Don't Press Mute

Introduction

People have always wrestled with authority and submitting to someone or something else. Go on a drive on the highway sometime, and you quickly realize how true this is as people disobey authority all the time as they drive 60mph between here and Licking and not the legal 55mph speed limit - anyone else here a little guilty? It’s so easy to disregard authority or feel as though it doesn’t apply to us. We know what is right… but we wrestle with the obedience part, in part because we fight against authority and control. As a student, my dad was my youth pastor and there would be times where dad would tell me to tell other students that we needed to do something or go somewhere and there would be some folks who wouldn’t listen to me because I was a peer - I wasn’t the person in authority. It’s easy to do this in life. We reject someone or something because we feel as though the person who told us the thing lacks sufficient authority. This happens at school, in the workplace, and all around our world. It can even happen as people look to God’s Word whenever the Bible tells them what to do and it goes against their current way of life or thought process.

So many have felt this way, in fact, that there have been many attempts to come up with a new Bible that is more inclusive and less convicting. Just over 100 years after Jesus walked the earth, a man named Marcion felt like the God of the Old Testament was different than the God of the New Testament. He denied the authority of the Old Testament and made a new Bible that had no Old Testament, an edited version of Luke, and several portions of Paul’s letters. He denied the authority of what we would say is the Bible, and simply made his own. Marcion isn’t alone in this as there have been many many others who have sought to sever the Old Testament from the New Testament. To take this part of the Bible and leave out the other part. To, as one megachurch pastor put it years ago, unhitch the Old from the New. The question we have to ask simply is this: How much authority does the Bible have? In other words, is the Bible various words and chapters and letters that were the opinions of men… or is it genuinely God’s Word? If it is the words of mere men, then sure we can take and choose what we like and leave out the rest… but if it is God’s Word, then it must be fully authoritative and we dare not ignore the hard parts and we dare not reject it.

At FBC Salem, we believe in the authority, sufficiency, and inerrancy of Scripture. We believe that when the Bible speaks, God speaks. Because of this conviction, we are left with no other option but to stand on the Word because failing to do so leads to dire consequences. This morning, as we conclude the 12th chapter of Hebrews, we’re going to see some of the consequences that arise whenever we reject the Word of God and place ourselves in authority over Scripture as many are tempting to do in our world today. As we study from Hebrews 12 and see that our God speaks through His Word, an obvious question follows: What must be our response? If God’s Word is authoritative, and if God speaks through His Word, then we’d better listen and we’d better obey. Let’s listen to God’s Word this morning in this final warning passage in this wonderful book.

Hebrews 12:25–29 CSB

25 See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven. 26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Jesus will return and it won’t be as a sacrificial lamb but as a roaring lion as He will “shake” things up… the only thing that will stand are those that cannot be shaken. Not the kingdoms of this world, but the Kingdom of God! Aren’t you thankful that you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt today that Jesus will return and that if you are in Christ, you have nothing to fear? That should cause us to rejoice and share this eternal hope with others. Let’s ask God to help us toward that end today

Listen To God’s Message (25)

Last week we were reminded of the glorious Gospel truth of Mt. Zion as there is a redeemer who died on the cross to save sinners like you and me from the punishment of our sins. Because of Jesus, we are welcomed before our heavenly Father with open arms and we are required to repent of our sins, to turn away from them, and to trust fully in Christ’s saving work in our place, and to follow Him as Lord. This is our call. This is the message of the Gospel… but sometimes we don’t listen very well whenever other people speak. Have you noticed that to be true? Sometimes you’re having a conversation with someone else and it appears as though they’re present physically, but mentally they’re half a world away. We’ve all been that person, haven’t we? We’re talking to someone and they say something and instead of listening to what they have to say, what do we do? We begin to think of an argument or a story or a point to say back whenever they’re done. Whenever we do that, we usually miss out on what the person ends up saying. It’s easy to miss things, especially in a busy world.

