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We come today to Hebrews chapter 12. So if you have your Bibles, it will be great if you could turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12 and we will be looking at the last portion of this chapter, but this morning I'd like us to consider the topic of mountains. You didn't hear wrongly, we're gonna consider the topic of mountains and you might be familiar with a few mountains in your life, isn't it? Maybe you are familiar with Mount Faber. Okay, I know it is not a mountain, but that's the only thing we could call a mountain here, Mount Faber, but you might be familiar also with Mount Fuji in Tokyo or how about Mount Everest in the Himalayas? Does anyone then know what is this mountain, Mount?.. Mount Sinai or at least what people think is Mount Sinai.

Well, this is a picture of it, but Mount Sinai didn't always look like this, because once upon a time Mount Sinai was a place of terror. There were smoke and fire, lightning and thunder. It happened during the times of Moses, the Bible tells us that it looks something like this: Black smokey, fiery with trumpet blasts all around. This is recorded for us in Exodus chapter 19. The Bible says there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

So when the people of Israel were nearing the mountain they could sense that terror. They were scared, they were horrified because they knew that they were a sinful people and they were drawing near to a holy God and God made sure they see that. So it continues in Deuteronomy, they say, 'Now, therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, we shall die'.

So this is a scene of terror, judgment, condemnation of a sinful people before a holy God. Now, the author of Hebrews assumes that the readers are very familiar with this scene in Exodus and so he says to them, 'For you have not come to what may be touched, (a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice)'. So if I may summarize that, he's saying, 'You have not come to Sinai'. Now Mount Sinai here is a picture, is a representation- of judgment, of terror, of condemnation. It's a picture of people who try to approach God through the obedience of the law. This is where the 10 commandments are given, and God is saying: If you try to draw near to me by obeying the 10 Commandments to earn my favor, you will never make it, you will always stand in a position of terror and condemnation and judgment because there is no one who could ever keep God's laws perfectly.

And so the author here says: You did not come to Sinai because you are followers of Jesus, you know better than that. You know that the way to God is not through obedience of the law because it is "Mission impossible". You can never justify yourself through your own efforts. It's doomed to failure, so, you have not come to Mount Sinai but instead you have followed Jesus, you have trusted in Him, you have believed that He came to die for your sins, you have believed that His blood is able to cleanse you from all sin. You believe that He rose again and now He has established a new way to God, not via your own works, but through Jesus' sacrifice and that's why he says: You did not come to Sinai, but you've come to Mount Zion, the second mountain.

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So, there is Mount Sinai- Obedience to earn God's favor, doomed to failure, condemnation, terrors, judgment. But here is another way, this is where you have come. This is what you have known. This is what you have heard- Mount Zion. Now, Mount Zion here is probably not talking about a physical mountain in the southeast part of Jerusalem, that's not the mountain because the author is talking about a heavenly Mount Zion. It's obvious when you read on: 'To the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem'. So, he's saying: This is a picture of Heaven, where God dwells. This is where there are innumerable angels. Ten thousand times ten thousand, thousands of thousands, according to Revelation. So there are many angels in this Mount Zion- heavenly city, heavenly Jerusalem, and to this festive gathering. Basically, it's a word that means joyous celebration, this is a festive place. This is a joyous place. What a contrast to Mount Zion or to Mount Sinai, where there is fear and trembling.

Zion is confidence and boldness and joy and celebration, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. Now the firstborn are people who have a greater inheritance as we have shared in Esau's life. So, God is saying that you are coming to the place where they are heirs who inherit everything. As Christians we are heirs and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. Heaven will be a place where we will all be assembled together and to God, the judge of all. Interesting, that sinful man can stand before the Holy God. You say why? This is Mount Zion. This is where the righteous are gathered! Are they righteous by themselves? No, but they're righteous because of Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.

So, the first mountain Sinai is where I work to earn favor, but it would never work, because I can never obey the commandments completely. It's a place of judgment, and terror and failure. But you come to Mount Zion. This is where Jesus is the mediator. This is where Jesus gives you His righteousness because this is where He shed His blood to pay for your sins, His blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel, because the blood of Abel screams for justice but the blood of Jesus pays for justice and because of what Jesus has done, the people of God are made righteous, the people of God will be heirs and co-heirs, the people of God can have confidence to stand before God, the Judge of all, and we will all celebrate forever and ever. You who are a follower of Jesus, have come to Mount Zion.

