If you'll take your Bibles and
turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Tonight we'll be looking at verses
18 through verse 24. I've entitled this message Comforts
for the Fainting Heart. Comforts for the Fainting Heart. The Apostle Paul is writing this
letter to the Hebrews who were at this time under great tribulation. They were under great oppression,
and they were being tempted to go back to that old covenant. They were tempted to go away
from Christ. Through many trials, they were
put under many difficulties and many stresses. And Paul is writing
to them, and he says this in verse 12. He says, Wherefore,
lift up your hands that hang down, and the feeble knees. He is speaking to fainting hearts. He is speaking to those who are
drooping in their spirit, those who are believers in Christ,
who are in great trouble. Now, if you're a believer in
Christ, you and I know this very well, that this life for us is
full of trouble, full of temptations, full of griefs and sorrows. We who are the chosen of God,
imagine that, we are chosen of God. elect, ordained objects
of great effectual love and mercy, we who have been eternally put
into union with Jesus Christ, who displayed His great love
by giving Himself for our sins and dying for our sins, He who
loved us unto the end, He who is now ascended to the throne
of God, He who by His Spirit has given
us life and faith in Christ. It was the calling and quickening
of the Holy Spirit that we were brought from our dead spiritual
condition to confess our sins. And by faith we have fled to
Christ. We have laid hold of that hope
set before us. And what have we found? We found
peace. We found joy. We found love in
Christ. But you know what else we found?
Trouble. Trouble, tribulations, trials. We have forgiveness of sins.
All the blessings that are in Christ are ours. And yet, what
do we experience? We experience trouble. These
believers experience trouble. We too, as believers in Christ,
we are the sons of God. Can you grab a hold of that?
You're the sons of God. Listen to what John said. He
said, Behold, what manner of love What kind of love is this? Consider the love of God. What
manner of love is this? Eternal, effectual, immutable
love. And what did this love do? It
bestowed upon us. It is bestowed upon us. How?
By Christ being sent to be the propitiation for our sins. There's
a manifestation of love, isn't it? Well, I don't know if God
loves me. Well, did He not send His Son? If you're looking at, you know,
you woke up this morning, you're sick, you woke up this morning
and you lost all your possessions. That's not manifest of God's
hatred towards you. Now if you woke up this morning
and all of a sudden you were rich, is that God's manifest
love to you? What if everything was well today
and you went through life and there was no trouble? Is that
a manifestation of God's love? No. The manifestation of God's
love is this. He sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. There's the manner of God's love. Listen, that we should be called
the sons of God. This speaks of purpose. He's not even in this part talking
about Presently. He's saying, from eternity we
were purposed to be called the sons of God. And what's the result of this?
The world doesn't know us, even as it doesn't know Him. Beloved,
listen. Now, the purpose is fulfilled. Now, what? We are the sons of
God. Presently. Right now. You who believe, Right now, you
are the sons of God. You were purposed to be the sons. Behold, the man of love that
purposed you to be his sons. Now, by effectual grace, presently,
at the appointed time of his calling, you are now presently
the sons of God. And you know what? It does not
yet appear what we shall be. Go look in the mirror. Tell me
you can see a son of God there. Look at the thoughts of your
mind in the last hour and tell me you can see you're a son of
God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be. What's our hope? Our hope is
this. When He shall appear, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. We know this. As believers, Jesus bore our
sins. in his own body on the tree.
He has already suffered the just for the unjust, that we might
be holy sons." Holy sons. But it does not yet appear. Look at your experience and tell
me, does it appear that you're a son of God? When Lazarus had the dogs licking
his sores, does it appear he was a son of God? No. It doth not yet appear both in
our minds and hearts, nor doth it appear in providence that
we are the sons of God. It doth not yet appear. Why is that? Because right now
we still bear the old nature. You and I still bear this. old
corrupt Adamic nature, full of corruption and sin. We are still
in a corrupt world. We are still being attacked by
a devil, by an enemy of God constantly. And because of this, what happens?
We're in trouble. Troubles all around us. First of all, there's common
trouble. Every believer has common trouble. Because you're a child
of God, because you're a son of God, because you're an elect
child of God, does that escape you from common troubles? No.
