An Unshakeable Kingdom (Renew Polk)

Introduction

Hebrews 12:18–29 ESV

18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 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. 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.

Sugar substitutes have been on the market for a long time. Back when I was a kid, the only sugar substitute option you had was Sweet-N-Low. But the pink stuff not only had a nasty aftertaste. It had saccharin in it. And the label on the package said that saccharin had been shown to cause cancer in lab animals. Then they developed Equal. Then, after Equal came Splenda. Next on the market came my sugar substitute of choice, a Stevia and Monk Fruit blend.

Here’s what happens to people like me who use this stuff for years on end. You lose your taste for sugar because the substitute starts to taste like the real thing. I’ve been using a sugar substitute in my coffee for so long, that if I have sugar in my coffee these days I can’t drink it. It doesn’t taste right. So the substitute has completely overtaken the real substance.

Here’s the deal. What we see in this passage is the ongoing concern of this Pastor that his people reject the substitute shadow of old covenant religion, and completely embrace their better new covenant reality. They had been living so long with the substitute shadow, than when real substance came it was hard for them to let go of the substitute. The substitute and the shadow is not better than the substance and reality. No matter how much Stevia/Monk Fruit sweetener I consume, sugar still tastes better. I can fool myself as much as I want, but it doesn’t change the fact.

The life situation of the people to whom this letter is addressed are being tempted to go back under the rules and regulations of the old covenant, the regulations for animal sacrifices and for worship, that their people had practiced for over 1,000 years. Now, in Jesus Christ, the reality has come. The shadow and substitute is no longer valid. The Pastor said in 8:13 that

Hebrews 8:13 ESV

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

God makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. They have tasted the reality. They need to throw out their Stevia or Splenda, and enjoy the taste of sugar. Here’s the problem. This sugar they’re supposed to be enjoying doesn’t always taste so sweet. Following Jesus is costly. They are catching hell for their life of faith.

And there is this pattern that the Pastor follows in his word of exhortation to the Hebrews. Every time he talks about how much better it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ, how much better it is to be a part of the new covenant community, he follows it up with warning about how much worse it is if you reject Jesus.

That same pattern is right here in this passage. He has given us these pictures of the heavenly reality throughout the letter. And vv. 18-24 can be described as the climax of this heavenly picture he’s been painting. He tells them that life in God’s kingdom is lived in his presence, and it’s not a life of fear.

Hebrews 12:18–24 ESV

18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 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.

So, your lives together brothers and sisters, are lives of no fear and festive joy.

Now right after he paints the last picture of the glorious heavenly reality comes the last warning in the letter. Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem is far better than Mount Sinai where the law was given. So if the people who were gathered at Mt. Sinai did not escape condemnation and judgement when they rejected God’s divine message back then, what do you think it’ll be like if we reject the better word?

So on the heels of no fear and festive joy life in God’s kingdom there are two points I want to share with you. Life in God’s kingdom means being Fixed on the Future. And it means that God’s Favor calls us to an attitude of gratitude.

Fixed on the Future

Israel at Mt. Sinai gave lip service in response to God’s word. God’s voice was so powerful at Sinai they begged that no further messages be spoken to them.

Hebrews 12:19 ESV

19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

The same verb that’s translated as ‘beg’ in v. 19 is translated as ‘refuse’ in v. 25.

Hebrews 12:25 ESV

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.

The use of this word in v. 19 to indicate the people’s urgent request that God not speak to them directly and his re-use of it in v. 25 to warn against rejecting God’s message highlights the fact that Israel’s urgent request eventually morphed into outright rejection of the Lord. Why did they reject the Lord? Because the dominant factor in how they assessed life was their current condition. How quickly did their rejoicing over being delivered from Egypt turn into grumbling and complaining? There’s a food problem and they say, “Moses you brought us out here to die.” They get to the promised land and Moses sends spies in to spy out the land. They came back after 40 days and said, “we were like grasshoppers compared to the people of the land.” Then they said, “It would’ve been better for us to die in Egypt or in the wilderness. Why is the Lord bringing us into this land so we can die by the sword? Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt” (Num. 14:2-4).

The Pastor’s message is, don’t have that kind of rebellion define y’all. Life in God’s kingdom is dominated by the heavenly reality. That means we are to have a faith that is firmly fixed on the future. IWE don’t live in denial of the problems and issues and mess of this world. A faith that is firmly fixed on the future means that we understand that the brokenness is temporary; things that will be removed and done away with.

Why labor to plant churches? Why continue to give the resources of our bodies and our time and our labors to see more outposts of the kingdom in our communities? It’s because our eyes are fixed on a kingdom that has already broken in on this world. And since we have eyes that are fixed on the future, we know that this kingdom is coming in its fullness. And we want to see more and more people become citizens of this kingdom.

