REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2015 MORNING SERVICE. (Quotations from Scripture: New King James Version unless indicated otherwise)

Transcription

1 REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2015 MORNING SERVICE. (Quotations from Scripture: New King James Version unless indicated otherwise) Sing beforehand: Psalm 122:1+2. I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where shall my help come? My help is from the LORD who made heaven and earth. Beloved, grace, and peace be unto you, from Him who is, and was, and shall come. And from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to arise from death, the ruler over the kings of the earth. Song of praise: Psalm 48:1+5. Confession of faith: Nicene We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen Law Hymn 9-2:8+9. Prayer Doxology: Worship: Confession: Supplication (for pardon of sins): Thanksgiving: Intercession (for the need of the congregation, the church, authorities, sinful world and appeal to the promises of God) General supplication: Illumination of the Holy Spirit (necessary for the ministry of the Word): Psalm:119: Scripture reading: Hebrews 12:

2 Scripture text: Hebrews 12:22-24: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Theme: In Christ the faithful do not have fool's gold. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, it may have happened that you thought that you had bought something valuable and durable but were disappointed. What you had bought proved to be worthless. Then you are angry that you allowed yourself to be so easily convinced by the glib salesman. Unfortunately you only discover too late that you have bought yourself a pig in a poke. Your money is gone and the fine print that you failed to look at tells you that there is no way that you can return the item or get your money back. It is like when you are offered a bag of golden coins. You look and feel the weight because they look like golden coins and feel like the real thing. Subsequently you discover that in fact they are counterfeit coins with only a thin layer of gold plating. A hard knock and the plating is off. What a disappointment! In the previous passage in Hebrews 12 the author ended with the example of Esau. Esau did not realize what wealth and grace the Lord bestowed onto the first-born in his birthright. Because he did not know its value, he exchanged it for a meal. And when he subsequently grasped what he had lost, he tearfully tried to reverse matters, but in vain. By his own fault he had lost it forever. In the epistle to the Hebrews the Holy Spirit time and again compared Jesus Christ to what the Jews considered valuable. In these contrasts the Holy Spirit showed each time that Jesus is exalted far above anything the Jews held to be valuable through the centuries. Jesus is far above the angels, Moses or Joshua. As High Priest Jesus also is far above the earthly priests and the sacrifice that Jesus made once for all of mankind is sufficient to wipe out the debt of the faithful with the Father once and for all. In verses 18 to 24 the author makes the last of the comparisons between what the Jews held to be valuable and what is truly valuable because Jesus obtained it. For the last time the Holy Spirit shows the Jewish Christians how foolish it would be to turn their back on Christ, relinquish their faith in Him and return to the Jewish religion in which they grew up. The chapter is closed with a stern rebuke in verses 25 to 29. Because here the Lord reveals us such a vast wealth, we shall now consider only verses 18 to 24. Brothers, sisters and children, the Holy Spirit starts by saying where the Jewish Christians have not been. Verses 18 to 21 contain a summary of the events when the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:10-20:21). The emphasis is on the great distance to be kept between God and the people because of the Lord's holiness and the sinfulness of the people. Moses alone may approach God not because he is any better than the people of Israel but because the Lord commanded it. The rest must remain at a distance. God revealed Himself to the people in a terrible fashion. Even Moses, who was permitted to approach God, was afraid (Deuteronomy 9:19). This does not sound inviting. You want to ask: Why did God reveal Himself in that terrifying way? 2

3 The answer to this question related to the answer to the next question: Why did God give His Law? Paul provides the answer in Galatians 3:19-25 the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ. Without the Law we are blind to our own sins. We compare ourselves to other people and conclude that we are not that bad. We know that God is holy, but we do not really know what this means. In the Law and in the events at Sinai the Lord underlines how holy He truly is nobody not even an animal may come near Him. This narration in verses teaches us two matters. First it imprints in us fear of God's holiness and His judgement. Sinai was a tangible mountain before the eyes of the people. And when the Lord descended to the mountain there were claps of thunder, lightning flashes and a dark cloud enveloped the mountain. The ram's horn was sounded loudly so that the people trembled. The whole mountain smoked and quaked greatly. The sound of the Lord's voice and all the signs that accompanied it was terrifying to the Israelites. But what was worse was the Lord's command that not even an animal was to touch the mountain and if it did, it was to be killed. That they were not to touch the mountain, they understood, because they were sinners. But an animal that is incapable of knowingly sinning because it is not a rational being, may not even touch the mountain! It is in this bright light of God's holiness that we learn to know ourselves and our surroundings properly. That is why God begins to reveal Himself in this terrible vision and events. We must know that God is not somebody you play with and share jokes with. You cannot do as you please before Him. He is perfectly holy and His judgement is irreversible. Secondly it is imprinted in us that man needs a mediator between himself and the Lord. After the Lord had given His Law, the people asked Moses that the Lord not speak with them because they would then die. Rather the Lord should speak with Moses and he could then convey to them what the Lord had said. At that time Moses was the chosen mediator. He mediated between the people and the Lord because the Lord had appointed him such. But Moses was a sinner as well. He himself was afraid of the Lord's holiness and judgement. Do you now see how the Law functions as a tutor? By the Law we are driven to Christ our perfect Mediator. He is without sin and He gave Himself once as an offering for the sins of men. The point made in these first four verses (18-21) is this: By the Law the Lord reveals His holiness and His just condemnation of sin. If you fail to do exactly what the Lord reveals in His Law, you are finished. There is no second chance. Everyone realizes in this bright light that they cannot approach God and that they cannot even get close to this perfect rule for a holy life. Sinai is not the true destination of God's children. The destination of everybody who belongs to God is Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Our text makes a completely different impression on us than Sinai does. At mount Zion one does not want to be afraid and hide. The wealth of Zion draws one into the joy and happiness of the Lord. Seven joys are mentioned here in which the Christian shares in and through Christ. The first is the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem situated on mount Zion. Jerusalem is the city God had chosen where He wished to be present among His people. It is here that the Lord rules as King. This is the city which believers such as Abraham longed for the city with fixed 3