Now the summary of it looks like this, the symbolic two mountains. Number one, there's the mountain of doom- Mount Sinai, this is where there is a fire and thick cloud and smoke and a trumpet blaring and this is where you say 'Do', but no one can do it perfectly and therefore it's a place of death. You have not come to this Mount, those who believe in Jesus, you don't come to this mountain. You don't stand before God in condemnation and judgment, why? Because you come to this mountain of Zion where the blood of Christ cleanses His people from all sin, where we've gathered together with innumerable angels, where we stand before the Judge of all, where there is celebration, henceforth, forevermore. So this represents two ways to God. Now if you're still not so clear, let me summarize it by comparing these two side by side in words.

So there is Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Mount Sinai speaks of an earthly method of justification, earthly method to get right with God: You do, you on Earth do. Well, Mount Zion says: I from heaven, sent. It's a heavenly way, it's an earthly and heavenly comparison. Mount Sinai speaks of getting to God by obedience of the law, Mount Zion speaks of God saving us through His grace, free, unmerited favor and love, poured out upon His people. Mount Sinai speaks: You do. Mount Zion says: Jesus had already done it, Jesus paid it all. Mount Sinai speaks about the old covenant which was never meant to remove our sins, but merely to remind you of your sins, and the new covenant is not here to remind you of sins only, but is able truly to remove your sins. Mount Sinai's message is "No trespassing. God is holy, you are sinful, stay away". Mount Zion is "Come near. Draw near to God with confidence and boldness because you come to the throne of grace."

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Mount Sinai speaks of bondage. Galatians 4 tells us, if you want to keep obeying the law to earn favor with God, you are under slavery, you're in bondage, because you'll never be delivered from it. But, Jesus comes to give us boldness. Mount Sinai says: You are condemned, Zion says: You are reconciled. Sinai says: There is Terror, Zion says: There is joy. Sinai says: There is death, but from Mount Zion, there is life forevermore.

So, my dear friends, there really is only two ways to God. The first way, Sinai is not meant really as a way, but as a lesson to show you we can't do it on our own. You see there really is only one way to God via the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if you are good or bad, because in God's eyes, there is none good anyway. But, this is the good news- that Jesus died for bad people, sinful people like as we are. So, there is only one way, the greater way through Jesus Christ and my friends, this is the masterful summary of Hebrews 1 to 11, according to the author and that's why we started this series saying this book of Hebrews is about Jesus being greater. He's greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than Joshua, greater than the great High priest in the Aaronic priesthood, because all those that have mentioned before, cannot remove sins. Only Jesus can.

He saves us completely and He saves us eternally. This week was Hari raya, right? And on Hari Raya day, my family and I- we were at Marine Cove, at the newly opened McDonald's, where there are cool stuff like charging your phone wirelessly. I have no idea how that works, but apparently, you can charge your phone wirelessly. But it was a bad mistake because it was absolutely crowded on Hari Raya. So all of us were a little bit flustered, claustrophobic.. so many people and it rained and it was crowded, but we managed to get a sacred seat at McDonald's, finally. And so we were having our lunch and my son was already a little bit flustered I think, and he suddenly threw a tantrum- Shawn through a tantrum. My younger son Matthias saw it and he immediately asked, 'Daddy, Mummy, where is Shawn going? Heaven or hell?' (Laughter in congregation) I asked Mathias: Where do you think korkor (meaning elder brother) is going? Hell! Because he's so naughty. Now I don't think we corrected him that time, or didn't say anything much except to laugh at it, I suppose.

At night, it was the usual Bible reading time and so we were reading through the same old picture Bible for them, I don't know how many times already. But we come now to the story of the Passover Lamb and in the story I told him about- He's very familiar with the story, but he wants me to say it again-  That's a plague, the 10th plague and God is going to kill all the firstborn males, but God had a plan for the Israelites: Get an innocent lamb, kill it and take its blood and apply it on the door post, and and if you do it, the Angel of death comes, sees the blood and he will pass over this family, no one within that family will be killed. So I told Matthias: Matthias, do you realize that God didn't say he will spare the good boys and kill the bad boys? As long as there is the blood of the lamb applied to the door everyone behind the blood will be saved.

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So I asked Shawn, who is in, the same time: Shawn, where would you go after you die? He said: I'll go to heaven. I said: Why? Because I believe in Jesus.