My favorite definition of the the kingdom of God comes from Geerhardus Vos. In his book, The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church, he’s examining the gospels and trying to discern what Jesus means by the kingdom. Here’s what he says,

To [Jesus] the kingdom exists there, where not merely God is supreme, for that is true at all times and under all circumstances, but where God supernaturally carries through his supremacy against all opposing powers and brings man to the willing recognition of the same.

Where God carries through his supremacy against the forces that oppose it and brings people to the willing recognition of that supremacy, we get a glimpse of God’s kingdom. In this regard, the Church is a manifestation of his supernatural power and kingdom purposes. The Church is a living sign of the union of all things in Christ because he supernaturally reconciles us to God and to one another by the power of his Spirit. We plant churches see God, by the power of his Spirit carry through his supremacy against the forces of darkness that oppose it and bring more and more people to a willing recognition of it.

Look at what the Pastor says in vv. 26-27,

Hebrews 12:26–27 ESV

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.

He borrows words from the prophet Haggai,

Haggai 2:6 ESV

6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.

He’s saying, you’ve got to get your mind wrapped around what’s real. When God said, “yet once more” he was making it clear that he’s going to shake up this whole deal. He’s going shake up the entire creation. You’ve got to live now with your faith fixed on this future hope because God is not content to let his creation continue forever dominated by sin and depravity. When God created the world he pronounced a benediction. He proclaimed a blessing. He looked at all that he had made and saw that it was very good.

Why do we press into this broken world with the priorities of the kingdom? Why do we commit to and strive to be on mission representing the King and the ways of his kingdom? Why to we apply his word to bring healing and hope in a messed up world? Is it because we think the road is going to be smooth and easy? Is it because we think we’re not going to face resistance and conflict? No. It’s because our eyes are firmly fixed on the future and we know that our King is not content to let his creation continue forever dominated by sin and depravity. We know that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:14 ESV

14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

So the Pastor reminds us that the world as it is is not the final chapter. There is going to be a final doing away with all of the mess. Hughes:

[T]his final shaking of both heaven and earth is necessary for the purging and eradication from the universe of all that is hostile to God and his will.

Some things are going to be shaken and removed, and some things are not. What’s the purpose of God’s shaking up the world? He says he’s going to remove the things that are shaken in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Some things aren’t going to get jacked up by God. The things that cannot be shaken, the things that remain are those things which are connected to the redemption that Jesus Christ brings.

God’s Favor

It’s only by God’s grace that you can have that perspective. My second point is God’s favor. It’s only by receiving God’s unmerited favor that you can live now fixed on this future promise.

Here’s another pattern we see in Hebrews. Every time the Pastor issues a warning, he doesn’t leave them down in the dumps, feeling miserable. He always ends the warning with an encouraging word. He believes that their faith in Christ is genuine. So he believes that they’re going to respond to God’s word. He believes that they’re not going to turn away from God, but that that they’re going to turn away from their sin.

So he says, what we’re called to do is have an attitude of gratitude because God’s favor enables us to live a life of worship in his presence. The things that cannot be shaken will remain. Therefore, he says in v. 28-29

Hebrews 12:28–29 ESV

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.

Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is an exhortation to hold on to the grace of God because we’re dependent on it! Here’s the idea. Christians are those who are by grace receiving an unshakable kingdom. So, let’s hold on to that grace because we’re dependent on it.

Having a faith that is fixed on the assurance of God’s future promise makes a difference in the here and now because people who have that faith are receiving right now the unshakable kingdom of God.

Remember that definition of the kingdom; God supernaturally carrying through his supremacy against the forces that oppose it? This is the kingdom we’re receiving. Notice this. The Pastor doesn’t say that since we are building the kingdom of God, let us hold on to grace, or let us be grateful. Especially in the work of church planting, we can be tempted to think that we’re out there working for the Lord, helping him build his kingdom. The Pastor says, you ain’t building nothing. God is the one who is building his kingdom. We’re debtors to grace because we get the blessing of receiving the kingdom now. That’s why it’s an unshakable kingdom. It’s not dependent upon us.

When Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples, right before he predicts Peter’s denial he says to them,

Luke 22:28–30 ESV

28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

My Father assigned me a kingdom, Jesus says to his disciples. And I’m assigning it to you so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.

And the imagery there Jesus is using is from Daniel 7:13-14 where Daniel says,

Daniel 7:13–14 ESV

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

This is the kingdom we have received family. The one that will never be destroyed. Where all peoples, nations, and languages will serve the king.

MNA has a ten year vision to facilitate a 50% growth in the PCA from 1,932 congregations to 3,000 congregations by 2033. If you do the math, that’s an additional 107 churches each year. Notice that I didn’t say 107 new churches each year. It would be 107 church plants if we didn’t close or lose any churches each year. But we average anywhere from 35-45 churches each year. Not only that, we’ve never averaged more than 50 church plants a year. Are we foolish to have such an audacious, seemingly impossible vision? I think not. Here’s what I know. We’re receiving an unshakeable kingdom. And we believe in a God who specializes in doing the impossible. May he be pleased to let us come along for the ride as he advances it in our day!