Believers get sick, believers have sorrows, believers have
difficulties, pains and deaths, just like everyone else. But what a believer has that
a lost man doesn't is another kind of trouble. This is the
trouble of these believers that cause their hands to hang down
and their feet weak, their knees to be weak, is this, spiritual
troubles. We have spiritual troubles and
this only compounds common troubles, doesn't it? When you have a common
trouble, what's the first thing you think of? You think of what
have I done? Why is God punishing me? Why
is God chastening me? Why am I sick? Why am I suffering? A lost person doesn't think anything
like that. They don't have a spiritual thought
in their head. Our common troubles are compounded
by our spiritual ones. Why? Because there are two natures
in a believer. There are two natures. The old
nature of sin and the new nature that God has created in us that's
holy. Paul said these two are contrary
one to another. There's a warfare that is enraged
inside of us daily, constantly. And so then we have struggles,
we have trials, we have enemies. What is your
greatest enemy? I was talking to a man this week
He was talking about troubles, he and I were talking about troubles,
but who is the greatest foe you face? I tell you, self. Self is the greatest enemy. That
conflict that is within you is one that you never can escape. You go out in the woods and you
can escape the world. Satan is not omnipresent. He
can't be everywhere at once. But wherever you go, there you
are. Self. We have a struggle within
our own breast. Our spiritual troubles go farther
than a common outward trouble. They go deep into our soul. The
struggle with sin lies at the very heart of our being. The two natures warring within
our own body, not for morality, not for the praise of men, but
for the love of God, for the glory of God. There's a struggle
there. And this righteousness we long
for, it cannot be found by our works or by our doing. It can
only be found in this, am I in Christ? That's the only thing
that can settle our conscience. It's the only thing that can
give us any peace in this warfare. Am I in Christ? Because only in Christ alone
can I find righteousness and peace with God. Thus we who believe
in Christ, who seek to put off this old man, we seek to put
off sin and self. And we preach this that salvation
is only in Christ. We know this. You who are believers,
you understand that. Salvation is only in Christ. It's not by the works of the
flesh. It's not by the merits of man. It's by Christ. And you
know when we preach this gospel, we have this struggle inside.
But when this gospel that we declare is preached outwardly,
we have another enemy. The world. When you preach salvation
is of the Lord, and not of the works or will of man, you will
find a very real enemy in the world. The world will hate you
because of this gospel we preach. So you have an enemy that causes
you to be cast down, self. You have an enemy on the outside,
the world, who constantly is trying to either draw you from
Christ or punish you because you're in Christ. And then the
other enemy is Satan. Satan is a real enemy, friends.
He's not a mythological creature. He's a real enemy. He's a roaring lion, the Scripture
said, seeking whom he may devour. And so then, my first point is
this. Believers in Christ, we have troubles. And these troubles
can surely cause our hands to hang down. He's talking about
one that's bowed over ready to fall, ready to faint. Have you ever been there? I copied this poem. It says,
every air of endless bliss passing through this wilderness finds
his journey to the end, vexed with trouble, vexed with sin. This is God's all-wise decree. May He give us grace to see Thus
He weans us from earth's vanity and earth's myth. Pains and sorrows,
sins and woes, Satan's roars and countless foes, every day
are way opposed. Still, God's grace sufficient
proves He is strong, faithful and true. He will guide us safely
through all that now our soul's distress will increase our endless
bliss. See then our troubles and the
vanity and vexation of this fleeting world. But look now to the joy
that's set before us. That's what Paul is going to
do. Look at what he says. He said, lift up those... He
said, make straight your paths for your feet, lest that which
be lame turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed.
And so he's going to give us in our text I believe there are
nine things in this text, in verses 18 through verse 24, that
the apostle is going to give those who have feeble knees,
those who have hands who hang down, those who are ready to
faint. Are you ready to faint? If you're not yet, wait a minute.
We will. And I believe there are nine
things in these verses that the apostle here gives us to comfort
us so that we might be strengthened. You want to be strengthened.
Or do you have need of being strengthened? I do. I have need
of strength. And the strength comes from the
Word of God that does not change. It's immutable. You know, this
text has been here long before I ever preached it. And it'll
be long here after I leave this world. What? For the comfort
of feeble believers, for faint believers. Let's read this text
together in verse 18. He says, lift up your hands and
strengthen your feeble knees. Four, verse 18, four. You are
not come to the mount which might be touched, that burned with
fire, nor under darkness and blackness, and darkness and tempest. and the sound of the trumpet
and the voice of words, which voice? They that heard entreated
that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. For they could
not endure that which was commanded, and if so much a beast touched
a mountain, it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart."
