Jesus: The 'I AM'

Exodus 3:13, 14

Moses asked God what he should say if the children of Israel were to ask him who had sent him to be their deliverer. God responded, “I AM THAT I AM”. “I AM” becomes a name for God in this passage that is translated in Hebrew as hayah, meaning “to be, exist”. God is saying that He just IS. There is no other explanation as to how He became or how He got “to be”; He just is what He is.

This revelation of the name of God was not given to Moses to tell Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asks a similar question to the one posed by Moses, Moses answers, “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go” (Exodus 5:3). There is no need to prove God’s existence before Pharaoh, for he is not under the covenant of God. For Israel however, they know the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so they are looking for a revelation of who this God is.

The establishment of “I AM” doesn’t last long, as we don’t see God calling Himself this again, but instead He refers to Himself as “JEHOVAH” in Exodus 6:3. This is translated in Hebrews as Yehovah and it means “the existing one”. Elsewhere it is rendered by the English spelling of LORD, using all capital letters. Its reference is to the God of the covenant. Each time it is used it is hearkening back to the fact that God is not only powerful, but is faithful to honor covenant.

Following His encounter with the woman caught in adultery, Jesus gives a discourse on being the light of the world, telling the Pharisee’s that they are of their father the devil (John 8:44). He continues on by explaining that if a man keeps His sayings, “he shall never see death” (John 8:51). This infuriates the Jews because they know that Abraham and the prophets were great men, but they are dead, and they feel that Jesus is setting Himself up as greater than all that preceded Him.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56), Jesus said. “Then said the Jews unto him, ‘Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?’” (John 8:57). By claiming that Abraham had seen Jesus’ day, He can only be insinuating one of two things. Either He is claiming to be hundreds of years old, having lived in the actual time of Abraham or He is claiming that He is God, having seen Abraham with His own eyes. Recall what Jesus has just said in verse 38, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father”.

“Jesus said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:58).

The New Testament was written in Greek, so the words are not going to be exactly the same, but can you guess what “I am” means in the Greek? If you guessed, “to be, exist” then you are exactly right. Jesus, who would be speaking in Hebrew to a group of Jews, uses the phrase, hayah, which everyone standing there knows is what God called Himself to Moses. This is Jesus saying, “I AM”.

You must decide for yourself if Jesus was and is God in the flesh, or if he is psychotic. There really are no other explanations. If He was who He claimed to be, then it was Jesus saying to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM”. For those of us who believe, He is still THE GREAT I AM!

An Apron of Figs

Genesis 3:7-10

Upon seeing their nakedness for the first time, Adam and Eve clothed themselves in an apron made of fig leaves. They had always been naked, but the glory of God shined both on and in them. Now that sin had entered, the glory had departed, and the long journey towards the cross had begun. Frightened at their own mortality, and afraid of the wrath of God, this First Couple hides their nakedness from their own eyes with fig leaves, and from the eyes of God by hiding in the bushes.

The fig leaf is very large, and it no doubt made sense to Adam to use it for cover. What he did not realize is that when it is separated from the vine and exposed to sunlight, it dries out rather quickly, causing it to shrivel and die. It probably did not take long for Adam to notice that his covering wasn’t covering so much after all.

Fig leaves henceforth and forever become a symbol of self-righteousness. Adam puts these on as men put on works; to cover our failures. Adam is not only the father of all races, giving them sin and death through his sin, but he is also the father of religion. It is Adam’s attempt to cover-up his failure that is the basis for all works righteousness in the world today. Any time that man does something to make up for his faults, or to hide his short-comings, he is taking a cue from Adam, and fashioning an apron of leaves.

All of our works can never bring us righteousness, for if they could, then there was no need for Christ to die (Galatians 2:21). In fact, Christ’s finished work at the cross frees us from the merry-go-round of works to achieve right standing with God (Romans 3:21-22, 27-28). Because of the work of Christ’s cross, you and I are justified simply by faith, and we now wear a different robe. Look at Isaiah’s prophecy concerning those who accept Christ:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

No longer do we wear garments of figs, fashioned by our good works or our religion, but we wear His garments of salvation, and we have been covered with a robe of His righteousness. This robe cannot be made of our works, for look at what Isaiah says about our own righteousness: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’ are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). The prophet is reminding us of the faded leaves of Adam’s apron of figs. No works of our hands will ever survive.

The Father gave the Prodigal Son, “the best robe” (Luke 15:22). He never wanted His son to forget that he was a son, and the robe would remind him of that. Joseph wore his coat of many colors with pride, always assured of the simple knowledge that his father loved him. The acknowledgment of son ship was enough to bring righteousness out in these, and it is enough to bring Jesus out in us also.

