I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 19 for Old Testament lesson. If you do not have a Bible, then I fear not. The passage is also printed in the bulletin before you. I'm going to read verses 1 to 25. This is the entire chapter of Exodus chapter 19. on the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt on the day that they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain saying, thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever. When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for all the people all around saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the edge of the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot, whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, be ready for the third day, do not go near a woman. On the morning of the third day, 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. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 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. The whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. The Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said to Moses, go down and warn the people. lest they break through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them. And Moses said to the Lord, the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, set limits around the mountain and consecrate it. The Lord said to him, go down and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them. Now turning with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 12 for our New Testament lesson. Our sermon text this morning will focus on verses 18 to 24, but for a broader context, we'll begin reading in verse 12. Hebrews chapter 12, beginning in verse 12, therefore lift up your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. See to it that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. For you have not come to what might be touched, a blazing fire, darkness, gloom, and a tempest, to the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made them made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them, for they could not endure the order that was given, if even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable angels and festal gathering and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Our gracious God and Father, we ask that you would use your word this morning to help reorient our hearts to see your blazing holiness and moral purity and to come to know more deeply the work of Christ who has enabled us to draw near to the throne of grace. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. I remember in 2006, I was in graduate school and I went on a tour with a number of other college students to Central and East Europe. We were seeing a bunch of old World War II and Cold War sites, but inevitably as you make your way through Europe, particularly the bigger cities, you'll see these massive sprawling Gothic cathedrals. We went on several architectural tours seeing these massive churches, which of course by, you know, in light of the communist revolution, so many of these churches have become nothing more than museums and meeting halls for local, orchestras and concertos to be played. But I remember one day as we were traveling through one of the cities, my college professor, who was at the very least a nominal Catholic, turned to me, knowing that I was a Protestant, and pointed out before us two churches standing side by side. On the one side of the road was, again, a massive Roman Catholic cathedral. And standing next to it was a small dinky A little whitewashed Lutheran chapel, had a simple steeple, had to have been a quarter the height of the church that stood next to it. And my professor looked me in the face and he said, what do you Protestants ever have on us? I think it's probably a not so subtle reminder that the so-called worship wars predated the 1980s. It looks different throughout the ages for sure. In the 90s, of course, the debate was whether or not you used the organ or the kettar. In the Reformation, it was the question of whether or not you had choirs or if it was the congregation that sang to the Lord. Even in the Old Testament, we see a worship war of sorts. The distinction between the worship, the proper worship that is due God in Jerusalem under the Old Covenant and the worship that the bulk of the nation was offering up, not just to God, but to other gods on the high places. And yet we find the marketing question that plagues so many of us today as we see the blogs and various books coming out in Christian bookstores asking the simple question, how can we enhance the worship experience? How can we make the worship experience better? What kind of bells and whistles can we add to draw the crowds in, be it in terms of architecture, or sight, or sound? I think this question, however, misses a more critical question, a question that we have before us as we look here at Hebrews chapter 12, particularly verses 18 to 24. The question is this, what's so special about new covenant worship? And how does it differ even from the old covenant? How does it differ from worship even under Moses? I think so many of the debates that we see arise, in many ways arise from a failure to recognize the distinction between Old Covenant and New Covenant worship. The question we have before us is, what's the litmus test? Is it the fancy bands, the gold temples, the majestic choirs, or is the litmus test for proper worship found elsewhere? Our passage this morning brings us to the very heart of worship. And it does so by contrasting the very legitimate worship that was offered under Moses to the Old Covenant, contrasting with the worship inaugurated through Christ, our risen and ascended Savior. You see that contrast here between two mountains that