This is the first thing that I want you to see here for your
comfort. Absolute freedom from the law. absolute, complete freedom from
the law. You who are believers in Christ,
listen, He gives us a negative so that it might be positive.
Here's the negative. You are not come to this mountain.
Isn't this good? This mountain, does it sound
good? This mount that's shake, this mount that quake, this mount
that here is talking about Mount Sinai. That day when the apostle
speaking of that day when God descended upon Mount Sinai to
give the law. And he makes a pretty good description
of this mountain. Let's go back to Exodus and see
the real mountain here in Exodus 19. Exodus 19. And look at verse 16. says it came to pass the third
day in the morning that there were thunderings and lightnings
and a thick cloud upon the mount and the voice of the trumpet
exceeding loud. So that all the people that was
in the camp, listen, trembled. And Moses brought forth the people
out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the nether
part of the mount. And Mount Sinai was altogether
on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. And
the smoke thereof ascended as a smoke of a furnace, and the
whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet
sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and
God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon Mount
Sinai at the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses up
to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said
to Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through,
and the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests,
therefore, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves,
lest the Lord break forth upon them. So Moses went down, and
look what happens in chapter 20. We'll go to chapter 20 in
verse 18. It says, And all the people saw the thunderings, and
the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mount
smoking. And the people saw it, and they removed. What did they do? They ran. They
stood far off. They weren't at the nether part
of the mountain anymore. They got away. And what did they
say to Moses? They said, Moses, speak thou
with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us
lest we die. And later on, God said, they
said right. They said right. By this, I want you to understand
something. This is the true nature of the law. This mountain is
a true physical representation of the law of God in relationship
to man. See then the true nature of the
law, forbidding the approach of man unto God, except he be
holy. And when the law is lawfully
used, this is always the response of man. When it's used lawfully
and man is made sensible of God's holiness and His sinfulness,
this is always the response. Give me a mediator. Remember
what they said to Moses? Moses, listen, you go up for
us and you tell us what God says. You mediate between us and God,
else we die. The law of God was never intended
to save or help you to God. It was never intended. to save
sinners, rather it was meant to expose sin. Go to Romans chapter 3 and see
this. Romans chapter 3. Paul here describes our nature
in verses 10. He says, There is none righteous,
no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of
the way. They're all together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. Now that's our nature. Look at verse 19 and see the
purpose of the law. Now we know that whatsoever things
the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law. Listen,
tonight, is there anyone under my voice who desires to come
to God by this mountain? Anyone who desires to come to
God by the law, you are under the law. And the law speaks to
you, and this is the purpose of the law, that every mouth
may be stopped and all the world become guilty before God. That's
it. Period. There's the purpose of
the law. Therefore, what? By the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. You see, you come to God by this
mount. The only hope for you is that
you can be perfect. If you can't be perfect in yourself,
there's no hope for you. Not here. And what did Paul say? There's no hope for you, none
righteous. No, not one. What does he conclude? Therefore,
by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. The law
has one purpose, to expose sin. Look at Galatians chapter 3.
Remember, in Galatia, they were trying to add one law to the
gospel of Christ. circumcision, just one law. And what did Paul say in Galatians
3.10? He says, as many as are of the works of the law are under
the curse. For it is written, curses everyone
that continueth not, and listen, all things written in the book
of the law to do them. How many people today want to
pick and choose things out of the law? They say, well, you
know, I believe in the Sabbath they worship. Well, I believe
you should have a Passover feast. Why believe? No, you pick one,
you take the whole thing. Well, thou shalt not lie. Well,
if that's where you're going to God, you need to take everything
else with it. You don't get to pick and choose
which part of the law you want to obey. If you take one, you
take the whole thing. And you come to God by this mountain,
that quake, this mountain that is thundering and lightning and
blackness and smoke and death. That's the way you come to God.
And what does it say? No flesh will be justified. You're
under the curse of the law. It's written, curse everyone
that continues not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them. But that no man is justified by the law of God.
