This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

We're looking together at Exodus chapter 19 today. That means we're in week
four, day four of our look through the book of Exodus. And in chapter 19, it's
an amazing chapter.

God's going to prepare His people in specific ways to come before Him at Mount
Sinai, where He's going to give the law to Moses. And we see at the beginning of
this chapter that the law, when it's given, is going to be given to a called,
committed, consecrated people. Before He even gives the law, He calls, He
commits, He consecrates His people.

The people were called in verses three to six. Listen to these verses. "Then
Moses went up to God, and the Lord called him from the mountain and said, 'This
is what you are to say to the house of Jacob, and what you are to tell the
people of Israel.

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles'
wings and brought you to Myself. Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant,
then out of all the nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the
whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

'" These are the words used to speak to the Israelites. They were called. They
were called to remember that God had freed them.

What a great picture. You've been born on eagles' wings to this point. They were
called to obedience.

His voice was to be their direction, His covenant the basis of their law. They
were called to trust. You're My possession.

You're a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. To understand the full meaning of
what happened this day at Sinai, you have to understand that it's given to a
people called to praise and obedience and trust in God. The people were called.

The people were also committed this day in verses 7 and 8. Verses 7 and 8, "So
Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all
the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded
together, 'We will do everything the Lord has said.

' So Moses brought their answers back to the Lord. " They had this huge
congregational meeting and the vote was unanimous. All that the Lord has spoken,
we're going to do.

The law is not forced on these people. It was chosen by them. Before God even
gives them the law, He says, "Are you willing?

" And they say, "Yes. " Individually chosen, we want to follow you. They were
committed.

They were called. The people were also consecrated that day. You can read about
that all the way in verse 9 to 15 of chapter 19.

Let me read for you beginning in verse 10, a couple of verses there. "And the
Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow.
Have them wash their clothes and be ready for the third day, because on that day
the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

'" They were consecrated. They washed their clothes. Now to consecrate is to
make holy, to set apart.

Moses was commanded to give them a three-day preparation, getting ready to hear
what was going to happen on that mountain, to remind themselves of the special
quality of a relationship that they would have with God. Even here when the law
is given, it's not just about laws and rules and regulations. You see it's about
relationship with God.

Now they lost that over time, but this is all about a relationship with God and
how we live it out. To understand what happened that day, you have to understand
it was given to a people who were called and consecrated, who committed
themselves to God. But then to really understand this day, you have to see what
happened in Mount Sinai.

Called, committed, consecrated people, they come to Mount Sinai and listen to
what happens in verse 12 and then verses 16 to 20. God says, "Put limits for the
people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the
mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be
put to death.

' On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning with a thick
cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp
trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God and they
stood at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire. The
smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace. The whole mountain trembled
violently and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.

Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. The Lord descended to the
top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. " Wow.

You read these verses, it seems like the high point of the relationship of man
of God in some ways in the entire scripture. You've got this mountain, you've
got smoke, you've got earthquakes, you've got the voice of God. Unless you take
a close look at the New Testament, you might be tempted to say that you and I as
believers need to come to Mount Sinai, in a sense, just as these people did.

That we need to face the same kind of experience of call and commitment as they
did. We need to be called. We need to be committed.

But the experience of the life of freedom in Jesus Christ is entirely different
from this experience. Hebrews 12, 18-24 teaches us that although you and I can
learn something about the nature of the law from what happened at Mount Sinai,
if you want to understand the freedom that you have in Christ, you have to
understand as a believer, here's what Hebrews says. As a believer, you don't
come to Mount Sinai.

You come to a place Hebrews calls Mount Zion. Listen to Hebrews 12, 18-24. You
have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire,
to darkness, gloom and storm, to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking
word that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them
because they could not bear what was commanded.

If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so
terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear. " But you have come to
Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the
church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. You come to God, the
judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the
mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word
than the blood of Abel. You've not come to Mount Sinai, that mountain where they
received the law.

You've come to a place called Mount Zion, a picture of heaven, a picture of
relationship with God. And understanding as a believer the difference between
Sinai and Zion is one of the keys to understanding your relationship with God as
a follower of Jesus Christ. You don't come to Sinai.

You come to Zion. Sinai was an unapproachable mountain. Zion is a living city.

Sinai was a mountain that carried the death penalty for even touching it. Zion
is a heavenly city and a new Jerusalem. The law presents to us at Sinai an
unapproachable God.

Grace in Christ has caused you and I to realize we live in the presence of God
now. That's how we live. Sinai was a place of terror.

Zion is a place of joy. Darkness and gloom and whirlwind on Sinai. People
trembling, even Moses trembling.

It says the whole camp trembled, that means Moses too. Versus, in Zion you've
got the rejoicing angels, you've got the church set free, you've got people made
perfect. Where would you rather be?

Where would you rather be? As a follower of Christ, you come to Zion. The law
inevitably pushed mankind away from God while grace inevitably draws us towards
him.

When Jesus has lifted up, he draws us towards him. Sinai was a place of fear.
Zion is a place of confident assurance.

At Mount Sinai, they heard words too terrible to hear and Moses was full of
fear. But at Mount Zion, here's Jesus, the mediator, the go-between of a new
promise, a new covenant, saving us through his blood. The law in the end makes
us afraid of God because we know we deserve punishment.

We see that we've broken the law. All have sinned, all have fallen short of the
glory of God. Grace, only grace gives us assurance before God.

We can live, you can live in joyous relationship with the judge of all eternity
because Jesus is your mediator, he is your go-between. You don't throw away the
Old Testament, you learn from the Old Testament, but you also don't try to be an
Old Testament follower of Jesus Christ. There are some who think that to be a
follower of Jesus Christ is to be afraid of God, to be so in awe of God that you
think him to be unapproachable.

But the truth of the matter is to be a follower of Jesus Christ is to be in love
with a father who sent a son to give himself for us and to realize you've been
adopted by that father, you're in his family. There are some who think that to
be a true follower of Jesus Christ means you are so serious about God that a
smile never cracks your face. How could you smile in the face of the awe-filled
wonder of the greatness and the terror of who God is?

But the truth of the matter is, following Jesus Christ means joy. Jesus came to
share the joy of who he is with us and that joy extends all the way into
eternity. All is rejoicing with joy and you and I are rejoicing with joy.

So anytime in your life, anytime in your life, you feel that somebody is telling
you, "Hey, to be a real believer in Jesus, you've got to come to Mount Sinai.
You've got to be afraid of God. You've got to let the law and legalism and these
rules take more of a hold in your life.

" Anytime you hear them saying that, you remember these verses. You haven't come
to Mount Sinai. You've come to Mount Zion.

Jesus, you've called us. You've committed us. You've consecrated us from Mount
Zion, a place of joy, a place of assurance, a place where we experience your
presence.

So I pray for myself, I pray for each of us. Let us live in that place today, in
your presence, in the assurance of your love, in the joy that results. Let us
live in that place today.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Well join us tomorrow. It's Exodus chapter 20
and that means the Big Ten.