Unshakeable Faith
The Playbook of Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Reading: Hebrews 12:25-29
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Prayer
God has already brought us into his presence. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about two mountains. We saw Mount Sinai, where God’s presence brought fear to his people as they saw first-hand the devastation caused by their sinfulness.
The images of fire and smoke, the sounds of thunder and the shaking of the earth are physical realities that point to the Israelites’ souls. They were themselves on shaky ground before God - their sins put them at odds with the God who lead them out of Egypt and would provide for them throughout the wilderness.
So it is with all of us. We are all sinners - alienated from God and subject to his just wrath. Our sin puts us directly in the line of fire of God’s justice. We are guilty, and we deserve the full punishment under the Law.
We also beheld Mount Zion, where God’s presence brought us at peace with that same God. The God who is rightly offended and deserving of justice has somehow been paid in full, and we are the ones who have been redeemed and reconciled. How can the first mountain be so full of dread, yet the second be so full of peace?
The answer is Jesus Christ. Verse 24 summarizes the major theme of Hebrews:
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
The word at Sinai was a word of requirement - God entered into covenant with us by establishing his Law. “I am the LORD your God,” he says, “so this is what you will do...” The first covenant places man in a place of accountability before God, but he fails to uphold the Law. Every man in every generation continues to fail - they pursue false gods, oppress the vulnerable, cheat at trade, move boundary stones, charge exorbitant fees, lie, complain, engage in adulterous affairs, and even murder.
That’s what the author means when he refers to the blood of Abel - do you remember the story? Cain and Abel are brothers. When they bring sacrifices to God, God accepts Abel’s but not Cain’s. Cain gets angry…real angry. Even after God warns him, Cain still kills his brother.
When God approaches Cain, he makes a comment that is particularly striking:
10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
Abel’s blood spoke a word of justice. Abel’s blood was shed in anger and sin, so it cried out for retribution against the guilty. There was nowhere for Cain to hide - he was guilty and deserved punishment.
But Abel’s blood doesn’t have the last word. Jesus’ blood has also spoken. Like Abel, Jesus was also killed. Like Abel, Jesus did not deserve death. But there is a critical difference: Jesus’ blood does not speak of guilt and recompense. Instead, the blood of Christ speaks a better word - it speaks of grace.
When Christ died, he provided the means to reconcile us with God. Our sins separate us from God - they cause us to be guilty. We deserve death and judgment for our sins. But Jesus’ blood interjects on our behalf. That’s why after considering all the affects of sin on his own walk with God in Romans 7, Paul then says:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Jesus’ blood has satisfied the wrath of God, and all who come to him are received.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
How great a salvation God has provided for us! But there is a danger that lurks within the church house, and we must be extremely careful to avoid the trap door. The temptation for some is to hear all these things and think, “yes, I agree with all that” while they continue walking the broad and winding path that leads to their destruction. You can know the way to heaven and still not walk it. You can hear the call of Jesus, and even answer in the affirmative, but still not follow. What distinguishes the wise and the foolish man in Jesus’ parable of building on the rock versus building on the sand? Both hear, but only the wise man does. You can hear so many sermons that you can even preach one yourself and still be as lost as city boy in the bayou.
That’s the danger warned about in verse 25:
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
We must be very careful not to refuse Christ. Of course, that also means not refusing the Father and the Spirit too. We may refuse to listen. We may refuse to obey. We may simply neglect immediate and complete obedience. We may decline the “offer,” feeling that we are already good enough or have “already done that.” We may reject the gospel as antiquated, an old-wives tale for people who don’t have it all together like we do. We may simply avoid the call by filling our time with busy-work and intentionally not listening.
Maybe you think, “that’s not me…I always follow God. Well, maybe not always, but at least I try! I do better than _____.” But even that is a refusal. When God calls us, we must make sure we are listening and that we do exactly as he tells us.
Having an Unshakeable Faith Means Being Obedient to God’s Commands
Having an Unshakeable Faith Means Being Obedient to God’s Commands
Anything short of full obedience is a refusal. And the danger is very clear:
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
Look at what happened to the Israelites. When they refused to follow God’s leadership, opting not to go face the giants of the land, they did not get away with it! In fact, only two men in that entire nation made it over the Jordan River: Joshua and Caleb. Those two were willing to follow God in spite of the “dangers,” knowing that God would fight for his people. Everyone else refused…and they all died in the wilderness.