4 foundations of which God Himself is the founder and builder. The concept of city embodies the ideas of safety and provision. Because we search for something tangible the Lord puts it clearly that this is the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the city that the risen Jesus Christ showed the apostle John (Revelation 21). This is the city that will descend from God out of heaven adorned as a bride for her groom. It is in this city where God will live with His children and where there will be an abundance of living water. In this city death, suffering and pain will be no more. To make his living relationship with His children clear, the Lord Himself will dry their tears. Someone could now ask: Have the Christians already arrived at Mount Zion? For we do not see it. That is true, we are not yet physically in the city of the living God, but everyone who is by a true faith incorporated into Christ, has a dwelling in that city. Jesus Himself is preparing that place for everyone whom He saved. The saints will see this city with their own eyes when Jesus Christ returns on the clouds of heaven. The second joy the Christians will share in is the assembly of the innumerable angels. As is the case with the heavenly Jerusalem the saints do not see that host of angels now, but we know that around the throne of God in heaven there are thousands of angels magnifying Him with their song. We read of them in Revelation where we also learn the words of their song (Revelation 5:12). And they sing of none other than Jesus Christ. The holy angels were not redeemed by Christ, for by the grace of God they did not rebel, but Christ's redemptive ministry is so magnificent and to the greater glory of God the Father, that the angels sing of Him with great voice. We do not now see the angels sing, but when in public worship we sing to the glory of God, we become part of the choirs of angels who are now singing in heaven to the greater glory of the Lord. We must now ask: What is our singing like? If we only stand mumbling and humming along listlessly, we have no idea of the value of what Christ bestows on us by faith. Let us take up the challenge and glorify the Lord by singing enthusiastically the songs He has given us. The third joy the Christians find is the church of the first-born registered in heaven. In the Greek New Testament the word first-born appears eight times. Six of the eight times refer to Jesus as the first-born Son of God. Once it refers to the first-born in Egypt who were protected by the blood of the Passover lamb. In our text first-born refers to people who live on earth as the children of God. By the name first-born the Lord underlines that these saints are His heirs. In God's family every true believer is a first-born through the faith by which they are incorporated into Christ the First-born. The fourth joy the Christian in Christ finds, initially leaves us with a question: How can it be a joy to appear before God the Judge of all? He knows our every thought and not all our thoughts are pure and exemplary. There are three reasons why it is a joy to appear before God the Judge. One, this Judge also is the Father in heaven of all believers who is now already teaching them to rid themselves of the unrighteousness in their lives. Two, God is the Judge of every enemy of Him and His Son and His church and on the Last Day He will judge them justly. And three, when at the Last Day the saints stand before God as Judge, they do not tremble with fear, because God punished their sins in Jesus Christ and Christ has already served the sentence. The fifth joy the spirits of the just made perfect refers to the saints who have preceded us. They are the believers who have already died. Their souls the spirits are already with Christ in heaven. They shed their sins the day they died, therefore they can already now be with the Lord. Although we are not yet there where our faithful brothers and sisters are now, we still fight against sin because the Lord is taking us there. By our bond with Christ we are bound to those brothers and sisters, and together with them, we pray that the kingdom of God may come. 4

5 The sixth joy is that the saints have come to Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament. Compared to Moses who was the mediator for Israel, Jesus is by far a better Mediator. He is without sin and He is the Son of God. He is not afraid of His Father as Moses was. Yes, in His human nature Jesus was anxiously afraid of being forsaken by God on the cross, but after praying in the garden of Gethsemane He was strengthened to determinedly go to execute the will of His Father, namely, to confirm and initiate the New Covenant with His death. It is because Christ died for the sins of men that God can forgive them and grant them eternal life. The seventh joy the believers in Christ find is the blood of sprinkling. This refers to the blood of Jesus that speaks of better things than Abel. Abel's blood that was shed by his brother Cain called out to God for vengeance and judgement on the sins of mankind. The blood of Jesus speaks of forgiveness and reconciliation because His blood was shed to make propitiation for the sins of all the true believers. Beloved, these seven joys to which the Lord brings the true believers through Christ, emphasize the value of what the believers received in Christ and will receive in full at His return. This is not fool's gold. These are true gifts that the Lord donates to His children. Let us therefore not be as foolish as Esau was and exchange it for temporary, earthly goods, because we want them now. Let us rather persevere in the faith that the Lord brought us. What we now have in Christ, is already worth much more than the world can offer us. And what we have received is only the beginning of what the Lord will give each of His children at the Last Day. Amen! Closing prayer. Closing song: Hymn 5-3:4+5. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Rev Coenraad Vrey Reformed Church Bellville Date: 13 September (Translator: W de Haan) 5