Hallelujah. You know, it's said that when Jewish children come to study the Torah for the first time, when they learn their verses, they're given honey and sweet apples and we've celebrated that in the past before. But truly, the Word of God is so sweet to us and for those of you who are coming in, find the Word of God - You know, Pastor Janeth held the Bible up and said, “This is the best thing for your life.” The Word of God is sweet to our lives. It brings the blessings, it brings long life, it brings longevity, it brings unity with God the Father, amen. The Lord is sweet to us this day as He shares His Word.

Now for the Jewish religion, today is one of the most high holy days of the year. It's the holiday of Shavuot, and they celebrate the giving of the Torah on this day and when God comes to make covenant with His people. Today we're going to be learning a little bit - what kind of covenant He made with them - what covenant is. But ultimately for us as Christians, we're realizing God wants to be near to His people. And He does that first by bringing in His Word. He comes in the form of His Word to be near them, and then through Jesus Christ He comes as the Word made flesh. For the Word says, “He became flesh and He made His dwelling among us.” The Holy Spirit came after Jesus was resurrected into heaven and He then gives up His spirit to dwell inside of the hearts of His disciples. The Holy Spirit, this day, wants to come inside of us because you serve a relational God. You serve a God of covenant. He wants to be in you. He wants to be among you. He wants to dwell in the midst of His people. And today we're going to be opening up our hearts like never before to allow God to enter in. This is His plan from the beginning - to be in you and with you.

The scriptures say, “Do not fear for I am with you.” The Lord is in this place. The Spirit is in the midst of His people. When we gather, revival can be here because of the faith of the saints. God comes down from heaven to dwell among us. Amen?

So He comes to those who diligently seek Him, but as I read the scriptures, I see that sometimes He comes to those who may not be diligently seeking. And that's what I see when I read the story about Moses. You see, Moses was, you know, raised as an Egyptian prince in Egypt. And when he was there, he realized, “Oh my gosh, I'm not really even Egyptian, I'm Hebrew.” And he runs away from that life and goes to live in the desert in the place called Midian. Now for the next 40 years, Moses lives there. He becomes a shepherd, he gets married, he has children. Every day is the same, everything is mundane. And you know what? It wasn't until God was about to shake things up, till God was about to reveal Himself to him, that his whole life was turned upside down.

Church, the Lord wants to reveal His plans and His purpose for you this day, just like He did with Moses. Stepping in on his life and changing what we're used to doing on a day-in, day-out basis. Too long are we just focusing on things that don't matter; The things that are not eternal. You know, we get too caught up thinking about what we're going to eat for the day. How much time do we spend thinking about what we're going to eat for dinner? Living in the natural instead of the supernatural, not walking by faith as God has called us to, but for some of you, I have observed the church stepping out in faith. Some of you are willing to allow God to turn things upside down on you, to change the way that you've been doing habitually for years and years because God is bringing us into something new. Maybe you've never had a need in the past to go deeper, but certainly, certainly for Moses, he didn't realize that God was about to use him to show His power to the whole world.

God was about to use Moses to have a chosen people that He would establish covenant with them. And that's what we're going to see today, that God - just as He did in the days of Moses - that He is looking to establish covenant with you and your family. That He would not be far off, just as the idols that people worship all around us, they are deaf to prayers and they are mute in their responses. The things that the world worships are not going to give a response. They're not going to watch over you, but God has cared for us. He has shown us He is not deaf. He is not mute. He is not dead, but He is alive.

"He is looking for those who would faithfully worship Him; that you would obey Him, and that you would serve the Lord with all of your heart."

So today is going to be the invitation to covenant. And we serve this covenant God. He is looking for those who would faithfully worship Him; that you would obey Him, and that you would serve the Lord with all of your heart. Not having one foot in the world and one foot in God; not trying to straddle and trying to balance both sides, but that you would give yourself fully to Him, that He in turn would be able to bless you.

You see, God has to be true to Himself, and He is looking for those true followers. He is looking that you would be sincere in your heart, that you would honor Him with all of your life. That you would expose all areas of your life, that it would be with our money, that it would be with our children, that it would be with our jobs, that it would be with the things that we have struggled with through all of this time. God wants to go deeper with us this day. So let's open up our Bibles to our scripture, it's going to be in Exodus 19. We're going to be looking through this story about the Israelites and how God came to make covenant with them.