Put on “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3). No more figs!

The Sun of Righteousness

Malachi 4:2

Notice the capitalization of “Sun”, making it a proper noun. This takes the meaning from that of a celestial body that burns with gas, to being something far more formal. This verse marks the only time that we see Jesus referred to as “Sun”, comparing Him with light and heat.

Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The beginning of this verse says, “Then spake Jesus again unto them”. Who is the “them” that Jesus is speaking to? It is the people that He has been teaching in the temple since early in the morning (verse 2). Within context of chapter 8, Jesus speaks this great verse following one of the more infamous incidents in all of the gospels.

A woman was brought to Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees wished to trap Jesus by asking what He thought that they should do to her, in light of Moses’ command that she should be stoned. If Jesus says, “Let her go”, then He is accused of ignoring the law. If He says, “Stone her”, then they pin Him as unloving and judgmental. His response was to point out the sin in all of their lives, leaving no one spotless to accuse her. The only spotless one, Jesus Himself, says, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Following the gift of no condemnation, which empowers the woman to “sin no more”; Jesus calls Himself the light of the world. In effect, He is naming Himself the “Sun” of this world; in which all of His followers will bear within themselves the light of life (verse 12). This proclamation must be linked back to the prophecy of Malachi to truly understand its importance.

Malachi said that those who fear the name of the Lord, the Sun of righteousness would arise. No one feared the name of the Lord as did the Jewish people, and it was to them that Jesus, the “Sun”, first appeared. Then he tells us that when the Sun of righteousness does arrive, He will have “healing in his wings”. The “Sun” precedes the “healing” in this verse, thus it precedes it in the life of Jesus. When the light of Jesus shined into the life of the adulterous woman, it did not show her sin, but rather it showed her freedom from condemnation. The same light that shined provided her with the healing that she would need to “sin no more”.

Many feel that the light of Jesus shines into the lives of believers to show what they are doing wrong and to condemn them for it. Yet, when Jesus shares this verse, it follows great redemption and hope. His light does not shine into believers to show them their sin, for their sins are remembered no more! Rather, His light shines within us to show us that we are not condemned and that we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The continuous reminder that you are not condemned provides healing for your hurts, your pains and your insecurities. A constant reminder of your failures and sins will bring on guilt and condemnation, which will further into fear and torment. The perfect love of Jesus constantly drives out the fear and the torment, leaving you healed and whole. Praise be to God for the light of Jesus. As the old song says, “Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine”.

Awake, O Sword

Zecharaiah 13:6, 7

The Bible study term, “The Law of First Mention” teaches us that the first time that a word or phrase is used in the Bible, it sets a precedent for how that word is to be interpreted or used throughout the Bible. The first time that we see the word “sword” is in Genesis 3:24, when God drives man out of the garden and places at the east of the garden, Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep man from eating of the Tree of Life and living forever in a fallen state. The sword thus becomes a symbol of God’s judgment against the sin of man.

When Zechariah prophesies of the sword, it is prefaced by a verse telling us of the arrival of Christ on this earth. In that day many will ask the Lord what the wounds are in His hands, and He will answer, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6). This gives us the context for the sword of verse 7, as now those wounds must be explained.

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd…” (verse 7). God is calling for the sword, held in reserve outside of Eden to wake up from its many years of slumber. As the judgment of God, this sword represents God’s pent up anger against the fall of Adam. He did not kill Adam at Eden, but now someone must pay; that someone will be the shepherd, which Jesus says is Himself (John 10:11).

“…smite the shepherd…” (verse 7). It was Rome who ordered the death of Jesus, and it was the Jewish High Council who convicted Him of the crime of blasphemy, but neither of them killed Jesus. In fact, Jesus stated that He was loved of His Father because He was willing to lay down His life (John 10:17). Jesus was not killed at Calvary, instead He, “gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). It was the Father who smote Him however, causing 3 hours of darkness at the cross, during which Jesus bore the sins of the whole world. God did the smiting, and it pleased God to do so (Isaiah 53:4, 10, 11).

“…and the sheep will scatter…” (verse 7). To further prove that this verse is talking about Christ’s death on the cross, Jesus quotes this portion just before going to the Garden of Gethsemane, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26:31). Christ’s death on the cross scattered His sheep, with only one disciple remaining at the cross to watch Him die.

