A City Set On A Hill

Introduction

I mean, I could preach the sermon from his recap. He takes good notes. And I say all of that to say that I want to do a little recap of my sermon last Sunday. Number one, because there was so much information that I’m sure some people just got bombarded. And then I want to take some of the things that I said, introduce a couple more thoughts, and then go a little bit different direction with that material this morning. So if you missed last Sunday morning’s lesson, you may need to go back and listen to that when you have opportunity. We were talking about what the Bible has to say about Zion. And of course, it refers to that part of the city of David or Jerusalem where the temple was ultimately built.

1. The Law Goes Forth From Zion

It was conquered and taken away from the Jebusites, according to 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 7. And yet, as the scripture goes on to talk about this place that represented God’s dwelling with his covenant people. God dwelling in the midst of Israel. That as scripture progresses, it takes on more of a spiritual rather than a physical hue. Where it once described this physical city. It is now spiritualized to speak of the relationship between God and his people and even the holiness to which he calls his people. And so, Isaiah the prophet, some 700 years before Christ, as some dire times are about to unfold for the literal city of Zion. They are about to be harassed by the Assyrians. I guess that’s one word we could use.

They’re going to be subjugated by them in many ways, and then ultimately the Babylonians are going to destroy the city. And yet Isaiah says God has some plans for Zion. Isaiah says the law is going to go forth from Zion. And that’s precisely what’s happening in that great chapter of the Bible, Acts chapter 2, when men from every nation are there, and the word of God is preached. It was a Jewish audience, but men from throughout the world, and the law goes forth from there to literally the entire world. The law goes forth from Zion. And Isaiah had a lot of things to say about God’s intentions for Zion. Again, as he spiritualizes the concept, she will be called holy. She will be protected. She will be a highway of holiness.

She is inscribed on my hands, God said. Her walls are before me. Of that city, they will say, your God reigns. Her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. And I want you to think about that particular statement as we get into the main part of our lesson this morning. Her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. And what we note at the end of the lesson is that Zion is the focus of God’s attention and care. And that should bring us great encouragement, as indeed we are what he intended for Zion to become. And so we noted some passages in the Old Testament, like Psalm 2 and verse 6, some passages from the book of Zechariah, where God is jealous for Zion.

Of course, the Psalm 2 references a reference to Jesus, that there will be prosperity, comfort, and he will again choose Jerusalem, not physical Jerusalem, but spiritual Jerusalem, or new or heavenly Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the city of truth. And of course, when the king comes riding in on a donkey, the triumphal entry of Christ in the city of Jerusalem, we have the fulfillment of this prophecy in Zechariah 9. And so my argumentation was we come to the New Testament, his church is that holy city. Christians are told, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to a myriad of angels. And we shouldn’t be surprised when we come to the end of the book of Revelation that the only thing left standing is the holy city.

When all of the enemies have been defeated and removed that have been talked about in the book of Revelation, the only thing left standing is the holy city. Her walls for square, her gates of pearl, the street of gold, no temple. Because God dwells in her midst. And it says, nothing unclean shall enter her. And I want to take you to Isaiah 52 and verse 1. Remember, we said Isaiah 52 and verse 7, it says that God announced his salvation and it says to Zion your God reigns. But earlier in the context, in verse 1, he says, awake. Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion. Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments. O Jerusalem, the holy city, for the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you.

That’s a great verse. Isaiah 52 and verse 1. Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments. O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and the unclean will not enter you anymore. That’s Revelation chapter 21. Right there. The bride has made herself ready for her husband. The holy city is adorned in all of her splendor. And nothing unclean enters Zion anymore. And so we sang that song, I love thy church, O God. To Zion shall be given the brightest glories earth can yield and the brightest bliss of heaven. Her walls before thee stand, beyond my highest joy, I prize her heavenly ways. And so we said last week we should not minimize the importance or function or fellowship of the Lord’s church, because this is God’s intention. Zion. Do not measure her based on any worldly standard of success or achievement.