are given. You have Mount Sinai given in verses 18 to 21 and that of Mount Zion in verses 22 to 24. And what I'd like us to do this morning is to consider three major differences that we see between Old Covenant worship and New Covenant worship. and then consider the significance that it has on the church's worship today. First, we'll consider the character of worship and what changes between the old covenant and the new. Secondly, we'll consider the company of the worship under the new covenant as it's contrasted with the company of those who worship the old. And finally, we'll consider the courts of new covenant worship. So the character, the company, and the courts I think surely if aesthetics and theatrics or even pyrotechnics are key to stellar worship, then there is no greater spectacle than that of Mount Sinai. It's really the birthplace of Israel's liturgy. Here, if you read Exodus 19 and following, this is where Israel, having just been delivered from Pharaoh's tyranny, having been brought through the Red Sea, taken to the base of Mount Sinai, is given the law of God. They're given the priesthood. They were given the sacrifices for worship. It's truly a gracious gift, and we cannot understate that enough. What a sight it must have been, what a glory and a splendor to see the Ark of the Covenant glistening in the sunlight with all of the gold, to look at the tabernacle itself as it is given, to model a picture of the world in miniature. If you recall, when we looked at Hebrews 9 last year, the focus on that, the deep hues of red, blue, and purple that attend both the tabernacle and the priestly robes. You think of the gems that glistened on Aaron's chest as he came before us, the high priest, offering up intercession to the most high God. Think of the incense that arises, the smoke, the smell of burning meat, something for an entire nation, something given to the Lord, the incense and the opulence And we think how amazing, how exciting would it have been to be part of that worship service. And yet we often forget that these are also attended with a side of a blazing fire, of darkness, gloom, and a whirlwind. Think of offering worship to God in the midst of a hurricane. It's not exciting as much as it is downright frightening. to see the Lord's presence visibly manifested even as he shrouds himself in fire and smoke. As the Holy God descends to dwell in the midst of sinners. He descends in a dark cloud. He's veiled in shadow and in flame. Something that is truly terrifying. It says not just Israel itself is terrified. You see here in Hebrews that even Israel's mediator, Moses himself says, I am terrified. Not even the nation can stand to hear the sound of her maker. As his voice bellows from the mountain, they ask for somebody else to speak rather than hearing the voice of God unmediated. See, Israel is to learn firsthand the seriousness of her sin and the necessity of vicarious bloodshed if a holy God is to dwell in the midst of a sinful people. Israel is to learn the price required that she might draw near to the living God. Again, we highlight the Lord's own mercy in doing this. It is of His own mercy that He had delivered Israel from slavery. It is with cords of kindness and compassion, the Lord says, that He had drawn them through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea, to quote Paul in 1 Corinthians 10. to bring them through the wilderness that Israel might stand before her Redeemer. And yet, as she is brought all this way after 400 years of slavery and servitude, and brought to the base of Mount Sinai, brought before the living God, as she attends and comes to the base of the mountain, she is given the explicit warning to halt. Do not come any closer. You see that here in this passage before us this morning. You see the mountain? Do not draw near. Don't even touch it. Standing before them is the holy God, blazing in righteous purity. And here is a nation that is still entangled in her sins. To draw near would spell certain death. The problem is not simply Israel's sinfulness. It's her own creatureliness. Even if sinless, it does not grant them the right to draw near willy-nilly to the throne of God. You notice the Lord's command, if even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be put to death. Such is the holiness of God. We're reminded of Isaiah chapter six, where even the angels in heaven are covering their faces. As they shout, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The angels in heaven, sinless as they are, do not even presume to approach God's throne unless he beckons them to draw near. You see, to speak of God's holiness is to speak of more than simply his moral purity, though that is in fact true. To speak of God's holiness is to confess his utter transcendence over all creation, that the creator is in fact distinct and separate from the rest of his creation. that the creation cannot draw near to such a holy king unless he were to invite them first. If the sinless creatures, be it beast or even angel, have no right to presume upon the majesty of their creator, then certainly sinners must take heed all the more. And that is what Israel is given. The warning, the prohibition, do not come any closer. been brought this close, closer than any other nation on the face of the earth, yet you cannot draw any nearer. Who is it that can ascend the hill of the Lord? Israel is not allowed to ascend that hill. Who is able to stand before the whirlwind and the fire in the midst of the holy presence of God? No other nation has been given such a privilege to draw this close, and yet Israel cannot come any closer. Such is all that Sinai represents and reflects here according to our passage in Hebrews 12. Even as the Lord thunders from the heavens, the sound pierces their ears and