Listen, it's evident. Didn't you just read what happened
there? Isn't that evidence you can't
come to God this way? It's evident. It's evident because the scripture
said the just shall live by faith. If anybody's gonna be justified,
it's justified by faith. The law is not a faith. You got
that? The law is not a faith. You can't
come this way and say you've come to God by faith. The law
is not a faith. But the man that doeth them shall
live in them. If you live by one of them, you
have to live by all of them. But this is not how we come to
God, is it? Paul says, you have not come. Hang down, listen to me. You've
not come to God this way. How did you come to God? Look
back in your text. He says in verse 22, but you
are come by another mouth. Mount Sinai. And that's what
Paul says in verse 13 of Galatians chapter 3. He said, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law. How being made a curse
for us, for it is written, curses everyone that hangeth upon a
tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of
the Spirit through faith. See, believer, we are not under
the curse of the law. By nature, we failed to obey
the law. We hated the law. But now, listen,
through Christ, you listen, by Him becoming a curse, as our
mediator, we say to Christ, You go up for us. We cannot go up
this way. You go up for us. And Christ
did, and He was made a curse for us. so that we might be free from
the curse of the law. By Him bearing our sins in His
own body on the tree, the law of God smote the Son of God in
our stead. He was thrust through with the
dart of God's wrath. Therefore, we who are in Him,
are free from this mountain. Now listen, if sin is causing
you a problem, I want you to know this, what law condemns
you? Will you say the law of God?
No. Why? Christ was made a curse
for us. Christ redeemed us from the law. by being made a curse for us.
Therefore, we are free from the law because His sacrifice satisfied
the law. Satisfied, fulfilled the law
of God by His obedience as a sinless man, He obtained for us everlasting
righteousness. By His obedience unto death,
He satisfied the penalty of the law. His blood extinguished the
fire of Mount Sinai. There is no more fire. There
is no more justice for us. The law cannot condemn us anymore. Christ satisfied the law of God. So now, by faith in Christ, we
have been justified. Justified. The righteousness
he merited by his faith is now given to us. Through grace, we have been given
faith in Jesus Christ. So then right now, and always,
you can rejoice in this, you are absolutely free from the
law in every part. Every part. You are no longer
under that covenant of law, but under grace. You are not come
to God by this mountain. Aren't you thankful? Remember
old Pilgrim, Pilgrim's Progress, he tried to go that way. And
you remember what he saw? He said that mountain, that he
saw that mountain thundering, his burden got so much more heavy
as he approached. He couldn't make it. Well, that's
because we don't go that way. We don't go that way. Paul says, wherefore, my brethren,
you also become dead to the law by the body of Christ. Man's
sentenced to death, and he's executed. What then can the law
do to that man? Nothing. The sentence is satisfied. And through the body of Christ,
we all died. The law looks at us and sees
the two. He's dead. I can't say anything
to him. He's satisfied. The law is satisfied. Therefore, Paul says in Romans
10, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone that believes it. Therefore, let no man put this
yoke of bondage back on you. If any man puts this on you,
he's one of two things. He's either a false preacher
or he's ignorant. Oh, Peter did, and he was ignorant,
wasn't he? He tried to go with those Jews, and Paul had to correct
him on that. I like this hymn, don't you?
Oh, from the law, oh, happy condition. Why are you free from the law?
Jesus is bled, and there's remission. Cursed by the law and bruised
by the fall, Christ hath redeemed us once for all. Once for all. That's the first thing. Now,
you didn't come by this mountain. That should give you some pep.
That should give you some lift, shouldn't it? Free from the law.
There's no law. In other words, God does not
in any time in your existence look upon you in wrath or anger. I know you feel that way. I know
your conscience makes you feel that way. I know at times when
His presence is no longer felt, you assume He has left you and
hates you. Listen, He can't. Why? He's satisfied. The law is satisfied. You didn't come to God this way.
Thank God that wasn't the way. Aren't you glad? I'm glad too.
The second thing is this. You have access to God. Not only
didn't you come to God this way, you came by Christ. You came
by Mount Zion. Listen, you have access to God. Now this should be a great comfort
to you. Look down at 22. You didn't come
by law. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth. How did you come?
You are come unto Mount Zion. Mount Zion. See, now Paul sets
the contrast, doesn't he? There's a mountain over here.