The good news is that God’s sword of judgment has been sheathed, and as believers, we never need to fear God’s anger against us. He poured all of His wrath out on Jesus at the cross and as long as people place their faith in Christ, they are spared the wrath that should have come on them. Jesus said as much when He told His disciples, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:31, 32). The word “men” is italicized in your Bible, meaning that it was added by the translators but does not appear in the original Greek. Remove it, and the meaning of these verses becomes clear: God was sending judgment into the world, and if Christ would go to the cross, He would be the lightning rod that took all of that judgment to Himself. Praise God!

Saint, there is no more anger in God against you. Rest in the confidence that you are free in Jesus Christ, for He has paid it all. The sword woke up to smite Jesus, now let it rest against you.

The Desire of All Nations

Haggai 2:7-9

With the worsening of economies, the rising prices and the instability in the markets, the world feels a level of insecurity that it is unfamiliar with. Believers rest in their Savior, knowing that God has it all under control, but the unbeliever has no such faith. What can be shaken, is being shaken, as God said that He would do (verse 7). The things that are of Him, namely the gospel of His grace and goodness, cannot be shaken so they will remain in this final hour (Hebrews 12:25-28).

The thing that every believer looks forward to, and most unbelievers think is a joke, is the arrival of Jesus Christ. Haggai called Him, “the desire of all nations” (Haggai 2:7). What a wonderful description of our Lord Jesus. Even those who do not realize that they are seeking for Jesus are doing so every time that they try to find happiness in the things of this world. All of these things shake and fade away, and man must replace the joy that went with them. They are seeking after what Jesus offers, whether they realize it or not. As Simon said to Jesus, “All men seek for thee” (Mark 1:37).

God gives a further promise in the next verse of Haggai, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts” (2:8). Everything belongs to the Lord. This world has its system of finances and government, but it all belongs to God. Even the silver and the gold, which is the monetary system of this world, is all in the hands of God. His desire is not only to bless His people with spiritual things, but to bless us financially as well. Some try to argue that this silver and gold is symbolic, but there was actual silver and gold in the temple and it is the temple that God is speaking of.

Finally, a great promise that is being fulfilled even now: “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:9). Paul declared that as believers, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The glory of the great temples of yesterday cannot compare to the glory of having the Holy Spirit reside within the heart and life of a child of God.

You do not find the presence of God in a church building, you find Him in your heart. The desire of all nations is Jesus, and He lives within each believer. The latter is better than the former because in the past, prior to Calvary, the only place where God could be approached was within the walls of the physical temple. Now, because Jesus has provided a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20), we can draw near to God because of His residence within our own body. We are not “little god’s”, but we belong to a “big God”!

If you find yourself lonely today, or bogged down with the cares of this life, remember that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives and dwells within you and He is ready to provide His temple with whatever it takes to bring it glory and honor.

The Judgment of Nations

Zephaniah 3:8

The latter phrase of the 8th verse shows us that this event has yet to occur on God’s timeline, “For all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy”. The earth has yet to be devoured by the fire of God, though Peter tells us that this day is coming, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Don’t worry; forest fires and rising global temperatures are not the end time burning of God. This moment comes at the very end, and there are still other things to be accomplished before this can be.

God promises to “gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger” (Zephaniah 3:8). We know that God’s judgment was poured out upon Jesus at the cross, so He has no more to pour out on humanity, for the sin debt is paid. Where does this terrible anger come from in Zephaniah? Look at the arrival of Jesus following the Tribulation:

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:31-33).

At the Second Coming, after Jesus defeats the anti-Christ at the Battle of Armageddon, He will sit on His throne in Jerusalem and will gather all nations before Him. This is not a judgment of individuals, for that will not occur until after the 1000 year reign of Christ on this earth. This judgment is for the nations of the earth at that time, and He will divide the good from the bad.

All of humanity is referred to as sheep in the Bible. Even sinners are given this title, for they are lost, in need of being found. The goats of Matthew 25 are the nations that Zephaniah warns us about. When Christ takes the mantle of world leadership and authority to begin His 1000 year reign, He must judge the nations for what they did with His finished work.

It is important to remember that no one will ever be judged for whether or not they kept the law, for all would be guilty. Men do not go to hell for committing acts of sin, but for rejecting Jesus as their redeemer. Jesus said, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

John wrote, in the same chapter, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). You see the wrath of God abiding because they ignored that which appeased God’s wrath: the cross of Jesus Christ.

Believer, your judgment has been accomplished at the cross. Tell someone else that theirs has been accomplished as well, and all they need is to accept Jesus in their heart. Go in Him today.

