There’s an interesting allegory within the books of Galatians and Hebrews, which speaks of two different “mountains”.
One mountain is Sinai, which represents the Old Covenant; the Law of Moses, with it’s many rules and regulations.
The other mountain is Zion, and represents the New Covenant; the Grace of Christ.
The question in the title of today’s study, is meant to be one of self-reflection and examination: which mountain have you come to? And as we look at these mountains today, we will see that only one of these two mountains is where God can be found today… and only one of these two mountains leads to life.
Join me today, as we examine this important topic.
When we hear the word “fornication”, or as some scripture translations put it “sexual immorality”, our thoughts tend to focus immediately on the physical act of sex outside of marriage. It’s understandable, and in-fact normal for us to think of that. It is true that sex outside of marriage is not in any way ideal, nor is it beneficial… in-fact it is harmful in many ways; it’s just plain not a good idea.
However, I would like to direct your attention to a much deeper kind of “fornication”, a kind that I believe the scriptures speak about in a variety of ways, but it is often overlooked because we are so quick of focus on the physical act, that we miss the spiritual act – and this is a mistake, because the physical is not the root of the issue, but the root is in the spiritual.
As we examine this truth today, in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ, through the lens of Grace, I believe that chains will be broken, and eyes will be opened to see the truth of Christ, even when the scriptures speak on something so often assumed to be purely carnal, such as fornication.
Anyone who has listened to these studies before, knows that our identity in Christ is my main topic… I speak on our identity as New Creations in Christ Jesus more than any other, because it is one of the most neglected aspects of life in Christ – and sadly it’s the foundation of it – it’s the very essence of what Jesus accomplished for you. He has allowed you to be “born again” He has completely regenerated you, from the inside out. And most people are unaware of it.
So I often speak about and study our identity. And today, I would like to show you a practical example in scripture, of this change taking place in the very father of faith, known as Abraham, back when he was just known as Abram. And as we see this happening, we can see how God changed his entire perspective, in the same way that we have studied in the past – and by seeing this you will have a better understanding of what it means to live your new identity in Christ Jesus today.
Choices, choices. We make hundreds of choices every single day: what to wear, what to eat, where to go, what to say, how to spend our free-time. Many choices, all ours to make as we see fit. Those choices have an effect, the choices we make result in certain things happening, and certain outcomes. Some with negligible differences, and some with larger and longer influences – such as a marriage.
All of these though, utterly pale in comparison to one choice… one eternal choice. One choice that will affect your eternal destination. One choice that will determine your future for all-time and beyond. What I want to share with you today, is exactly what this choice entails – it may surprise you to learn that many people aren’t as sure as they might have thought – and to also show you that this same choice has been available from the beginning of creation. This choice has not changed over the years, as some think that it has. It is an eternal choice, in every sense of the word; both in its existence and in its effect.
If you have been a believer for some time, you have probably heard about the wonderful promises of God… and even if you have not believed for very long (or at all) you probably still know that such promises exist at-least – or have some level of awareness of them. It's impossible to keep a secret on such an amazing truth as the promises of God. Promises of blessing of every kind. Starting first and foremost with salvation, and touch absolutely every area of life from health, wholeness, healing, provision, wisdom, peace and every thing named or unnamed… regardless of what it is, there is a promise from God about it.
However simply knowing that such promises exist, does very little good if we do not believe that they are for us, or know how to receive them. You may be surprised to learn that there is a growing number of believers who think that the promises either aren't for them, or that it's wrong to receive them. You see, the enemy knows that the promises of God are too big to keep secret, so instead he just keeps people in confusion about them. So that's why in this study today, we will be taking a look at how Jesus is our legal right to the promises of God, and how we can receive them without any doubt.