And it's burning. And then there's a mountain over
here, and there's joy. Isn't that where they had the
feasts? They had those feasts, those
celebrations. And Zion, that's where the great day of atonement
was. It was a joyous place. It was a place where God met
with men in perfect peace. And over here, death. Over here,
life. You see, he sets a contrast.
He said, you didn't come this way. This is how you came. You
came to Mount Zion. Mount Zion is an approachable
mountain. It is. It's an approachable mountain. Zion was where the temple was.
It was a place where God manifested His presence, not in fire and
justice. Remember, God was in that temple
all the time. And yet there was no fire. Why
is that? Because every year they had that
feast, that great day of atonement. All the sacrifices were done
there. Which pictured what? Christ. It pictured Christ and
His offering. Go to Hebrews chapter 9. Flip over to Hebrews chapter
9. And look at this. Paul tells us this. In chapter
9 and verse 11, He said, but Christ being come
in high priest. You see those high priests? They were just
a picture. Christ being come in high priest of good things
to come, a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands.
That is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained for us eternal redemption. Look at verse
24 now. said, For Christ is not entered
into the holy place made with hands, which are figures of the
true, but into heaven itself to appear before the presence
of God for us. Isn't that what we wanted? We
wanted a mediator. We couldn't come by Sinai. We
got to come by Zion. And in Zion, there's a mediator.
He said, Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high
priest entered into the holy place once every year with the
blood of others. or he must have often been sacrificed since the
foundation of the world, but now, listen, once, at the end
of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself, and as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after
this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many, and unto them that look unto him shall appear a
second time without sin to salvation. See, Jesus, our High Priest,
offered one sacrifice, and that of himself, and his blood opened
the way to God." That's what he's talking about. You've not
come by a way that's closed. Sinai is closed. Zion is open. Why? Because Christ has rent
the veil that separated us from God. Even in the Old Testament,
it was a place of joy and peace, but they had to keep doing it.
There was no rest. There was no end to their sacrificing. But Christ, the fulfillment,
has come, and now the way is open. It's open. It's accessible. Jesus said, I'm the way, the
truth, and the life. No man come to God but by me. Have you come to God by Christ?
Then listen, you've come this way. You've come by Mount Zion. And Zion's where God met with
man, in that temple, through the blood of offerings. But now,
Christ having fulfilled those types and shadows, listen, the
way is open. Is there any sinner who wants
to come to God by this way? It's open. It's open. Anyone, whosoever will, come.
Drink of the water of life freely. This way doesn't forbid anyone
to come, does it? Why? The sacrifice is made. The
atonement is made. The only reason you don't come
is because you want to add something. If you want to add something,
you've got to go to the other mountain. This mountain is free. This mountain
is open. This mountain the work is done.
You come by this mountain, Mount Zion, and listen, if you've come
by this way, you have constant, perpetual, instant access to
God always. Always. Paul says in Romans chapter 5,
he said, therefore being justified by faith. Whose faith? Whose
faith were you justified by? You were justified by the faith
of Christ. You received that justification by faith that was
given to you by the grace of God. You believed, and you received
that justification, and now we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we also have access, by faith, into
this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory
of God. Listen, if we're in trouble, if you've come by this way, then
you have access to God. You have access to God. I do love the picture. I think
it's in Psalm 135. He said, as they ascended up to Jerusalem,
it was a song of degrees, you know, they had to ascend up,
which is a picture of believers as we're coming and worshipping
God. It says, trust the Lord. And
as they were ascending up to Jerusalem, you know, he said,
they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion. You know one
thing about Mount Zion? It was surrounded by mountains. There was only one way in and
one way out. What a picture of Christ. He's the only way in. And once
in, Who else could get to you? No one can remove Mount Zion.
You know where Mount Zion is today? It's still in the same
place it was. Nobody's moved it. And if you're
in Christ, listen, nobody will move you. Why? You've come by
Mount Zion. Thirdly, consider this. You are
a citizen of heaven. You are a citizen of heaven.
Go back to your text. Not only did you not come by Mount Sinai,
you came by Mount Zion and now have access through Christ, having
been made free from the law, having peace with God, you come
by Mount Zion, he says, unto the city of the living God, heavenly
Jerusalem. Consider this now, believer,
our home, our country is not of this world. I think many of our troubles
is we take too much, we root down here too much. We think too much of our earthly
home. We think too much of our earthly country. When really,
we are citizens of heaven. We are citizens of heaven. We
have one king. Jesus. One ruler. One sovereign. Our treasure, our inheritance
is secured with God in Christ. Can you say that about any treasure
in this world? No. You know what happens to the
treasures of this world? Somebody either takes them or you die
and leave them. You don't keep anything. Nothing. What do you keep? Nothing. Nothing. But my treasure is not here.