The lack of obedience among the Israelites cost that generation greatly. How much greater is the cost for us? If we reject the word spoken by Christ, the word of repentance and faith, of grace and mercy and fulfilled justice, if we reject that word, how much higher is the price for us?
We better make sure we don’t find out how expensive disobedience can be. Don’t refuse Christ - listen carefully and follow him completely without delay.
Now look at verse 26:
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
When God appeared on Mr. Sinai, the earth shook. The presence of God was so awe-full, that the earth itself trembled before him. But there is coming a day when the heavens and the earth will be shaken.
Look back with me at Haggai 2. The book of Haggai is set after the Persian king Darius allowed many of the Israelites to go back to Jerusalem. It’s around 520 B.C., and the Israelites have had a hard go at life back home. God even tells them why: they need to rebuild the sanctuary, but they won’t. They are refusing, and that is why they are struggling.
So God calls them to rebuilding his Temple. But this time, they do obey. They finally feared God the right way and work begins on God’s house. As things progress, however, there are some people that remember the old Temple. Built by Solomon with the finest cedars from Lebanon and gold of Ophir, the first Temple was amazing. The old folks remember it like it was yesterday, but when they saw this temple, and how much simpler and smaller it was, their hearts sank.
That’s when God speaks through Haggai. God encouraged his people to do the work. That’s where this quote in verse 26 comes from: God is promising that he will fill this house with more glory than even Solomon’s Temple had. But directly relating to Hebrews, God is going to turn the world upside-down in the process. That’s what he means by shaking the heavens and the earth. God is going to put both celestial and terrestrial realms through a stress test. Why?
27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
When God shakes the heavens and the earth, some things won’t last. Like purifying by fire, God is going to get rid of the things that are temporary and fleeting. One day your money will not be worth anything, your house will be unimportant, your job will be obsolete. Hang on long enough and there won’t be anything left but the spiritual.
Just a side note here: what of yours will last? Are you investing in eternal wealth or are you simply looking for a quick buck? Are you storing up treasures in earth or in heaven? God is going to shake things up - will your things remain?
Okay, so we need to be careful to listen and obey Christ’s calling, for God is going to test all things to reveal what is lasting and what is fleeting. So what should we do? How can we make sure we have the treasures of heaven that will last? How do we have an unshakeable faith?
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
There’s two key truths in this verse that both point to how we are to respond to God. First:
Having an Unshakeable Faith Means Giving Thanks for God’s Provision
Having an Unshakeable Faith Means Giving Thanks for God’s Provision
God has given us so much to be thankful for. Every beat of your heart and every breath in your lungs is another gift of God. But consider just how much God gives us relating to our salvation. Just in Hebrews 12, the author lists several things that we “come to” when we come to our Mt. Zion:
city of the living God; heavenly Jerusalem
innumerable angels in festal gathering
assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven
God, the judge of all
spirits of the righteous made perfect
Jesus - the mediator of the new covenant
the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel
There’s so much to give thanks just in this list. So, give thanks! Show your gratitude to God. The more that we recognize his blessings and give him praise for his good provisions, the stronger our faith will grow for times when it seems all hope is lost. Just as lifting weights makes an athlete more competitive, giving thanks exercises our spiritual muscles and makes us better at following God.
There’s another response in the later half of verse 28:
Having an Unshakeable Faith Means Having Awe for God’s Glory
Having an Unshakeable Faith Means Having Awe for God’s Glory
Not only to we give praise to God for what he has done in, through, and for us; we also recognize God’s splendor on display and demonstrate our awe through worship.
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
When we truly see God’s glory on display in our lives, it should drive us to our knees in worship and adoration of God. In fact, the word used here for reverence refers to a type of fear that always results in obedience. The more we recognize God’s glory, the more we worship. The more we worship, the more God will reveal himself to us and will shape us into his image. If you truly want an unshakable faith, you must put God in his rightful place, giving him the worship he deserves with the attitude he deserves, for as verse 29 tells us:
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
God’s character is often revealed in his names, but there are three descriptions of God that do not give him a new name: God is love (1 John 4:8), God is light (1 John 1:5), and here - God is a consuming fire. God does not let evil go unpunished. As surely as I am standing before you, God will bring judgment on the wrong and evil. He will consume his enemies.
Are you an enemy of God? Are you rejecting his words? Are you refusing to recognize his work and praise him for it? You don’t have to be. During the invitation, I’m going to stand up front. If God is calling out to you, don’t refuse him. You come right now...