There are some things that it’s “ok” to miss. Whenever Lindsey and I first got married, we had an apartment in Bolivar because we were finishing up at SBU. There were some nights where I’d be working at the student fitness center and Lindsey would think that I was getting off at, say 6, but it really wouldn’t be until 7. That’s not a big thing to miss because that meant that she got to sit at the check in station with me, or it meant that we got to shoot some hoops for an hour if no one was in the gym. Not a big deal! There were some times where Lindsey would be working at the Bolivar movie theater and I’d think that she was getting off at a certain time, only to discover that I had the time wrong, and I “had” to get some free popcorn or a soda - maybe I took advantage of that more than I let on… There are times where we miss things in conversation and it leads to a problem, sometimes that problem is small… other times it’s big. But we all know that there’s a difference between not fully understanding someone and completely rejecting them and what they’re saying. There are some in our world who adamantly reject the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. They refuse to listen to the God of the Bible. Consider the consequences in the Bible whenever people rejected God’s Word. Think of the Israelites whenever they rejected God’s prophets in the Old Testament… What would eventually happen for the people? They’d have a consequence - a famine, a military defeat, or in some instances even exile in another country. There is a cost when we ignore God’s message - this is true in Scripture and it is true in our lives today. The cost for many in the Old Testament whenever they’d reject God’s Word was death… Think of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and a whole generation died off simply because they refused to listen to Caleb and Joshua and enter the promised land like God told them to do. Those people didn’t escape God’s judgment, and we must not think that we will either if we reject Him today! This has been a theme throughout Hebrews

Hebrews 1:2 CSB

2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.

Hebrews 2:1 CSB

1 For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

Hebrews 2:3 CSB

3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

God’s Word is effective and what He says comes to pass. If the consequence for rejecting the one who spoke through human prophets was famine, loss, and exile… how much greater will the consequence be for rejecting not just a human speaker or prophet, but the very Son of God, Jesus Christ? It will be far greater and that consequence will not be avoided. The cost of rejecting God’s Word today is eternal separation from God. Consider what the prophet, Amos said about the problem of not listening to God’s Word

Amos 8:11 CSB

11 Look, the days are coming— this is the declaration of the Lord God— when I will send a famine through the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.

There is a famine in the land today - one that is more destructive than a drought. There are more and more people who do not long for the Word of God AND there are fewer and fewer pastors and churches committed to preaching the truth of God’s Word week in and week out. Steven Lawson wrote a wonderful book on this very verse and subject. What is the result whenever we factor in fewer pastors committed to preach the Word and fewer people interested in God’s Word? We get a famine and famines have consequences, and if they’re bad enough, those consequences last for generations! We look around our world and we see more and more people doing what? Rejecting the God who speaks! Rejecting the Word of the Lord. Rejecting the way that God set things up to be. The question we have to ask is simply this: Why?

For one, we have too much noise. Everyone has a voice, a platform, a book, and it’s hard to discern which ones are solid and which ones are not. There is so much noise and we are so busy that it can be hard to genuinely pause and listen to God’s Word - this is one reason why regularly coming to church is so important so that we can hear God’s Word and pause and check our hearts to make sure that we’re not rejecting it. The world is noisy, we are busy, and finally, many question the authority of God’s Word. Is it just the opinions of man or is it really from God? Does the Bible have some authority or all authority to tell me what to do and how to live? Consider Hebrews 12:25 - the One who warns is not “on earth” but “from heaven.” Jesus has passed through the heavens, He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, to reject Jesus and not listen to His message of salvation is to subject yourself to eternal separation. If you reject the Word, you will be judged - if you receive the Word, you will shout for joy. Have you received this message or have you rejected it?

John 10:24–30 CSB

24 The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Do not reject the God who speaks through His Son. Don’t reject the Son that is revealed in His Word. Don’t reject the Word of God that was inspired by the Holy Spirit. If we reject the God who speaks, we demonstrate that we are not believers, we are not of Christ, and if you are not in Christ as Romans 8:1 says, there IS condemnation awaiting you. We must listen to the God Who Speaks through His Word and Whose Spirit gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. We don’t need a passive, encouraging message of positivity. We need the truth. Failure to receive the truth leads to eternal consequences. We listen to God, second, we must

Look Out For Godless Things (26-27)

Last week we examined how there are 2 mountains: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion. One is a place of separation and the other a place of celebration. One is a place of darkness and the other a place of light. We read in Exodus 19 last week how God shook the world with His presence in the Old Testament. Ex 19:18

Exodus 19:18 CSB

18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.