It's hidden with Christ in God. It is a land, a treasure that
cannot be taken from us. It can never decay or rust or
be stolen. Therefore, we are like Abraham. We should consider ourselves
strangers and pilgrims in this world, sojourning here for the
service of God, for the calling of the elect, and for the comfort
and edification of his people. That's what we're here for. What
we're doing right now is what we're here for. This is what
we're here for. We're here to worship God. We're
here to serve God. I'm here to encourage God's people
to strengthen those who have feeble knees, those who have
hands that hang down. How? By telling you what God
says. By telling you God says this,
you have come to a heavenly city. You are citizens of a heavenly
city, an eternal city. And what did this citizenship
cost? Listen, it cost you nothing. It cost Christ everything. Consider
what he purchased. He bought us lock, stock, and
barrel. And since we're citizens of heaven,
we are servants of the King. We're not here to serve ourselves. We're here to serve our King.
To glorify our Lord. And so then Paul said this, I
pressed toward the mark. You know what we're doing? pressed
toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many be
perfect, mature, let us be thus minded. And if anything be otherwise
minded, God shall reveal this unto you. Nevertheless, whereunto
you have already attained, let us walk with the same rule, let
us mind the same thing. One thing about citizens of heaven,
we have the same mind. and we should be minding the
same thing. Brethren, he follows together of me and Mark them
which walk as so as you have us for an example. Verse 20 of
that chapter 3, he says, for our conversation, this is why
we do it, why we press toward the mark, why we are thus minded
to serve God, Because our conversation, our citizenship is in heaven
from whence we also look for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're citizens of heaven. Let
us then set our mind and affection on things above. Come on now, be honest. Isn't
most of our time spent in sorrow and grief because of what we
lose in this world? Because of things done to us
in this world? Isn't that why we sorrow so much? What if we set our affection
on things above? Do you think we would sorrow
less? I believe we would. If we set
our affection. Paul said, set your affection.
Now, that word is singular, isn't it? All your affection. on things above. We're citizens of heaven, so
we're not come by the law, praise God, we've come by Christ. We've
come to God, and we've come to God by Christ being free from
the law, we have access to God. And we have access to God, listen,
we are citizens of heaven. Number, this next one here, to
an innumerable company of angels, I won't spend much time here
because I don't have any clue. I don't know much about angels. What
I do know is this, that they are ministering spirits sent
to minister to God's saints. Paul says that in Hebrews 1,
verse 14. They're ministering spirits.
That's what they do. They serve God's people. You got that? Angels serve God's
people. Not at our command, but at our
Father's command. You know, one angel killed 185,000
men. And yet the Scripture tells us
that we are surrounded by an innumerable company of angels. Isn't that what Elijah said?
Elijah, that captain came out and he started saying, you need
to get out of here! Come on out of here! King summons
you! And his servant was afraid. He
said, don't you see how much they got? And he said, open his
eyes, Lord, let him see. And he saw the innumerable company
of angels around him, chariots of fire. Why do you think Elijah
wasn't afraid? He wasn't afraid. I'll tell you
this, you shouldn't be afraid. God has his angels watching over
us, protecting us, guarding us, They're just ministering spirits.