No Matter What, I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:16-18

Everyone imagines what they would do if they had unlimited money or time. They fantasize of trips that they would take and shopping sprees that they would go on. Then reality kicks in and we see more bills than we do income, and not nearly enough hours in the day. We keep waiting for circumstances to change and for that golden opportunity to come along and make everything better. In short, we have no time to rest, for there is too much to do.

In light of these things, when we hear someone teaching or preaching on resting in the Lord, we often tune out because rest seems impossible. Jesus fell asleep in the boat with His disciples, and seemed content to snooze right through a terrible storm. It was not the circumstances that woke Him, but the panic of His beloved disciples. When He calmed the storm with a wave of His hand and a simple command, He asked where their faith had gone. The reprimand has more to do with their lack of rest in terrible circumstances than it does anything else.

Jesus knew how to rest, even when life was pressing Him. Habakkuk wrote of how believers should, “rest in the day of trouble” (3:16). If we are always waiting to rest in Christ until circumstances are perfect, then we will always be waiting. In the world we find rest when the waters are calm. In Christ, you rest and that calms the waters. Christ is not a responder; He is a Creator!

It takes a resolve to rest. The author of Hebrews encouraged the church to “labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:11). When you arrive at this place, you can rejoice in God’s goodness no matter what happens around you.

Habakkuk writes that though the fig tree stop producing; though the vines yield no grapes; though the olive tree give no oil and the crops refuse to grow, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17). This is quite a resolve, to give God praise and glory even if everything around you fails. In troubled economic times, you and I can have a peace in our heart, for we know that all else may fail, but Christ Jesus cannot fail.

Notice the word ‘LORD’ and its capital letters. The author is using “Jehovah” in Hebrew, which means “covenant keeper”. It is his way of pointing the reader back to the one who drew up the Covenant. God is faithful even when we are unfaithful. God is good, even when things are not.

As you look around you today, you may not see much reason to rejoice. Rejoice anyway! God is good and His love endures forever. Your salvation is in Him, and when you labor to enter into His rest, the storm and the waves cease for you.

Know the Righteousness of the Lord

Micah 6:5

Most Christians claim that they know what it takes to be righteous. Things such as reading your Bible, having a daily prayer time, giving in the offering and going to church regularly will usually find their way onto the list. All of these things are great, but none of them make us righteous. These things come from those who are righteous, but they in no way improve upon their righteousness.

Believers are made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our right standing with God comes now, not because we keep all of the law perfectly, but because Jesus did, and the Father accepts Him. If God accepts Jesus, then God shows us His righteousness by accepting us (Romans 3:26). If we see how righteous that He is through His acceptance of us, then we have an insight into the righteousness of God.

God spoke through Micah, stating that Israel could know how righteous that God was by remembering the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak was the king of Moab, and he watched as the nation of Israel marched past his kingdom in the book of Numbers. He consulted with the wizard Balaam to place a curse on God’s people as they were encamped in the valley, taking Balaam to a high mountain to show him a fourth part of the camp. Balaam agreed to do it for the money, but found that every time that he opened his mouth to curse God’s people a blessing came out instead. What God has blessed, no man can curse!

After repeated attempts at cursing God’s people, Balaam made this very telling statement about how God views His own:

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them” (Numbers 23:21).

Even though God’s people had complained over lack of water in chapter 20, and had mocked God’s provision of manna in chapter 21, God still sees no iniquity in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. How can this be? Surely not everyone in the camp of Israel had no sin in their life. Remember, Israel has just put the brazen serpent on a pole in chapter 21 and all who looked upon it were healed. That serpent was a type of the cursed Christ at Calvary, of which all who look upon will be saved. Because Christ took the curse, we CANNOT BE CURSED! Thus, when God looked down into the camp of Israel he saw no sin in Jacob or perverseness in Israel.

God specifically uses “Jacob” and “Israel” in His description, though we know that they are the same person. Jacob means “supplanter” or “heel-catcher”. In other words, he was a cheat by nature. Israel means “prince with God”. One represents the hopeless, while the other represents the hopeful. Notice that God saw no sin in Jacob, though by his name he is a cheater. No matter what stage of development that you are in while living for Christ, Jesus is in you as the hope of glory, and you are viewed as sinless in God’s eyes. Praise God!

See how righteous that He is in you by remembering that what God has blessed, no man can curse. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

Jonah 4:11

The story of Jonah is well known to all, even if one has never been to Sunday school. We all know that Jonah was the reluctant prophet, called by God to take the message of repentance to a heathen nation, Nineveh. We know that Jonah ran from the call and ended up being swallowed by a whale. After three days and nights in the whale’s belly, he was vomited up on the shore. Then he goes to Nineveh and God moves greatly, stirring repentance in the hearts of all that hear him preach. For most of us, the story ends there.