You see my friends, like John Newton said, I am a great sinner, but Jesus is a great savior. The point is not whether you are good or bad. Let me tell you one reality- Whether you like it or not, the Bible says we are all bad. In fact, so bad, so rotten, so twisted, so sinful that there is no way you can ever go to Sinai and say, 'I've earned my way to God'. But in God's rich mercy, He says, 'Let me give you my son'. He is the only way and though your sins be great, My Son is greater. Trust in Him, and that's the message of Hebrews. But let's not end here because the author didn't end here. After summarizing chapters 1 to 12, he goes on to have some applicatory thoughts. He says: First of all, see that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. Now it's really easy for us to take this for granted, including now- You may be saying, 'Hah, this is just another Sunday. Who cares what this is going on- I'm just going to do my religious due, I'll sit here, be good boy, good girl, quiet-quiet', and I think that's all I can expect out of this type.

Now this is serious stuff. You say: Why is it so serious? He says, 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. The author of Hebrews is saying: Now, when Israel disobeyed God, they were all doomed! Remember the golden calf? I remember how their carcasses died in the wilderness. See, disobedience to God has serious consequences. And he says, if that was so in the old covenant, imagine what you will receive when you despise grace, when you despise the giving of His Son, when you despise the spirit of grace. Now, there will remain no place of repentance for you if you are like Esau. That is what the author has always been harping on throughout the whole book of Hebrews: Judgment- In other words, it will be sure and severe.

He tells us, at that time His voice shook the earth. At Sinai, when God gave the 10 commandments, it was was serious stuff, His voice shook the earth. But there is another time, He says, when His voice will shake not just the earth but the heavens, but now he has promised: Yet once more, I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. You say, when is this spoken? Spoken in Haggai. Haggai 2:6 is way after Sinai, alright, it's way after that. And God says: You remember that Sinai incident? I'm going to do it one more time and this time it's going to be more severe, not just the earth but the entire cosmos. So, if we reject the Gospel of grace, if you refuse him who is speaking to you, if you say: I don't want Jesus, I don't need Jesus, He is not the savior, I can do it on my own. Then my friends, you are in deep trouble. Really, think about it. There is no other way for you to be right with God anymore, and if you refuse this, you turn your back on Christ. Wow. Wow.
And God is very serious about this, he has warned them over and over again. In Hebrews 2, he warned them: How shall you escape? How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? Tell me! Is there any other way? And then He says again in Hebrews 10: How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified, and has outraged the spirit of grace? You, especially, who are in church, hearing the Gospel, hearing the teaching of grace, of the new covenant, of the blood that was shed and now you turn your back all upon it. Imagine how much worse punishment you would get, and the punishment is sure.

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Just read Isaiah, read Revelation- of the way God is going to shake this world and I hope you will be trembling before the mighty God. So He says: Make sure you do not refuse Him who is speaking. Some of you have been Sunday school kids, you've grown up in this church, you've grown up in other churches, maybe you have become presumptuous over your spiritual life. I say, this is serious warning. I plead for your soul that you'll truly come to know God through Christ. But that's not all he said. He says in verse 28: Therefore let us be grateful, in the light of what Jesus has done, in the light of God's amazing provision of grace- Let us be grateful.

I believe Christians should be grateful people, don't you? Because God paid a debt that none of us could ever pay. He gave His Son for you and we should be a grateful people. I believe heaven will be a grateful place, full of gratitude. Why? Because everyone is going to heaven via Mount Zion, the grace of God. I believe one of the main reasons why no one is going to heaven through Mount Sinai, is because if people could get to heaven via Sinai, via their own efforts, via their own earning, by their own merit, then heaven will be a place of pride- a lot of- as we would say here, hao lian(proud) people. Ler Kua wah, look at me, I'm so good, I've done done all these things, I've served God, I helped the old lady, God has no choice but to accept me here, you know? If that is the case, I don't want to go to heaven, really. I cannot take it. Everybody hao lianing (showing off) around, including myself, but that's not heaven.

Heaven is a place of gratitude where undeserving sinners- absolutely are stunned for all eternity, that our God could love us so. And this gratitude is also rooted in the fact that we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Now the world today is very tumultuous. It's clear: Terrorism, bomb threats, diseases, rallies, movements that affect the family. It's just a tax on all fronts. Don't you feel shaken at times, in life? How we're going to be receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken? It is an eternal, secure inheritance from God- eternal, secure joy and communion with Him. So he says: Let us be grateful. But this gratitude is not just a feeling, it's not just a emotion, because this gratitude is an engine, it's a power. It's a motivation for us now. 'Let' and 'Thus'- that's the key thing, and 'Thus', 'Let' us offer to God acceptable worship.