they ask for somebody else to speak God's words. All I can say is make it stop. Make it stop. I cannot endure such holiness in light of my sinfulness. You think of the prophet Isaiah, again, Isaiah chapter six. Here it is, one of God's spokesmen himself recognizing I am a man of unclean lips, woe is me. They are not able to endure this mountain, a mountain that they can see, a mountain that they can at least theoretically touch, even if it spells certain death. But you have not come to Sinai. That's what the preacher says here in this morning's passage. Why does he say that? Certainly, it's not downplaying the holiness of God. You see, looking down to verse 29, it is this same God who is still a consuming fire. It's not that our God has ceased to be holy. We need to consider our broader context. Why is it that the letter of Hebrews is written to begin with? Here is a church that is, in one sense, gone underground, forced into hiding. It is small, perhaps no big than a household. Maybe consisting of several homes, but enough for this redeemed community to meet in a single home. Ragtag, bereft of any honor or dignity. They're hated by their neighbors. They're despised by the local government. Several have been already thrown into prison. Many of them under the local regime have lost their property. Think of what it would be like to attend worship under cover of darkness, and you're reading For instance, 1 Kings 7 and 8 with the building of Solomon's Temple. And you begin to think how much better things were then than they are now. Maybe we should go back. But we should go back to the temple sacrifices. At this point in time, when the letter is written, the temple is still standing. The sacrifices are still being offered. The church is tempted to go back to something that is glitzier, something that is certainly more glamorous than what they are encountering right now. When you look and you read under the old covenant, the Old Testament of the opulence, the wealth, the might of Israel of old, it's contrasted with their present position, how they could think, and how easily would it be us for us to think how much better things were back then than they are now. Why not go back to the incense and the feast days? Certainly that worship was better. And yet the preacher reminds the church of the redeemed that you have not come to Sinai. Rather, you've come to something better. You've come to the gates of Zion itself. Israel dwelled in the shadows. Have you forgotten the terror and the gloom? You become enamored with the bells and the whistles, but have you forgotten how insufficient Old Covenant worship was? It's the entire thing that we've seen as we've spent the past year working through Hebrews 5 to 10. How insufficient the Old Covenant sacrifices were, be it in terms of the temple, be it in terms of the priesthood, be it in terms of the sacrifices. The priests keep dying. The sacrifices are unable to seal the deal. That's why they have to keep being offered up over and over and over again. Yet now the true priest has come, the Lord Jesus Christ, one who has put the Levites out of business, one who has offered a better sacrifice, a sacrifice once and for all. And so the author of Hebrews says, you have not been brought to the temple in Jerusalem. Rather, you've been brought to the gates of Zion itself because the true high priest has entered the heavenly temple. And so you've been brought to a different mountain, to a place that cannot be seen to the naked eye. You've not come to a mountain that can be touched because now you've come to the gates of heaven itself. Something we need to remember as we assemble for worship that this room is not the sanctuary. Our sanctuary is in heaven. I've been reading through Abraham Kuyper's book, Our Worship, on church liturgy. Henry Brinks had given it to me not too long ago, so I've been reading my way through it. And Kuyper makes a really helpful point, I think, that he prefers to refer to this room as the four courts to remind us that our true sanctuary is, in fact, in heaven itself. This is the assembly of the saints. But this, as the saints are gathered by faith, becomes the portal to heaven. As we approach the living God, even though we might not see heaven surround us, the location is different because the character is different. Because we have a great high priest who has ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high in the heavens under the new covenant every Lord's day as we as a public assembly gather to worship. We've come to the gates of heaven itself, even right now. Here we find our oasis in the desert. Even as Hebrews is making the point that we are pilgrims in the wilderness, the Lord's day is given as the oasis in the desert. It gives us a foretaste of the age and the powers to come. We cannot see it. It's not as ostentatious as we saw under the old covenant. There is a less outward glory, to use the language of our confessional standards. It is less flashy, but it is certainly of a greater quality and efficacy. The character of New Covenant worship is different, and so maybe, just maybe, the litmus test for evaluating true worship should not be marked by aesthetic decor. But we find here that the character of worship is not the only difference. We find also that the company of worship is different as well. If you read throughout your Old Testament, you'll find that the angels are in one sense given to bar man's entrance into heaven. You think of Genesis chapter 3 as Adam, the high priest to the Most High God, is exiled from the garden courts of God's temple in Mount Eden. You read Ezekiel, you find out that Eden is a massive mountain, it is the entry point to God's throne room. Adam rebels and is exiled from the garden. And what is put in place to ensure that man