God is holy and He is separated from sin. He calls His people to be holy and to follow after Him… Yet, what is our heart drawn toward? The sinful things that we know we should not pursue. See, even if we don’t immediately reject His Word, even if we embrace and receive it, we are still tempted to run away from it and follow either self or society. We’re tempted to place our trust and hope in things that will inevitably let us down! Things that might in fact be good, but they might not be God’s. Things that offer security but will always fail to secure like they promise. Where is our focus today? This is the point that the preacher of Hebrews is making with the quotation of Haggai 2:6.

Haggai 2:6 CSB

6 For the Lord of Armies says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

God hasn’t changed. His standard hasn’t been watered down. He is still holy and left to our own, we still can’t approach Him. If we keep on living by the standards of our fallen world then we’re going to be left shaken and disappointed whenever this final day of judgment comes. Think back to Hebrews 10 as we saw this warning

Hebrews 10:26–27 CSB

26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.

This is what is awaiting those choosing to continue living in unrepentant and deliberate sin after they know what they are doing is wrong. For these apostates, we could call them, and adversaries and enemies of God, there is coming a shaking of their very souls that will leave them in an awful situation. These individuals who follow self and fail to submit to God’s will and God’s Word are left facing judgment not only in this life but for all eternity. These people will be shaken.

George Guthrie, seminary professor and pastor, explained this reality to his seminary students by grabbing a marble and covering the marble with dirt from outside. He’d leave the marble outside in the sun for a period of time and then go back out to see how it looked. If you didn’t know better, you’d think that the ball of dirt was just that… a ball of dirt. But what did Professor Guthrie know? That inside the layer of dirt was a smooth and pristine marble. So he starts to shake the marble in his hands and after a few second some of the dirt begins to fall off. The harder he squeezes the dirt, the more it crumbles due to the pressure he’s inflicting upon it. Eventually, all the dirt falls off and it reveals a perfectly in tact marble at the center. So, which was it? A ball of dirt or a pristine marble? For a period of time, that pristine marble looked like a ball of dirt because the marble could not be seen to the eye - but it was still present. Understand this, friend. There are so many people who build their life and foundation upon things that will fade away just like that dirt. Apply enough pressure, go through some rain, a problem pops up, and what happens? Everything changes for that person. So many focus all of their time and attention on things that will not last, things that will be shaken, things that are not God’s priority for His children! We must look out for these things and not give them more credit or stock than they deserve. Those who invest their time, talent, and treasure into the kingdoms of this age will fade away and not escape God’s judgment. May we not add to that growing number! May we be a people who look out for godless things and instead, invest our time, talent, and treasure into God’s unshakeable Kingdom - knowing full and well that there is a world that is more real than we can imagine though we cannot see it today. Friend, don’t give an inch to this godless culture - remember the promise of Hebrews 6:19, there is an anchor that holds in the midst of the storm and His name is Jesus. Cling to Him - He will hold you fast!

Live Out God’s Instructions (28-29)

Hebrews 12:28 is one of the most positive and encouraging and hopeful verses in Scripture for believers in Jesus Christ. Look at this with me. “We are receiving” this unshakeable Kingdom. This is a promise from our God that we cannot take lightly or ignore or gloss over. This is a foundational promise to build your life upon and to help you get through the storms of this present life. Does Hebrews 12:28 say that one day we might receive this Kingdom? Does it say that if we pray really hard or do some good works then we will get it? No… It says that WE ARE receiving this Kingdom! Who is WE in reference to? Believers! Blood-bought adopted Christians! Notice what comes next, this is a present tense reality. Church, this hope is ours today, right now this very second. You have received and are receiving through the power of God and the presence of His Spirit inside of you a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. This does not mean that your life becomes rainbows and butterflies whenever you get saved. This doesn’t mean that you don’t get shaken up in the storms of this life or that you have a “get out of suffering free card” to be played every time life gets hard. Quite the opposite - faith in Jesus means that you might get thrown to the lions in more ways than one. It might mean that when the storm comes, you might be caught right in its path. It might mean that when suffering strikes, it comes knocking on your front door first. It might mean that whenever the shaking strikes, you’re caught between a rock and a hard place.