We are going to come right to the part in the story - the Israelites have already been released from and delivered from Egypt. They are now walking through the wilderness for three weeks when they come to the foot of Mount Sinai. This mountain is the very same place that God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. When God called Moses up to that mountain and He revealed Himself by fire, He was the all-consuming fire. And Moses - [He] told him, “take off your shoes for you are standing on holy ground. I want to use you and I want to bring a people to Myself. I want to make a nation for Myself.” And so God is first going to call him up to this mountain, He separates him from the people and says, “I got a message for you. Come up the mountain because I'm going to speak to you because I want you to tell the people My message.”

Church, I got a message for you this day, and God is speaking to us; He is saying this day, “I have cared for you as a hen would care for her chicks. As a mother bear would care for her cubs. I have been there with you. I have seen your tears. I have been in the struggle with you. I care for My people.” And that's Exodus 19:4, “You see for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.”

God has carried the people on eagles' wings when He brought the signs of the plagues to Egypt. When He made a distinction between them and to the people of Egypt and kept them safe. When He opened up the Red Sea and swallowed up the enemies and they were there no more - They were gone, never to be seen again. And when He led them through the wilderness with a pillar of fire and a cloud of smoke. These are miraculous - miraculous signs and wonders, and this is the hand of God. We serve a God that is alive, that is involved with our everyday life. He does the miracles so that His people would bear His name and carry His blessing to the whole world this day.

Would you carry His blessing? Would you bear His name? Are you proud to carry the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with you? For He has been like a mother to us, a father to us, that which covers us in all of our troubles. He is the one that is for us and not against us.

Last week, many of you were able to raise your hand in service, giving testimony after testimony, powerful words of what God has delivered us from. Cancer, rage, selfishness, pride, all of these things. Who has done it? Has it been us? Was it of myself? Is it me that was able to deliver us? We must keep at the forefront of our mind, every day, that we were powerless to break ourselves free from the things that once held us as captive - To the things that once chained us and bound us and kept us from having even a right mind to put God first. We didn't understand those things, but the Lord has released us. The Lord has set us free. The Lord has put us on a firm foundation. And we remember that on a daily basis.

We have just celebrated 19 years of this church. And through those years, we constantly say, “All of us who have been here are better off today than we were 19 years ago.” It's amazing how God is able to infiltrate our lives and it is our job as the church to demonstrate that to the world, which may not know that He is still alive - that may not know that He still wants to have that intimacy. Too many people are just used to going to church, as my husband said, maybe going through, “Hey, my parents told me to go, so I just go and it's a check off the box - I'm doing my duty.” But for us, we're supposed to demonstrate to the world that God is a part of our life, there is a relation, it goes deeper. So if you could put the next verses on, and we're just going to go through this story.

[Verse] Five, “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 and a holy nation.” And this is what Pastor Janeth opened up today with. “If you would covenant with Me, you will be like a royal treasure in My hand. I will keep you close to My heart, you will be the royal diadem of the Lord.” He will wear you like a crown on His head. You will be the thing that blesses God, and He will make you a holy nation unto Himself and set apart. This is the message that God gave to Moses to go back down Mount Sinai and share with the people. This is the covenant proposal that God gives to you this day. If you would remember what God has done, what should our answers be this day? In light of what God has rescued, in light of the things that He has done, God says, “if you are to honor Me, if you will obey Me, then these are the things that I will do for you.”

You see, covenant is so much like a marriage. It is truly this commitment that two people come into, and it takes two people to make a decision to come into that kind of unity. And that's the challenge of today, that we're not going to all put it all on God; We're going to say, “Lord, we want to obey You. We want to follow You.” And it really is because we have seen His hand of favor and blessing in our life.

You see, the contract is conditional. There are blessings for obedience and there are consequences for disobedience. And just like in any other contract that you have seen in this world, there are two parts. Two parties are promising to do their part. For us, we're promising God to obey His commands, to love His Word. We take that book of the Bible, we read it daily. We apply it to our lives. We memorize the scripture. We dwell on it and we eat it and we take it of the Lord and apply it to our lives. We will have no other gods before Him and we put Him first. Church, there's got to be a realignment of our lives. No longer does God want to take second place, He wants to be in the forefront of your mind. When you wake up in the morning, He wants to be the first thing on your mind - not the Facebook, not the Twitter, not the email, not being happy because I'm getting endorphins from looking at my phone - He wants to be your endorphins. He wants to be the joy in your life! Wake up in the morning and look to your God, for He has loved you and He has delivered you and he has rescued you! He has saved you from so many things that could have come and brought devastation into our lives. And for God, He promises to bless you.

