Mensa Otabil - A Glorious Experience (11/05/2025)
Hebrews chapter 12, verses 22 and 23: "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect."
So, yesterday we talked about Mount Sinai. The Old Covenant, the Old Testament, is represented in Mount Sinai, the place where God made a covenant with Israel, and they felt very terrified of the presence of God. Then, there is another mountain: the New Covenant is represented by Mount Zion. Now, the Bible is a tale of two mountains: Mount Sinai and Mount Zion.
What is Mount Zion? Mount Zion is the place where Solomon's Temple was built. It was a glorious edifice, and the worship was beautiful. People rejoiced on Mount Zion; people went with gladness. People approached the presence of God with great excitement, very different from Mount Sinai, where people approached God with fear.
So, God is telling us, through the book of Hebrews, that in the New Testament, when we come to Christ, we don't come to the terror of Mount Sinai; we come to the joy, blessing, happiness, and gladness of Mount Zion. That is what we have come to. It calls Mount Zion the city of the living God; it's God's dwelling place. When you become a Christian, you are in the presence of God; you are in God's dwelling place.
It calls it the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly Jerusalem, not a physical Jerusalem, but the heavenly Jerusalem. The New Testament presents us with a new relationship with God-a heavenly relationship. When we come to Christ, we come into the innumerable company of angels. Isn't that exciting? A Christian life can bring us into an innumerable company of angels, not demons or devils.
You know, there are people who talk as if our whole Christian life is about demons surrounding us. So, every time they tell you there is a devil following you, they say they've seen a vision of demons trailing you. But the Bible says that we've come to the innumerable company of angels. There are more angels of God surrounding us than demons. You are in God's presence; you are in the New Jerusalem; you are in the city of the Lord, and the angels of God are at your service. You are in a good place when you are in Christ Jesus.
It's also called the Church of the firstborn, the firstborn meaning Christ Jesus as the first one to resurrect from the dead. We are in His company, and as He resurrected, so will we also resurrect. Then it says we have come to God, the judge of all. God is the judge of all people. For the Christian, God's judgment is not terror; God's judgment is reward. God's judgment is His blessing.
So we have come before God, the judge who judges us based on the merit of what Christ has done for us. He is a good judge to the righteous. Then it says that we've come in Mount Zion to the place where the spirits of men are made perfect. When we come into the presence of God, His Holy Spirit perfects us and makes us sanctified and right to stand in the presence of God.
So, the Christian life is not a call to approach God with fear and trepidation, but to approach God with joy, praise, thanksgiving, reverence, and honor, knowing that He is with us, that His blessing is with us, that He will do us good. That is what the Christian life is about. We have come to Mount Zion, to the presence of God, with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Let us pray. Say with me, "Heavenly Father, in Your presence there is fullness of joy. I receive abundance of blessings from You. In Jesus' name, amen, amen, and amen."