2. My Kingdom Is Not of This World

Zion involves people who submit their lives to the rule of the kingdom. We are to set our affections on things above and not on things of this earth. Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4. But I also want to draw your attention to John 18 and verse 36. When Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. He was really talking about Zion, wasn’t he? His holy city. And that’s why in Revelation it’s pictured as coming down out of heaven. That’s where it originates. He’s talking about newer heavenly Jerusalem under his reign and thus indwelt by him. Our citizenship is in heaven. Now, this is all the new stuff here, in contrast to last week. Our citizenship is in heaven. Paul says in Philippians 3 and verse 20, we are the new Jerusalem when we submit ourselves to his reign and are thus indwelt by him.

Again, my kingdom is not of this world. So the bride who has made herself ready has done so with the pure garments that she has put on. And we’ll have more to say about that as we move along this morning.

3. A City Set on a Hill Cannot Be Hid

For bringing this to my attention after the lesson last Sunday morning is Jesus’ illustration in Matthew chapter 5. When he tells those listeners during the Sermon on the Mount that you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world, and he says, as an illustration, just like Jerusalem was a pinnacle in Judea. People that came to worship Jerusalem at Jerusalem could see her for miles away. She was a city set on a hill. And so Jesus uses that as an illustration, and he says, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. And that’s what we’re to be as Christians. You are the light of the world. And that’s what God intends Zion to be is a light to the world, a city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden.

And so I want to talk to you about our influence as the people of God this morning. And whether we are, as individuals and as a group of his people, fulfilling God’s intentions for Zion. As we don’t garments, as we reflect the purity of those who dwell in Zion, who have God as their dwelling. We are a habitation of God in the Spirit. This is closely associated with what the New Testament is talking about as it speaks of God’s people being God’s temple. The temple was where? In Zion. We are God’s temple. We are his dwelling place. We are a habitation of God in the Spirit, Ephesians 2 and verse 20. And so what does that look like in here? That’s one of the reasons why we are emphasizing in our Bible class on Sunday mornings biblical authority.

We submit ourselves to the rule of the king. We do our best to understand his will for us. Wise people do that, according to Ephesians chapter 5. Be not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 17. And so what we do in here is a reflection of lies submitted to the king. Individually and corporately, we want to reflect that submission. And it’s going to affect how we live out there as his people who are indwelt by him. So when you walk out these doors this week and go about your daily routine, whatever it may be, I want you to remember. You’re calling as Zion, as the temple of God. A city that is set on a hill, cannot be hit.

4. The Christian's Use of Social Media

You are the light of the world. And may this be reflected in the way that we think, the things that we say, and what we do, even what that means in terms of being God’s holy city. As it relates even to our use of social media. I want to spend a few minutes in conclusion talking to you about the Christian’s use of social media. The Bible doesn’t mention social media. Well, it doesn’t. And it doesn’t mention tattoos and marijuana. But some of those things relate as well to the practice of righteousness.

And look, social media is the phenomenon of the 21st century. Whether it’s Instagram or tweeting, and I don’t do either of those. Or Facebook. I think a lot of the young people have gone to Instagram and tweeting because so many of us older people are on Facebook. And I tell you, I’m just not, I may, I’m not going to say I’ll never do it, but I don’t think tweeting is for me. God has equipped us with the principles that we need to face every cultural issue of our times. So he said, well, I’m not going to do anything with Facebook. And it’s easy, I think, to belittle what we don’t want to be involved in. And plus, as you get older, you know, it’s like, do I really want to do this?