But what do you have as a born again believer? You have a hope that is unshakable! You might not escape the suffering of this life, but you will escape separation from God for all eternity. You have a living hope. You have a mediator in heaven. You have a lawyer who has never lost a case and He won’t start with you, an adopted child of God. It means that you live with a hope like that of Spurgeon where you can say that you’ve learned to kiss the waves that throw you upon the rock of ages - the hope of Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38–39 CSB

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Oh church, this is our hope! This Kingdom is ours and it’s there today! This hope in Jesus is not something that is a distant reality that doesn’t impact us today, no the reality of the empty tomb in the Middle East and the occupied throne in Heaven changes everything for believers in 2023. How should it impact you and me today here in Salem Missouri, or wherever you are as you worship with us this morning? If you are a Christian, what is your response to the finished work of Jesus Christ in bringing you into God’s forever family?

I love it when the Bible tells us the answer in a short sentence or two. We are called to do 2 things in the closing section of this chapter - be thankful and serve God. Worship always follows thankfulness. It’s impossible to worship God in spirit and in truth if you are not first thankful for Who God is and what God has done for you. If you’re bitter about something or if you’re upset about something or if you’re down in the dumps thinking about self and how something is going on in your life that you don’t deserve or this or that, then worship will not flow naturally. Consider these last 2 passages of Scripture - what do we all deserve? We deserve eternal separation from God. We deserve to be “shaken” and our sin is so serious that we deserve to be alienated from the Lord. That’s what we saw in Hebrews 12:18-21 at Mt. Sinai. When I think that I deserve anything other than God’s judgment against my sin, I am in the wrong - that’s what I deserve. But what has God done? Friend, if you’re here and you’re saved by grace through faith in Christ, you have been raised to walk in newness of life and you have not come to Mt. Sinai but to Mt. Zion, the city of the living God! You have a Savior and a Mediator who cries out for your pardon and whose blood speaks on your behalf. I ask you, Christian, what is the only worthy response when you look to the cross - THANKFULNESS. Church, may we never forget our sorry state before our Savior saved us. The moment we forget is the moment that thankfulness is threatened to go away and be replaced with selfishness. We must grasp God’s grace so that we worship Him with gratitude.

Worship that is God’s begins with God and his glory rather that with man and his need. - Alistair Begg.

Where is your hope today? If you are here and you are not saved by grace through faith in Christ, look at the facts as outlined in Scripture. The Creator of the Universe promises to shake this world and judge all things and that there will be a severe consequence for all who reject His Son… why? Because God is a consuming fire. He will consume and pour out His wrath upon all His adversaries. We look around our world and we see problems and disasters and all of those things are but a drop in the bucket of what is awaiting His opponents - that sounds harsh, but it’s what we deserve for committing treason against the holy King of Kings and Lord of the Universe! Don’t put Him off. Don’t say that you know better than He. Don’t reject the One Who speaks through His Word. Friend, turn your eyes to Jesus. Worship Him in spirit and in truth. Fix your eyes on Him, not on self. Make Him your treasure, not this fallen and depressing planet. Find security in Him, not in a retirement plan or in a worldly possession that can be taken away in a moment’s notice.

Application

Listen to Jesus

Friend, you must first listen to Jesus. You cannot reject Him and be safe or saved. Jesus must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.

Love His Word

We’re living in a world that has more access than ever before to God’s Word through technology and language resources… but fewer and fewer people report spending time in God’s Word. We’re busy and there are lots of voices vying for our attention… but we can’t afford to press mute and fail to spend time in the Word of God. Psalm 1 reminded us this summer that we are supposed to meditate on God’s Word day and night! Friend, don’t just read the Word of God, love the Word of God and watch the Word of God change your life as you seek to glorify and know your God more and more.

Long for Heaven

This shouldn’t be too hard for those who have been Christians for any number of years. We know that heaven is our eternal home and that we’re just passing through this world! But let me ask you this: Do you really long for heaven, or are you reluctant for heaven? Is heaven your hope or are you still trying to make this world your home? This world will pass and fade away, but God’s kingdom will remain forever. Friend, do you long for that reality? If you are here and you are yet to embrace the Word of God and trust in Christ as Lord and Savior, friend stop collecting shells that will never satisfy and will one day fade into obscurity. Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Obey His Word. Long for heaven. Don’t press mute - don’t reject the One who still speaks through His Word. Taste and see that He is good.