There's a blessing in the Bible that was given to Jesus when He was 12, and also to Samuel. I just knew that it was for Jesus, but this week in scriptures, I realized that it was for Samuel when he was a child as well. And it says that “I will bless you in wisdom and stature with God and with men.” And it's actually one of the theme verses that we have for our co-op in this school. But when you think of wisdom, stature with God and with men, “wisdom” is of the mind. “Stature” is a physical blessing. “With God” is a spiritual blessing. And to have a “Blessing with men” is social blessing. So God is promising a blessing for you in mind, body, soul, and spirit. There's nothing that's left outside of that. It's a whole well-being within you. It's like the hymn that says, “Oh, it is well. it is well within my soul.” No matter what comes our way, no matter what obstacles, no matter what trials and tribulations, it is well, it is well with my soul.

Now as God brings this proposition to the people, Moses comes down the mountain. He shares with them what God has offered to them - We must consider the cost. Consider today what God is asking. He wants to be family with you. He wants to be unified with you. Will you walk with Him? Will you walk with Him; Will you hold Him hand in hand just as two people come to a marriage altar to just say, “I will say no to everyone else. I will not look away. I will not let my head be turned in any other direction. I will commit myself to you.” We have learned the verse that says “You cannot build unless you first decide and consider what it will take to build.” It is considering the cost. And when I think about it, you know, for me personally, the benefit far outweighs anything that I'm giving up. For I give up pride, I give up selfishness and greed and anger, and all of these things that keep me from serving God. That break down relationships and would keep me isolated in this world. Those things do not pay off.

As parents, we put rules in place for our children to keep them safe and happy, although they don't realize it's for their own good. But God is the same way. God does have a book of commands and laws, but they are for your safety, they are for your joy. , they are for your goodness, your longevity, your eternal life. You know, God is bringing us to a place to say, “Yes, there is no other answer.” And that's exactly what happens when Moses brings the proposition to the people. They respond in our next verse.

“The people respond together, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has said.’ So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.” The people responded in unison. Hallelujah! He has bound us together in unity. The heart of the church is operating as one; I know that I am not alone in this feeling to respond with a resounding “Yes!” to the Lord this day. “Yes, we want to be committed to You. Yes, we want to be devoted to You. Yes, we want to be Your treasured possession. Yes, we want to be holy and set apart. Yes, we want You to covenant among us!” A resounding yes! Nobody twisting our arms, nobody's answering God begrudgingly this day. “Yes, we want to go deeper. We want to bear Your Name to the whole world and be Your blessing.” How are we responding to the invitation that God is giving us today?

In the New Testament, Jesus at one point is with Peter and He says, “Do you want to leave Me too?” And Peter responds to Him, to the Lord, “Where will I go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” Covenant with God means life. Truly covenant with Him - fully obeying the Lord. And folks, your actions are going to speak louder than words. You see, if you want to be wholly devoted to God, it's going to be seen to everybody. They're going to know today, even as you're walking out of this building, what your decision is. Because our decision is going to be seen with our actions. It's when you're going to start prioritizing God's Word over your own will. It's not having apathy in the midst of God's presence; You're saying, “Woo, the Lord is here in church. I'm going to make use of this time. I'm going to bring my petitions before the Lord. I'm going to ask Him to heal me. I'm going to ask Him to give me His Spirit. I want inside of me what's going on in this room. I'm not going to stand as a bystander to what's going on here. I will enter into covenant with Him.”

"Our actions show our decision, so consider today the terms of the covenant which is given to you this day."

We all bear that responsibility this day to make that decision. Our actions show our decision, so consider today the terms of the covenant which is given to you this day. Choose the Giver of life and make covenant with Him.

So we first understand that God is inviting you to covenant. And secondly, through Christ we have access to a new and better covenant. So here we are in this story and Moses has come down and given the people God's proposal. And so they agree, but it had not yet been confirmed. And so we're actually approaching the holiday which we're at today - Shavuot - when God is going to come down on the mountain and give them the Word. So He tells them, prepare yourselves, be consecrated, wash yourselves, get ready because the Lord is about to come down. And so we have our next verses. Exodus 19, verse 10. “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put limits for the people around the mountain. Tell them, “Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. For whoever touches the mountain will be put to death.’”