Facebook. You know, I don’t think my dad is ever going to be on Facebook, I’m pretty sure. But then there’s people like Hattie, who I’m not supposed to mention publicly in a sermon, who in her mid-90s is on Facebook. Sent me a message this week through Facebook. I appreciate that. I would just say, please don’t disparage what can be used positively for the Lord. Just because some people might use a particular medium negatively does not mean that medium cannot be used very positively for the Lord. You name one area of like print media. Some people use is print media a bad thing we ought to do away with all print media because some people misuse it. Really? You like to read books? Aren’t you glad Gutenberg invented the press that we can all have a copy of our own Bible?

The problem is not print media. The problem is the way some people use it, and there’s filth that is available through print media of all kinds. That’s like the internet. It can be a very valuable and useful tool, but it is used by some people for evil. And so just because someone might misuse social media to promote evil does not mean that there’s not any good that Christians can do with it. And I want you to think about this, the Christian in social media. I want you to think of the sheer amount of numbers of people that are affected by social media. You may affect more people in a tweet or a Facebook post or a comment than you’ll infect in an entire day on your job.

Just the sheer number of people involved. I want to make a few observations about the Christian and his or her use of social media as it relates to us being Zion, the holy city. Like anything else, like absolutely everything else. We must monitor and control the expenditure of our time. So, yeah, I think it’s a big waste of time. Well, I beg to differ with you on that. You know, some people like to hunt and fish and camp. I think those three things are a big waste of time. I came across this statement about camping recently. I shared it with a lot of others. I even wrote it on my notes on my phone. My favorite thing about camping is when I don’t. I like that.

And I can say that about fishing and honey. I used to fish when I was little. I don’t plan to ever fish again. And some of you love it. And that’s great. And I would say, don’t judge other people. The fact that I don’t like those three things that I’ve used. If you love them, that works for you and your brain chemistry. You find some enjoyment in that. Great. Some of us guys like college football. Some of you ladies say, yuck, sick, gross. That doesn’t work for you. I get it. But don’t say because you don’t understand why someone might do it. Well, that’s a big waste of time. Because I want to tell you, this can be a tool for great good. It can impact hundreds and maybe thousands if used positively.

So be careful of judging what other people do with their time. That’s a decision they have to make based on their interests, as long as their spiritual responsibilities are not neglected, and as long as what they do is characterized by holiness. Secondly, choose your words carefully, especially when you disagree. We’re to be example in our word, our speech pulses in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 12. We ought to be careful. Our words ought to be seasoned as it were with salt, Colossians chapter 4 and verse 5. And some people post or comment, and I see this all the time, some people post or comment without any realization of the extensive impact their words could have.

But it’s a lot of people. But when I post this, potentially, how many hundreds of people are going to see this?

Sometimes people aren’t even thinking about that. When you make a comment on someone else’s post, how many people are going to read that? You need to choose your words carefully. You want to be understood as a person of holiness. Social media involves exposure and a lot of it. The righteous heart ponders how to answer. A gentle answer turns away wrath. Proverbs 15, 1 and 28. Understand what posting means. Understand the number of people, the broad scale upon which social media is distributed. And may I add this? Be careful of the situations in which you are photographed. Because that photograph may well end up on your Facebook page, and you didn’t have anything to do with the posting of it. And it may seem to convey something that you don’t want to be conveyed about yourself.

Be careful. There has been one such picture of me in my foolishness of youth, many years before Facebook was even a thought in someone’s mind, before the internet. A picture that was taken of me that has somehow filtered itself down here to one of our young people who should not have had access to this photograph, Noah. But let me tell you, photographs are a permanent record. And let me tell you about social media. What you post is a permanent record. It’s out there. And it’s out there. Be careful. Be careful of what you allow to be photographed. And look, if what we’re doing can’t be photographed and seen by others, perhaps we ought not be doing it. And perhaps we need to learn from our mistakes or things that we do in our youth.