What a blessing this is to us. The next thing is that we possess
all the treasure of heaven as sons of God. Look at this next
part. To a numeral company of angels
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written
in heaven. Who's the firstborn? That's Christ. Under the law, you get this,
only the firstborn had access to the inheritance, right? Well,
under this new covenant, the firstborn, who has access to
all the inheritance, shares it with all the other sons. No,
not just shares it, gives it to all the other sons. Whatever
the firstborn has, he gives to the church. All that Christ has is yours. Now, what does Christ have? Better yet, what does Christ
not have? What does Christ not possess? Doesn't Paul say this? All things
are yours. Now, what does that mean? It
means exactly what it says, all things are yours. Why? Because all things belong to
Him. He is the firstborn and we are His sons. Heirs and joint heirs, Paul said,
with Jesus Christ. So you are the General Assembly
and Church of the Firstborn. How do you know that you have
all spiritual blessings? That's what Paul said, blessed
be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
According as he had chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy without blame. See, we
didn't come by law. Holy without blame, free from
the law, we're holy. without blame before Him, in
love, having predestinated us on the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ unto Himself, to the praise and the glory of His
grace, wherein He hath made us accepted." See, there's our access
to God. We have access. We've come by
Zion. We have access. We're citizens. We're heirs of
God. Now, how do you know? How do you know your name is
written down? I heard this story. An old British
soldier was telling another man, he says, that in Parliament they
had a book. And in this book, the names of
all the soldiers who served the king were written down. And the
young man being skeptical, he says, well, how do you know your
name is written down? Well, he says, every month I
receive money. Every month I receive money from
the government because I was a soldier and my name is written
down. How do you know your name is
written down? Here it is. Faith. Do you believe in the
Son of God? Have you come by Sinai or you
come by Zion? If you've come by Zion, if you've
come by Christ, your name is written down. You are the church
of the firstborn. Your name has been written down
and all the blessings of Christ are yours. Listen, you've come
to God. Here's the next thing. You've
come to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of just men
made perfect. Listen, you've come to the judge. If you've come by Christ, you've
come to God. The judge of all. And you know what this judge
of all does? He says, justify. You've come
to God, the judge of all. Now, when they came by Sinai,
did they come to God? Could they come to God? Could
they approach God? But we who have come by Zion,
we come to God as the judge and we come freely. Why? We've been justified. Just like
all the other saints before us. That's what he's saying. He said,
look, you've come to the judge of all and to the saints of just
men made perfect. You've come to the judge and
you've been made perfect. You're justified. Isn't it going
to be glorious to be able to sit down with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob? Isn't it going to be glorious
to sit down with our brethren who have gone before us? The Scripture says we're running
the race of faith and they're cheering us on. Their faith that has gone before
us, they made it. What does that tell me? Why? Because they were kept,
I'll be kept. They were made perfect, I'll
be made perfect. And this next thing, look at
this, here's a comforting thing, you've come to Jesus, the mediator
of the new covenant. You see, we've not come by the
covenant of works, we've come by the covenant of grace. You've
come to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. The mediator
of the new covenant. The old covenant was one of works
and laws and merits, but seeing we are free from the law by Christ
and partakers of the new covenant of grace. Look now, you weary saint, and
behold the one you've come to, Jesus. Jesus. There is one mediator
between God and man. What? The man, Jesus Christ. And in that covenant, you listen
to me, listen to this very carefully, He is the surety of that covenant. What does that mean? He's the
one that guarantees the fulfillment of that covenant. The whole covenant
is dependent on Him. The whole thing. If He succeeds,
We're all saved. If he fails, no one is saved. What does it say? By his one
offering, he has perfected forever them that are sanctified. He
was successful. You have come to a successful
Savior, the mediator of a new covenant, one of grace and not
of works. And listen, you are come to the
sprinkling, the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than
that of Abel. This eternal covenant speaks
nothing like the law. Put the mountains in front of
you and what do you see? You see one that burns, one that
thunders, one that quakes, one that nobody can come to God.
And this is the other one we've come by. We've come to Mount
Zion where the sacrifice has been made, where the way is open,
where we have access to God. We have come now because we are
citizens of a heavenly kingdom. We come now because Christ is
the mediator of the new covenant. And by His blood that has been
sprinkled on our hearts, we cannot be removed. Cannot
be removed from this. Our salvation is sure. Why? The covenant speaks better things
than that of Abel. What does Abel's blood speak
of? Justice. What does Christ's blood demand?
Mercy. Mercy. Listen, it demands mercy. You know what it says? Faith. Faith. Father, I will that they be with
me. Those that you give me, I will,
they be with me. My blood demands it. That's how
we come in it. Why then do we faint? Weak people. But I'm so thankful
we've come this way, aren't you? I'm thankful by God's grace we've
come the way of Zion. And that what God has made us
in Christ, acceptable, holy, perfect, just, heirs. I pray that if you've not come
to Christ, why? Why have you not come? Come now. Follow us as we follow Him. Believe on Him and you will be
saved. What a blessing. I pray that
you would do that.