Evangelism 101 - Part 5 - A Tale Of Two Mountains: Mt. Sinai And Mt. Zion Series

In Hebrews chapter 12 there is a particularly encouraging contrast presented.

* It is a contrast with God as He manifested Himself to people under the Old Covenant and His manifestation under the New Covenant.

* It is the contrast of the awesome power, majesty, holiness and wrath of God with His love, mercy, grace and compassion.

Under the Old Covenant, God was associated with thundering and lightning, thick clouds and fire and the sound of a trumpet that was so loud the people trembled. But under the New Covenant the awesomeness of God is manifested in a different way.

Our lesson begins at Hebrews 12:18-19:

Heb 12:18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,

Heb 12:19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

The background for the Hebrews 12 passage can be found in Exodus chapters 19:1-25 and chapter 20 where under the Old Covenant the voice of God evoked fear and trembling.

The presence of God was manifested in an awesome display of His power:

Exo 20:18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

Exo 20:19 Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

At Mt. Sinai, Moses would talk to God on a regular basis but he never got used to the awesome display of God’s power.

Heb 12:21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling."

Have you gotten used to God? Have you gotten too comfortable with God? Have you lost the sense of awe and wonder when you enter into the presence of God? Do you lack the reverence you once had for Him?

In what is called, “The Lord’s Prayer” Jesus teaches His disciples how they would pray and starts out in Matthew 6:9 with those familiar words, “Our Father, who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” In Jesus’ own prayers He refers to God as “Holy Father.”

Have you gotten too comfortable with God? Some of us demonstrate a lack of awe, wonder and respect by the way we drag ourselves to church on the Lord’s Day. Some of us miss “The Lord’s Day” once or twice a month—giving preference to other endeavors that do not come close to measuring up to His majesty and worth. We come distracted and unfocused—even disinterested; thinking more about our problems than His praise.

Do you demonstrate a lack of longing to be with Him? Do you take delight in Him when you come to church or do you arrive with an attitude of indifference—church is just another slot on your weekly appointment calendar?

If this describes you then you need to meditate on Psalm 100 where the hymn writer says,

“Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”

Never get casual with God. Never get comfortable with Him. He is more than “the man upstairs.” He is high, holy and lifted up. He is awesome and terrifying. While He is full of loving-kindness and tender mercies, He is more deserving to be treated as someone we call out to only when it is convenient for us.

The song says, “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.” Some of us have gotten too comfortable with this awesome God. Have you gotten comfortable with our awesome God?

Earlier in the book of Exodus is the account of God delivering the children of Israel through the Red Sea and drowning the Egyptians. Moses and the children of Israel were so awestruck, they wrote a song to commemorate the event. Here is a verse from it:

Exo 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.

Exo 15:11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

This is the picture the Old Testament presents of God. And this is the picture the writer of Hebrews wants to remind his readers of in order to make a contrast. He wants to remind them of this side of God so that he might introduce to them another side of God.