And be careful what you post from the standpoint of it being a permanent record. How many Christians have been embarrassed by what someone has posted? And again, what are people getting out of the post? You know, we live in the age of selfies. And that just that terminology ought to scare us a little bit as Christians because we’re not all about self. But if what we’re posting continually is a picture of me and a picture of me and a picture of me, people are going to think you’re really into yourself. If that’s all you’re doing. Now I try to think the best about things and people’s motives, because I don’t always know what they are just from one picture or several pictures. But we need to be concerned about what other people, what kind of judgments they’re going to make about my post, whatever it is.

Realize the magnitude of the audience in social media and the permanence of what is found there. And I would say this. One of the things I dearly love about Facebook and social media is I got to find out what’s going on in people’s lives. I make connections with Christians that I would not, I can’t have enough conversations with everyone in this room to know the kinds of things that are going on in people’s lives. And so I get little snapshots. I love it. Pictures of kids, babies. Awesome. And what you’re doing with your kids. I love all of that. I learned something about you. I get to know you better. I think it’s been a wonderful thing for local churches, again, if used properly, that we can understand more about each other’s lives in our increasingly isolated society.

And when I see Christians getting together, I love that. That’s a great thing. And then somebody goes, but you shouldn’t post it unless everyone’s invited. Miss Manners says it’s rude. Who made her boss? Who made Miss Manner’s boss? Okay, so think about that. You can’t post it unless everybody in the church is invited. So the only way you can put a picture on Facebook is if everybody in this room was invited to that particular event. Try having your son get married when you know maybe 1,500 Christians in a 200 mile radius. And then include family and friends and their friends from high school. Think about, okay, if you can’t invite everybody, then don’t post a picture. Look. Whatever happened to rejoice with those who rejoice. Romans 12, 15.

5. What Kind of Garments Are We Wearing?

And look, if you’re feeling excluded, again, not everybody can be included in things. If you’re feeling excluded, talk to a brother or sister and get some counsel and get some help in regard to that matter. It may be something that you’re doing. It may be some introspection is needed and some things you need to change about yourself so that you might be included more. You’re not going to be included in everything. I’m not included in everything. Thankfully. Seek out help. Try to understand why this is so. Instead of moaning on Facebook. That’s not the place to do that. Rejoice with those who rejoice. And finally, and this is the point of the entire lesson, is my involvement in these things, or whatever it is that I’m doing, or whatever activity that interests me, does it properly reflect the attitudes and character of God’s holy city?

What kind of garments are we wearing? I love the many passages in the New Testament that talk about Christianity from the standpoint of putting on garments. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. That’s what baptism means. It is the cleansing of sin. It is the putting away of an old man and adopting a new way of life, a new way of thinking. It is to clothe ourselves with Christ, Paul says in Galatians 3 and verse 27. We’re putting Christ on first in here and then reflected in our attitudes and behavior out here. Putting on Christ. That Colossians 3 text says, our lives are hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, we will also be revealed with him in glory.

What a marvelous statement that is. And so when we come to the book of Revelation, what is it talking about? It’s saying, the marriage supper of the Lamb, the bride has made herself ready. She has white garments, and the fine linen that she wears is the righteous acts of the saints. So when you are involved in whatever activity in this world, whether it’s social media or something else that you really enjoy doing, the thing you need to be thinking about is how does one who is indwelt by God act in this circumstance? We are to be a holy temple unto the Lord. We are Zion. We are his holy city. What does that behavior? What should it look like? Young men, clothe yourselves with humility. 1 Peter chapter 5.

Conclusion

Interesting, the word clothe is used. And I want to conclude in Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61, verses 10 and 11. Turn with me there. Isaiah 61, 10 and 11 will be done.

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord. My soul will exult in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. That’s our role as Zion. That’s what Isaiah is anticipating in Isaiah chapter 61. May our righteousness, the right acts and thoughts of our lives, may our righteousness and our praise of God spring up before all the nations. And what a glorious mission we have as his holy people.

Can we assist you to put on the garments of righteousness? To have your heart and your life cleansed from sin. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Can we assist you in some way? Let’s stand and sing.