“You’ve Come To Church”
TEXT- Hebrews 12:22
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels
1. The church is Mount Sion.
In the backdrop of the text, the writer of the book of Hebrews is saying cut out the carnality, receive God’s correction and continue to run the race set before you until the end. In other words, it’s time to stop playing church and it’s time to be the church. The text says “But ye are come unto mount Sion.” You didn’t come to the physical mountain that Moses went to, you’ve come to mount Sion. Mount Sion in scripture represents the church. I say unto you, you didn’t just come to a physical location. You’ve come to church! You didn’t just come to a building of concrete and wood. You’ve come to church! You didn’t come to be confined within the confines of these four walls, but you came to have an encounter with the God that is able to go beyond these four walls, so He can change your life once you leave these four walls, so you can change the world outside these four walls. You’ve come to church! The church is Mount Sion. The church is not the place. The church is the people in the place. It’s the people in the place that make the church Mount Sion. It’s a spiritual place because the Spirit of Christ resides in the people that are in the place. It’s a holy place because the people in the place are holy.
2. The church is the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22)
Genesis 28:16-19
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: F128 but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
The church is the city of the living God. Most people are as ignorant about the church as Jacob was. The Lord is in this place and they know it not. I’m not talking about the physical building. I’m still talking about wherever there is prayer and praise, praise and prayer that the Lord is pleased to dwell there. The Lord is in this place and most people don’t know it. Most people are just like Jacob. Jacob used a stone for a pillow. Hard headed! You ask them to come to Sunday morning worship but they are hard headed. You ask them to come on Prayer and Praise Wednesdays but they are hard headed. You ask them to come to church but most people won’t come because they don’t know the Lord is in this place and they don’t believe the Lord is in this place because they are hard headed. When Jacob saw what was really going on at the church it changed the way he thought about church. When he that that Lord was in this place he called the name of that place Bethel. Bethel means house of God. He changed the name of that city from Luz to Bethel. Our job is to do what Jacob did. Let the house of God be known as the city of God. Mt 5:14 says Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. We have to pray that God transform the house of God into the city of God. The church should be like City Hall. If you ask almost anyone in town, "Where is City Hall?", they can tell you. If someone asks, "Where can I find someone that can get a prayer answered?", people should be able to tell them. If someone asks, "Where can I hear a word from the Lord?", people should be able to tell them. We have to pray that God transform this house of God into that city upon a hill that cannot be hid. Then, we have to ask Him to expand it. Enlarge our territory! No limits! No boundaries! I see increase all around me! Stretch forth, Lord! Break forth, Lord! Release me! Increase me! Enlarge my territory until not only does the house of God become the city of God but the house of God transforms the city we are in into the city of God. You know our city needs a transformation. With 70 murders already, Kansas City is on track to have more murders than in any year in this 21st century. We need a transformation. We need the house of God to become the city of God. Traditionally, instead of the church being Bethel, the church has been Luz. Luz means almond tree. I research the almond and I found out the almond is not a nut. It’s a fruit. It doesn’t look like a fruit. It’s doesn’t taste like a fruit. An almond tree is a fruit tree with no fruit. Much like the figtree Jesus cursed, the church has been a fruit tree with no fruit. No fruit of the Spirit. Nothing to feed the people around us. We are supposed to produce fruit. We’re not supposed to be Luz. We’re supposed to be Bethel, the house of God. Then, we’re supposed to expand to effect the area outside the four walls of the house. We’re supposed to be that heavenly Jerusalem. We’re supposed to be that city of God that will transform the city we live in into the city of the living God.
3. The church is the gate of heaven (Hebrews 12:22)
The church is the place upon which ascends and descends an innumerable company of angels. Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending upon the house of God (Gen 28:12) said in John 1:51 that hereafter ye shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. From here on out, we ought to see the angels ascending and descending on me and you because Jesus Christ lives in me and Jesus Christ lives in you. (Matt 26:53). It’s time to stop playing church and be the church. The angels don’t come to play games. The angels come for warfare. Psalms 91 says that God has given His angels charge over you to watch over you, to protect you, to keep you. (Ezekiel 9:1-2) The angels are ascending and descending upon the city and they’re coming for warfare. We are in a war! And the gates of hell shall not prevail. The church is the gateway of heaven (Psalms 24:7,9) Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. The church is the gateway. The church is the doorway. The church is the window through which the angels come through.
Malachi 3:10 - Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open YOU the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts; God trying to open YOU up to get you to say something, do something, or give something by faith so He can send an innumerable company of angel into the earth. The church is the gate of heaven into the church.
Matt 16:15-19 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." and the gates of hell shall not prevail. We are in a war and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church because the church is the gate of heaven.
