritual, which is to be unshakable. But the shaking will continue on the Earth, and the culmination is the end times talked about in Revelation, leading to the end of the old system, and the beginning of a new system, new heavens and new earth.
When the author writes, what cannot be shaken may remain, he’s talking about you.
Lastly, verses 28-29: "28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Let’s pull all this together: We are receiving an eternal kingdom as our inheritance: The new city of God, the new Jerusalem. We must not turn aside on the journey. We must not let ourselves be distracted by worldly pursuits.
I’ve seen so many different layers and levels of being a Christian. From a Christian who you can barely tell they’re a believer, to a Christian who is growing but still caught in sins, to a Christian who is devoted but distracted by the world at the same time, to a fully devoted believer who is truly on fire for Jesus. My only challenge to you is, to have the mindset of slowly giving more and more of yourself to Jesus. See it as a spectrum in which you’re moving from one end to the other. You do that through slow gradual changes. If you do that, you’ll be moving toward full devotion, and arrive there one day.
Therefore, let us be thankful for what is coming. It’s exciting. Let us thank God every day for the good things he provides. And let us then worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Going all the way back to Mount Sinai and Moses standing in front of the burning bush, the scriptures say, the bush burned but was not consumed by the fire. God was even speaking to Moses in the bush, saying to him, if you believe in me, you will be like the bush, a clay pot, average, but you will carry the fire of God within you. And it will not harm you. It will not consume you. It will burn within you.
So it is for us as Christians. The Holy Spirit of God burns within us. The fire of God does not consume us, it burns within us, and we are consumed with Him.
You will be consumed by something in life, let that thing that we are consumed with, be God.
Consumed with, or consumed by.
The choice is ours: Countless souls are being consumed by the fire of God in a place called hell. They did not seek God. They refused God. And so the fire consumed them.
But we know God. We have accepted his son Jesus into our hearts. And so we are led by the flame of God. It does not consume us. It does not harm us. We’ve allowed that fire to forge us and mold us and shape us. And so we now carry the flame within us, but more so, it carries us.
You may be wondering: How do I apply this to my life? The application for today is simple: See yourself as on a journey to the eternal city of God. See yourself as a pilgrim on the Earth. See yourself as one who carries and follows the flame of God within you. And if you have that mindset about your life and your journey, that God is writing your story, you will be seeing the world rightly, and that is truth, and when you see through the lenses of truth, you will succeed, because the truth will set you free.
How do you see your life? Let God define it. You are journeying home to the New Jerusalem.