does not draw any closer? It's the cherubim with the flaming sword. The angels serve as something of a bodyguard to the heavenly courts. Even with the building and construction of the tabernacle, what is it that's constructed in the Holy of Holies? You have the two cherubim that guard, that overshadow, that protect the Lord's own footstool, his own throne room. They overshadow the mercy seat. Under the Old Covenant, in one sense, the angels serve as the bodyguards to the heavenly throne room. But notice what is said here in Hebrews chapter 12, now that Christ has come, Something new happens. You've not come to the earthly Sinai, but you've come to the gates of the heavenly Zion and also to the innumerable angels in festal gathering. Not an assembly of fright, but an assembly of joyous celebration as we join the choir of angels as they welcome us in one sense as brothers to join in singing praises to our great God and King. The New Covenant worship is spiritual in its character and heavenly in its location. We should not be surprised by the spiritual company that is attended. Of course, I think the major difference is this. Whereas the angels can only worship God as their creator, we've been given the great privilege to worship God as our Redeemer because it is not the angels that Christ has come to help. Christ has not come to deliver the fallen angels, but he has come to save Adam's helpless race, as Hebrews 2 reminds us. And so when we gather for worship, not only do we join the ranks of the angels, but we also join the saints in heaven. You see this in verse 23, it refers to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, as well as to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. If you recall Exodus chapter four, the Lord refers to the nation of Israel as his firstborn son. You have to ask the question, what is it that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are doing right now? What is it that Moses is doing right now? Jesus makes this particular point in his debate with the Sadducees. When God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Jesus reminds the Sadducees that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Therefore, there still awaits a resurrection from the dead, that the souls of the saints who have died awaiting the promise have not undergone some form of soul sleep. that their spirits have not simply dissipated into nothing, that they have not been annihilated. Rather, that they are now, their spirits are in heaven and they are praising the great triune God. Not just the Old Testament saints, but every saint who has put their hope The promises of God given in the Lord Jesus Christ lavished upon us in the Messiah. Though their bodies still lie in the grave, their spirits are in heaven praising God, awaiting that great and final day, the resurrection of the body as we, as the church, have already confessed this morning. When we gather as the church, we're joining not just the people in this room, In one sense, well actually in a very real sense, we're not joining simply the other churches on the face of the earth that have gathered and assembled together for worship. We've also joined the ranks of the angels and have joined the departed saints in heaven as well as we gather to worship our great and triune God. So the company is now different because the character is different. And so there's one final distinction, a difference between old covenant worship and new covenant worship, that of the courts. If you recall under the Old Testament, if you read, for instance, 1 Kings 1 to 11, the temple was not just the place where God was to be worshiped. The temple is the very place where the Lord issued and rendered judgments from the throne. That is what 1 Kings tells us. Solomon builds the temple and then renders judgment. He discerns between good and evil. from the king's courts that stand adjacent to the temple. Consider how frightening it would be to appear before God as the judge of the whole earth. One, to whom there's no higher court of appeal. This is the last straw. If you are rendered guilty here, there is no one else to plead your case. Two, consider how frightening it would be to stand before the Lord God as a sinner, as the judge of the whole earth. It's a reality that every man, woman, and child will have to face on the last day, that we have to give an account on the last day for all the things done in the body. And this is the reality that Israel faced at the base of Mount Sinai as the Lord descends in judgment, as He gives His law and declares His holiness and moral purity. And yet the author of Hebrews says this, but you have not come to the base of Sinai. In one sense, under the new covenant, you're still brought before the same court. The court's not changed, but our position has. If you look at verses 22 to 24, I want you to notice the tenor. It's a tenor of joy. I mean, that's the big distinction between 18 to 21 and 22 to 24. You see these repeated words of darkness and gloom and smoke and a whirlwind, these words and images intended to frighten us. And yet in verses 22 to 24, there's a complete reversal of fortune A litany of descriptors marking the place where we have assembled for worship, not as a place of fear, but as a place of joy and celebration. We have come to the heavenly city. We have joined the ranks of the angelic choirs. We have joined the ranks of the departed saints, perfected in glory. And we have come to stand before God, the judge of all. I think in any other context that phrase should frighten us. Israel is summoned before God at Sinai, and they trembled. And yet we are summoned before the very same God, the very same judge at the courts of heaven itself, and we are told to rejoice. What sinner in his right mind would rejoice at