You see, we serve a holy, holy, holy God and only those who have cleansed their hearts and can approach Him with clean hearts and clean hands - They cleaned themselves for three days and yet at that time they still could not touch the mountain. God, in this covenant, was still far off from them; He was too holy. He was too magnificent. He was too awesome to approach in an unholy manner. God is still the same God. Because of their uncleanliness, they were unable to be near to Him. But church, God has not changed. He is still that holy and awesome God, and we must serve him with reverence in our hearts. The only acceptable thing to God is that when we give up our lives as an offering that is holy and pleasing unto Him. What else could you bring to Him? We like to give, you know, maybe money in certain churches. Or we like to bring some sort of offering. But the only, the only acceptable offering to a holy God is yourself.

"Could God establish Himself so great inside of your soul and your spirit that the emotions don't take His place?"

We consecrate ourselves and set ourselves apart for this purpose. No longer grieving the Holy Spirit because when He convicts us, we're going to respond back. And we're going to bring these sinful things to the Lord so that we can be transformed in His presence. No longer serving any idols and no longer (most importantly) divulging in our senses or in our feelings. Wow, sometimes they take the place of God in our lives. “I don't feel like it. I don't want to. I'm too tired. I'm hungry. I'm thirsty.” And we've talked about that. That's why it says in the Bible, “Their god is in their stomach.” Because regardless of what they feel, that becomes “God”. But this day, could God come inside of you? Could God establish Himself so great inside of your soul and your spirit that the emotions don't take His place? That the feelings of “I don't want to,” don't become your God. Hallelujah. We are transformed and we are regenerated by the work of God in His house this day.

Only in American Christianity do people do what they want and say what they want and still say that they are Christians and that they're in covenant with God. But we know better. We know that this is a holy mountain that they could not even approach because He is holy and awesome in all ways. So as we read this verse and we're understanding - God is about to come down and give a message to the people. So just turn your Bible, just one chapter. We're going to look in Exodus 20.

This is going to be the final time when God is going to come down on that mountain. Some of us know that story. The Lord is about to come, and He comes with smoke and fire and lightning and earthquakes, and it is a fearsome scene in the presence of God. And the people trembled with fear. “So when the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself, we will listen. But do not have God speak to us anymore or we will die.’”

So what's going on here? God comes down in the mountain and it is a fearsome sight; Trumpets are sounding, the shofar is going and the Lord's voice is booming to the people and they're shaking with fear. “We can't take it. We can't take it. Moses, have it stop. Let God speak to you and then you can tell us what God is going to say.” Wow, “Let God tell you.” Moses is the glimpse of the better things that are in Jesus. This is the foreshadow of Jesus Christ: Where Moses brought the Word, Jesus became the Word made flesh. Where Moses was about to make an animal sacrifice to seal the covenant, Jesus' blood was broken so that He could confirm the covenant. Where Moses became the mediator, Jesus becomes your peacemaker. Hallelujah! Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant based on better promises. Hallelujah. Jesus has given Himself and His body so that you would have that intimate relationship with God. In Jesus Christ and through Him, you have the forgiveness of sins so you no longer have to worship God far away. In Him, He fulfills the requirements of the law. In Him, He meets the requirements of the commands. In Him, Jesus, who is God in the flesh, He is holy and meets with God on our behalf.

Through the power of Jesus you get to show and have the same intimacy that Jesus has with God. You get to be one with the Lord, and He no longer will be on the outside of you, but He will come to dwell within you. This is the promise that we have in Jesus. Hebrews 4:16, “Now because of Jesus, (we come boldly) we come boldly to the throne of grace.” When Jesus died, He died for the sins of you and for me. And for those of us who believe in the power of that blood and apply that blood to our hearts and to our soul, we can come and say, “Because of what Jesus did, I am forgiven. And I am no longer afraid to come to this mountain of fear. But I come before the Lord with Jesus over me - I wear Him on top of me.” And the blood says to God, “Forgive, have mercy, have grace on this one.” Imagine going to that mountain and touching God and not dying. This is what Jesus has bought for you. This is what Jesus has earned for you. This is the new covenant which we serve.

We look at the two covenants and we compare and contrast them. We see with one God is not within the people; He is almost far off. He is something to be worshipped afar. But in the New Testament, in the New Covenant, we see that He has come to dwell inside of men. I can have my two new verses. We see a verse from the Old Testament and we see a verse from the New Testament. In both covenants, the goal is the same, Church, to make a nation for Himself. “...you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” And in (1) Peter (2:5), “...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.” Amen?