So, the author right at the end of Hebrews 12 is making a significant transition point. For the first 11 chapters, he's giving doctrine, doctrine, doctrine- teaching and teaching and teaching and you might be wondering: I've heard so much, what am I supposed to do? Well the 'do' part is coming now. Chapter 13 is about what you do. Why, as a response of worship. And why would you want to serve God? Because you have come to Mount Zion, you have seen that God in His grace has given to you His Son. I believe the most powerful engine for the Christian life is the Gospel of grace, understanding that we are undeserving and God gave it all to us. I just want to say one more thing about this and that is the phrase where it says: 'with reverence and awe'. Now some of you may be a bit - 'Hey, I thought fear and trembling is what we see in Mount Sinai, how come when you come to Zion, there's still fear and trembling, reverence and awe?' Well, that's because you've got to understand, in the Gospel, we should not fear judgment from God anymore, it's done.

No condemnation, no punishment, no judgment from God, because Jesus paid it all.

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But there remains a healthy fear for God Himself because He is grand. He is great. He is glorious, He's consuming fire. Now, not that we fear that He's going to not love us. But just because of who He is, the nature of who He is, there will automatically, naturally be a fear, a healthy fear at that. So real worship, my friends, it's a mixture, it's a beautiful blend of gratitude and fear. So pastor, what does this all mean? I'm closing, reminding you that there are two ways to God: Mount Sinai, Mount Zion.

Mount Sinai is where you have to ascend. Mount Sinai is where sinners say: I need to get to God. It's my efforts to God. Mount Sinai says: I need to perform. I need to obey. I need to do. I need to fulfill. I need to be perfect in all these things, but as you perform, you realize you can never make it, so Mount Sinai is a place of terror, failure, judgment. That's not where people who follow Jesus will go to.

So this way starts with the sinners to God. Let me tell you about Mount Zion. Mount Zion represents the way that God Himself initiates. Mount Zion is where God gives grace, He gives His Son, unconditionally, for undeserving sinners, that His Son will take the wrath that is due for our sins. That His Son would die and pay for us all. Grace. And when you are touched by grace, if you are genuinely touched by grace, then this is natural, there will be gratitude. And this gratitude will not be satisfied just to remain within the heart, because the gratitude must be expressed in works, where you glorify God. This, my friends, is the Gospel. It is the total opposite of works-based religion. Total opposite.

The starting point is different. The goal is different. The process is different. So let me say this, in clarity for you: Glorify God. Do you know that the only people in this world who can glorify God are people who have been first touched by grace? I say that again, the only people who can glorify God are those who have been touched by grace, those who have come to believe in Jesus Christ. Every religion looks like they are glorifying God, don't you think? They go to altars, they offer sacrifices, they try to do good deeds. They look like glorifying God, but they aren't. Because all those works are just merely trying to secure for themselves righteousness. Ultimately, it is self-serving, it is not for God. I do these good works, I obey the law, not because I really love God, but because I love myself too much to let myself die in hell.

It's like the eldest son in the parable of the lost son. He stays in his father's house, not because he loves the father but it was a strategy to get his father to give him his inheritance. He never loved the father, he loved himself. So, until you're touched by grace, you can never really glorify God. The only people who can give to God and truly glorify Him with no regard for self are people who know they have been given so much by God in Jesus Christ. I believe the greatest motivation in Christian ministry today is not guilt but gratitude. I hope today, you're serving, in church, not because: Aiyah, pastor asked me to do it. And if I don't do it, very paiseh (meaning embarassed) .

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But if you serve because you're paiseh (embarrassed), you want to avoid being embarrassed, I say to you, that's not going to last you very long. In this church- I've been in this church for 20 over years, I've seen so many people come and go. They start off like bright sparks, but like a comet they pass by too fast. They burn, and then they die out. Well, why? Maybe, they have not really had the engine for ministry- Grace filled gratitude. I believe today that the church needs to understand grace. Now, I know some of you might be saying: Hey pastor, we're going to Punggol, can you wake this church up and get us into shape? But always remember, that I'm not here as a slave driver, I'm a shepherd. What do shepherds do? They lead the sheep to the waters where they drink.

I believe my chief duty is to lead you to the fountain of grace, that you may drink thereof, that in your heart, you'll be filled with the joy and out of that abundance, you serve God. That's what Paul did in Romans 1 to 11, and then, in Romans 12, he says: I beseech you, by the mercies of God that you present yourselves a living sacrifice.

Why? Why would you want to give your life? Because of the mercies of God, because of grace, now for those of you who say: Wah, pastor, good, you just preached grace, you don't have to tell us what to do. Let me say this: If you really are someone who has been touched by grace, you will automatically, you must be a person who lives to glorify God, otherwise you have not grace. This cycle must flow, you see, this is what the Gospel is all about. Well, I was in my son- again, Shawn and Mattias, that same night, we were talking about the Passover Lamb, I asked- now that I read the Bible to Shawn, I have this very simple process: Have you heard of this boy band, Japanese boy band called SMAP? Now some younger folks, Takuya Kimura? oh okay, SMAP, heard of that? No, okay, never mind, doesn't matter.