the thought of appearing before a holy judge? the one who does not wink at sin, the one who exacts judgment and vengeance upon all, the one who does not receive bribes, the one who does not show partiality, the one for whom there is no escape. The only way we could rejoice is if that same judge had provided a way of escape from the wrath to come. And so here scripture beckons us to draw near before the judge of all because now we have a judge who sits not as our accuser, but as our defender and as our advocate, the one who comes to our aid against all of our enemies. How in the world can this ever be? Well, in the same verse, we see the reason given because we at Zion have a better priest than Israel had at Sinai. Jesus, the mediator, not of an old covenant, but Jesus the mediator of a new and better covenant, enacted on better promises. Israel's mediator stood at the base of Sinai and trembled, but not so with Christ, as his death has satisfied the law's demands and hushed the loud thunder of Sinai. We heard a few months ago in Hebrews 11 that even at the beginning of time, You have that righteous man, Abel, a just man, sinner though he was, but still righteous, was unjustly murdered, and the blood of Abel cries out from the ground for justice. And here we have Christ, one who is far more righteous than Abel ever was by his own doing. Christ, murdered, His blood shed and spilled on the ground, and yet it is the blood of Christ that pleads not for vengeance, but is something that pleads something far greater. It is the blood of Christ that pleads for mercy. Mercy for sinners. As the old hymn goes, mercy speaks by Jesus' blood. Here in saying, all you sons of God, justice satisfied indeed, Christ has full atonement made. Here under the new covenant, we have a better high priest, one who has accomplished all that the old covenant foreshadowed. And now that Christ has come, the old covenant has become precisely that, simply a shadow. And this is what leads us to the most important distinction between worship under the old covenant and worship under the new. Israel was brought to the base of Sinai and they were told, do not come any closer. Yet we have been summoned to the gates of heaven itself and have been commanded to draw near. Come closer, Christ says, seven times here. in the Epistle of Hebrews, this exhortation is given. It is one of the driving themes of this letter, that because of Christ, we actually have been summoned to draw near. We are no longer held at arm's length. We are called to draw near, not simply with timidity, under a certain sense of anxiety or dread, but rather we are called to approach the throne of grace with boldness and with confidence. And this is what makes the church's worship so much better. See, God is not impressed with our architecture. Revelation tells us heaven's sidewalks are paved with gold. Why would the Lord be impressed with the most glorious cathedral on the face of this earth? And Hebrews 11 tells us that there is something that does please God. It is faith. Faith pleases God, faith in Christ who by his death and resurrection have opened up a new and living way so that sinners may finally once and for all draw near. Certainly the new covenant mode of worship is less ostentatious than we see than under the old, than the temple worship of the Old Testament. But it is of a greater efficacy because now we can draw near with joy. Our worship certainly might not be glamorous, but it is definitely more glorious than the Old Testament, because what they possessed in shadow we now have in substance. I think this is an important point. I'm not saying that church buildings are bad. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to have a nice church building. That's not my point. My point is that it doesn't matter. All right, I don't care if you're worshiping in Westminster Abbey in downtown London or part of the underground church in China. If you as the people of God have assembled by faith, you have come to the very same assembly. And so we should not judge the quality of worship off of the sights and sounds, the bells and the whistles. Every believer, no matter where you are located, When you draw near to the Lord assembled by faith, we have come to the gates of heaven itself. If I could just address some of our college students, or if you're visiting for the first time, looking around, thanks for coming. Hope you stick around. But this is just a simple reminder that as you consider where to worship during your time in college, not to judge the church by its cover. by the building, by the bells, by the bands. The litmus test for true worship is not found in the bright lights or the big buildings or the bustling websites. Rather, Zion is to be found wherever the church is gathered by faith, wherever the benefits of the new covenant are declared, wherever Christ speaks to govern his church and to strengthen his people by his spirit. It is the place and the assembly where Christ feeds his flock, and washes them by his word. This assembly is an assembly of pilgrims. As Hebrews makes very clear, this building is a rest stop along the highway of holiness. As we assemble by faith, it is transformed into a portal to heaven. My exhortation this morning is not to have our eyes distracted by the things of this earth, but that we might focus on the unseen reality the things of heaven where Christ our Savior rules, reigns, and pleads our case before the throne of grace. Let us pray. Our gracious God and Father, we do thank you for having assembled us together this morning for worship. We ask that you would attune our hearts to recognize the heart of worship, the true character of worship that has been inaugurated through the death and resurrection of Christ. We ask these things in his name. Amen.