This new covenant has been prophesied from way, way old in the Old Testament. Many prophets came to speak about what God is going to do with you people. They saw you and they wrote about you - about what God was about to do. Jeremiah (31:31,33): “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. This is the covenant that I will make with Israel at that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their heart, in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people.’”

A provision has been made for you. A provision has been made for you to be a holy priest. There's nothing like, “I'm not special up here with any special gifting.” You have been called to be a priest of the Lord Most High that He would dwell in you and that you would honor Him at the altar of God with a heart that is completely His and devoted to Him - wholly and completely. You see we are in Christ when we make a decision for Him. Would you make that decision this day to enter into covenant?

So God invites us to covenant with Him; in Christ is the access to a new and better covenant, and finally, the covenant is fulfilled through the church this day. That which has been promised so long ago when you read the verse of Jeremiah - that the words of God and the commands would be written on your heart - those times are upon us even now. God was saying that when He writes the words on your heart, you wouldn't even need somebody telling you what the laws of God are. You wouldn't need somebody coming to say, “This is wrong!” You would know it in your heart and you'd say, “God, I'm not willing to be separate from You. I'm not even willing to go a day without You. When I wake up in the morning, if there is a conviction there because the word is written, I'm going to make it right with You.” And when God brings that conviction, we just ask Him, we bring it before Him. He shows us and we can deal with it in a moment because that's the power of the blood - to keep short accounts with Him that you no longer live apart. No longer separate.

I think we do that in our houses sometimes when we get upset with each other. We can live amongst each other, you know, like doing dishes, like, “Oh, I'm not talking to that one.” You know, we like to live separate when we have an issue with somebody. But God no longer wants there to be issues between us and Him. He's made provision for that through His Son, Jesus Christ, that when you confess your sin to Him, He will forgive you of your unrighteousness. He will cleanse you through the washing of His blood, and He will enter inside of you with the power of His given Holy Spirit so that you would be His disciple and to be like Him. This is the power of the church this day; We no longer have separations from God, but we are near to Him always.

Haggai 2:5, “This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.” So that's another verse in the Bible that refers to this scene. “This is what I offer to you.” And you know, what is God really offering in that covenant this day? I really want us to grasp it. I want us to not lose it this day. “I'm offering to be with you. I'm offering to be among you always. That you would no longer have to fear,” for God is with us and among us. He is there for the taking. Would you reach out to the Lord and take on the unity with Him this day?

Church, this has been the plan from the beginning. Just as Moses was asked to go up the mountain and meet with God, what did He speak to him? He told him, “I want to make a nation of people for Myself. I want to have a people who are holy and set apart unto Me.” This was the plan from the very beginning that has not been fulfilled until the time of the church.

Now that you would understand that He is in our midst and He is with us and among us. God still is that consuming fire. He is that blazing furnace that will consume all of the dross. This day, if you decide to come to know Him, to worship Him, if you desire Him with all of your heart, whatever has been between you and Him - He will burn away. Church, it's about our hearts this day. If you have a desire to know Him, He will burn away the dross.

Anything that has kept us separate - those valleys, those chasms that we have historically had between us and God - they will become level ground, no longer to keep you separate anymore. I want the armies of the Lord, of this church, to rise up and say, “Any enemy that has come between me and God that you see today will be swallowed up in victory by the blood of the Lord Jesus.” Every insurmountable obstacle will be laid low. We no longer serve at a mountain that cannot be touched. Our next verse (Hebrews 12:22-24), “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. 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 have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous 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.” Hallelujah!

A new mountain has arisen church; It is not the mountain of fear, but it is the mountain of joy. It is Mount Zion, the city of God, where we come to know Him and dwell, and we come in the midst of His presence to live in peace and unity with Him. “To the church of the firstborn.” He's not thinking of the order of your birth, but He is talking to those who are born again - Those who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God to receive all the inheritance of God the Father. To the church of those who have been born unto Him, who will share in the blessings of Jesus Christ. Jesus will receive a blessing and a reward from God for His obedience, won't He? But God this day says, “When you're the firstborn, you get the blessing.” And Jesus has come to share it with His brothers and sisters. You are the church of the firstborn, those that are born again.

And we see here in Jesus - the mediator of a new covenant. To the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. You see, in the old covenant, all sin was dealt with swiftly and justly. But with Jesus, His blood speaks of forgiveness instead of vengeance. This day we are a blessed church. Hallelujah! We are a church whose sins will not be counted against us!

To which mountain will you come to? Will you come to the mountain of fear or will you come to the mountain of joy this day?