I use SMAP basically, now that I read with my son. I asked him, number one, tell me the story, so possibly I got him to say a little bit about the story- What happened? Then I ask him M: What is the meaning behind it all? What's the lesson behind it all? He says: Jesus is the one who died for our sins. Great! Then I ask him: (A) what's the application, Shawn? And P is: How can I pray for that? Alright? So, it's very simple. So Passover Lamb- Jesus died for our sins- I asked him what is your application? He said: I want to be like you, daddy. I said: What do you mean, to be like me? 'I want to serve God, because Jesus died for me'. I said: Why would you want to serve God, is it because that's the right thing to do? Then I said to him: Shawn, it's great that you want to serve God, but I want you to know that, it is more than just being the right thing to do. It is not just the right thing to do, but that is the thing you want to do. That 'Serving God' is not a duty, but a delight and a genuine desire.

Few days later, we continued the Bible reading and we come to Joshua, conquest of Canaan and I saw a picture of Joshua and I said: Shawn, there's a famous statement made by this man Joshua. He said, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And I said: Shawn, papa- hope that we can say that as well because Papa wants to serve God and I'm serving God. Do you know why, Shawn? He said: Because, Daddy, you love God. 'Why does Daddy love God?' 'Because God loves you.' 'How do you know God loves me?', 'He gave His Son to die for you.' And I said to him, 'Shaun, I hope you will serve God today because you know God, that's it. It's as simple as that. This is the Gospel' and I pray, we will all come to Mount Zion in our lives.

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Let's bow for a word of prayer together. It is not natural for us to hear grace because we live in a world full of works. Everything must be earned. That's the mindset of this world. We must earn our wages and we must earn our way to God. But the old covenant was designed to demonstrate that there is no way any man can earn their way to God, there is fire, there is smoke, there is thunder, there is lightning, there's a trumpet, there is warning, warning, warning, you cannot come to God via Mount Sinai. But let me tell you the heavenly good news: There is Mount Zion, where there's a city of God, where there are innumerable angels, where there are those who will be heirs and co-heirs with Jesus, those whose lives are made righteous. Say, how did they get there? Oh, because God, the gracious God, gave His Son, didn't you hear? He gave His Son.

For who? For sinners? His blood cleanses us from all sin. So come, run from Sinai and come to Zion, come to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and those who are covered in the blood, are saved from the wrath of God, and those who are covered by the blood, are those who cry tears of joy and gratitude, and those who cry tears of joy and gratitude will be those who wakes up the next day and say: I will serve God with my life, not because I'm forced to, but because I want to. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

What are you holding out against God? You say: I wouldn't give that to God, I wouldn't sacrifice that to God. Dear friends, you might not have understood the amazing love He has for you. I pray for our church, I pray for each one of us, that according to Ephesians 3, our hearts may comprehend the height, the depth, the length and the breadth of the love of God. That is the deep need of our lives, because it is the love of Christ that constrains us, we love Him, we serve Him because we understand how much He first loves us. And, my friends, your ministry is no more a chore, but a delight. When we say Punggol, you wouldn't say: Oh, it's 20 km, 30 km, you say, "It's a delight!"

I'm there to serve, I'm there to worship, I'm there to do what God wants me to do, and I'm not there because I would get anything out of God, but I'm there because God has already given me everything and I'm destined for a blessed hope, a kingdom that cannot be shaken, so why can't I gave my all to Jesus today? Let me tell you why you won't, I hate to say this, but maybe the reason why you won't is because you have not really got grace in your soul. Ah but, my friends, Mount Zion is calling out to you: Repent, and believe in Jesus Christ. May God have mercy on our hearts.

I pray this morning, it will be a time for sinners to turn and make a choice to believe in Jesus. Stop rebelling against Him, stop stubbornly holding out against Him, but to say, "Lord, here I come just as I am. I'm undeserving, sinful and hopeless, but- even though I know I'm a great sinner, I know that I have a great savior. Let our hearts be filled with gratitude, as we drink in deeply the doctrines of grace and let us say: Dear God, take my life and let it be, wholly consecrated, Lord, to thee.

Father we thank You this morning for Your Word. Bless it to each and every heart. Let us see to it that we will not refuse You who spoke, but may we respond in humility, in repentance and in Faith. Bless each one here. We pray in Jesus' Name.
Amen.

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