Unshakable Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Two options. Two ways to live.
Two Mountains
Two Mountains
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
Recipients of a spiritual kingdom
For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
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, 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, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Two Shakings
Two Shakings
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.
Listen to God!
The New Cov is just as severe as the old.
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.”
Reference to Haggai 2:6-7 where God is promising to disrupt the world. God says he will “shake” the world so that all the treasures of the nation are transfered to God’s temple and God is glorified.
This is a play on words. Shake and shake in different senses - but it makes the point. When God speaks the earth responds. He spoke at Saini and he will speak again...
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.
The writer is looking in expectation of the movable things, the temporary things, the impermanent things, being disrupted.
And when God does “shake” again, we the world will be shaken up.
We live between the shakings.
We live in expectation of the end of all things where God’s kingdom, God’s church will be the only game in town.
How We Worship
How We Worship
So what should we do with all this info?
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,
We respond with thankfulness - gratefulness has always been part of the worship of God. There were thanksgiving sacrifices and allowances for gifts of gratitude in the Old Covenant. Gratitude and worship go hand in hand.
That’s why we “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” as Paul said to the Colossians.
That’s why so much of our prayers when we gather together as a church are simply giving thanks to God for what he has done, is doing and has promised to do.
But when we gather, we are not only being grateful, we also offer to God acceptable worship. Worship is in all of life, it is an attitude and a way of living, but it is also what we do when we gather as the church.
Now, I have heard people foolishly assert that when Christians gather, when we come together as the church, we don’t do it to worship. They say that because Jesus said that we “worship in spirit” we don’t need to gather for specific acts of worship anymore. These kinds of statements reveal immaturity and a lack of understanding of the Bible.
It is true that we gather for fellowship and encouragement but we also gather for worshipful service as commanded by God. We gather to “offer acceptable worship” - not the worship of the Torah, but the worship of the New Covenant.
There are two greek root-words that are translated as “worship” in our English bibles - and they carry two different senses.
Proskenuo
Latreuo
Proskenuo carries the idea of bowing down, literally kissing toward, as in kissing toward the ground. If you prostrated yourself in front of somone kissing their feet, you would be worshiping. But the word is not only literal, it refers to acts of humity and service and obedience to God. So while it could literally include falling down on your face before God, it is also about doing the things that please God that demonstrate a heart attitude or bowing down to God.
The other word is Latreuo. And this carries the idea of service, as in doing the things a servant is commanded to do by their master. It is the kind of service that the priests did in the OT when they offered incense and co-ordinated the sacrifices. Sometimes it is translated “worship” sometimes “service” depending on the context.
Here in Hebrews the word is Latreuo. We must offer accteptable worship-service with reverence and awe. So when we gather we offer the service that God calls us to, we do service:
Called to offer sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,
Called to encourage on another in song,
Called to practice the Lord’s Supper together,
Called to be instructed by qualified teachers
Called to confess our sins to one another,
Called to pass judgement in matters of Church discipline,
Offer monetary gifts for the furthering of the Gospel and for people in need.
This is what we do as we gather to offer acceptable service.
And we do it with reverance and awe - not flipantly. Not with a Jesus is my boyfriend type attitude, but recognising God as who he is.
Service beyond the gathering - this is not limited to our official formal worship. It is the shape our lives to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.
For
for our God is a consuming fire.
So what?
So what?
Understand your position in Christ, at Mount Zion.
Don’t refuse him who is speaking!
Be ready for the next “shaking”
Be grateful for receiving the kingdom,
Offer God acceptable service!