The book of Jonah however, does not end with Nineveh’s repentance. Instead, the book follows Jonah outside of the walls of Nineveh, and finds him angry with God. Jonah did not avoid going to Nineveh because he was afraid of them, though he would have had every reason to be. They were a savage nation, sacrificing humans to their strange gods; skinning their prisoners alive to use the skins as dried leather for furniture and piling the skulls of their executed on a large mound outside of the city gates to warn foreigners and thieves. Jonah avoids going to Nineveh because they have been perpetual persecutors of Israel, and Jonah wants them to suffer the wrath of God. He knows that God is merciful and that He will forgive them if they ask, and Jonah wants no part of it.

God causes a gourd, a quick growing shrub in that part of the world, to grow up overnight to shadow Jonah from the hot sun, and then prepares a worm to eat it up. This act of God was to teach Jonah one final and crucial lesson about the heart of God.

God asks Jonah if he is angry about the gourd being destroyed. Jonah replies that he has a right to be angry, even to the point of suicide (Jonah 4:9). God’s response is to teach Jonah the contrast between his love for the gourd and God’s love for Nineveh:

“Then said the Lord, ‘Thou has had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand (120,000) persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?’” (Jonah 4:10, 11)

Jonah was angry over the loss of something that he did nothing to create. God shows him that in Nineveh are people whom God loves, who He did create and who He wants to save. How much more should God do all to reach Nineveh? There are 120,000 people there that cannot tell the difference between their right hand and their left. What kind of person cannot tell that difference? Children! God wants to spare Nineveh because the next generation deserves a chance. He has not changed to this day.

Jesus loved the little children and allowed all that wanted to come near Him and be blessed. God has a special love even now, not only for little children, but for all of the innocent, placed in harm’s way by someone else’s decisions and lifestyles. The next time that you look at someone and hope that they, “get what’s coming to them”, think of the 120,000 children of Nineveh, whom God wanted to save in spite of their parents. The love of Jesus is still great for all who do not deserve it, including you and me.

Find the Right Mountain

Obadiah 1:15-17

Obadiah says that the “day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou has done, it shall be done unto thee” (1:15). For those who have not accepted Christ, this is a pretty frightening thought! The prophet proceeds to explain that as Israel had heard from God on his “holy mountain”, so the heathen will drink the same thing at this mountain that Israel did. What mountain is he talking about, and what drink will they drink?

The 17th verse answers our question partially, “But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance” (1:17). There is a contrast between two mountains. The first is God’s holy mountain where Israel drank at first. This can only be Mount Sinai, where Moses spoke with God and received the Ten Commandments and all of the written ordinances of the law. Israel drank of God’s wrath from this mountain on more than one occasion and all because they were disobedient to the law that came from the mount.

Mount Zion is never mentioned while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Of course, that makes sense seeing as Mount Zion is in Jerusalem, and Israel has yet to arrive there, but for the time period that Israel was in while in the wilderness, there is only one significant mountain and that is Sinai, the birthplace of the law. All of Israel was judged there, by the pristine, perfect standards of God’s law.

The author of Hebrews describes two mountains: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion (Hebrews 12:18-24). The first burned with fire, was black and dark and the voice that spoke from it could not be endured (vss. 18-20). The second is described as the city of the living God, with many angels, where the church lives with Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (vss.22-24).

Mt. Sinai represents the law and all of its demands (Galatians 4:24). While telling man how to live, it provides no help in keeping those demands. It came so that sin would explode in man’s heart, showing him his need for a Savior (Romans 5:20; Galatians 3:24).

Mt. Zion represents the New Covenant and the grace of God. There is no fear in approaching it because Jesus lives there, and His blood is speaking great things about our redemption (Hebrews 12:23).

Obadiah’s prophecy shows us that man will ultimately be judged by the Law, because without Jesus, the only other mountain for him is Sinai. When someone rejects Christ, they are rejecting God’s offer of a New Covenant from Mt. Zion. Because of this, they are left only with Sinai and its demands.

As a believer, you should live and dwell and worship at Mt. Zion, where grace flows in abundance. Any attempts at keeping the law to achieve righteousness places you at the base of Sinai, where not even the great Moses could keep from quaking in fear (Hebrews 12:21).

Preachers must move their pulpits from the darkness of Sinai, where the law is preached with trembling and fear; and station themselves in the heaven of Mt. Zion, where the loveliness of Jesus is presented and the New Covenant is free for all by the precious blood of Jesus.
Go to the right mountain today!