We Won't Be Shaken

Introduction

In a world of division, conflict, confusion, and disappointment, the hope offered by Jesus Christ serves as an oasis for those of us who are weary from traveling through this world. Not only does Jesus offer us eternal hope, but He gives us the ability to stand firm here and now regardless of what is going on around us. Do you believe that God has a plan, friends?

Spurgeon once put it like this, “Hope itself is like a star - not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.” Hope is powerful. If all you have it hope, you have all that you need! Hope has been defined as a confident expectation of the fulfillment of something promised. Christian hope is based primarily on the promises of God and we have certain hope upon these things because our God is the covenant keeping God. What He promises will come to be because He is God! Because of this, we are able to have hope at all times. You could say that we won’t be shaken regardless of what comes our way.

This sounds great, doesn’t it? It sounds great and makes us feel good to think about our hope in God and knowing full and well that we can and should have the utmost confidence in that fact. Yet, if you’re anything like me, you know that we are prone to wander and second guess and doubt. In a world that looks crazy and seems to be getting crazier by the day, it can be hard to have hope at all times. What we will examine today is that there is a chasm between us and God, that chasm is our sin and for those who reject Christ, they will be shaken and experience eternal consequences because of their choice. However, for those of us who are reconciled through the blood of Jesus, we receive an unshakeable Kingdom. What should we do with this fact? That is what we will examine this morning. Let’s read out of Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12:18–29 CSB

18 For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, 19 to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, 20 for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. 21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear. 22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, 23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel. 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.

The Chasm that Separates us (18-21)

How do you know that something is good? Seriously, think of an action that people would say is good like holding a door open for someone else. There are some people in our world who say that holding a door open for someone else is an act of superiority and in turn, an insult or demeaning towards the other person, however most people would say that this is a nice, good action. Slamming the door shut on someone’s face would be considered a bad action, wouldn’t we agree? Even if the person behind you is not exactly the nicest of people, we would agree that slamming the door in their face still isn’t a nice thing to do! Likewise, whenever you hear a report that says that you don’t have cancer you would likely say that that is a good report! Why is it “good”, though? It’s good because of the alternative. We know something is good because we have a built in moral compass and we know that some things are good and others are bad. By understanding what is bad, we also understand what is good!

We find this to be true in the Bible as well. Many people love looking at the New Testament stories of Jesus sharing a message of love and hope and we will examine those themes in a moment, but we sell ourselves short if that’s all we talk about as Christians. Why is there good news? In part, because there is bad news initially. The bad news is that you and I are sinners. Maybe you’re rolling your eyes and getting ready to turn on another preacher online because you’re tired of us talking about sin here at Morgan Baptist Church. Friends, it would be the most unloving thing that I could do to not share with you the gravity of our sin before a holy God. Sin creates a deep chasm between us and God. Our text opens up with the preacher discussing the holiness of God as Moses and the Israelites came to this realization on Mt. Sinai.

The first word in our text is the word “for” and this forces us to look backwards before we can move forwards. Why are we called in last week’s message to strengthen our hands and straighten our paths? Because you and I are running a race but we don’t run to Mt. Sinai, we run to Mt. Zion.

In these opening 4 verses we see the preacher refer to the account of the Israelites receiving the 10 commandments in Exodus 19 - what a timely message for us as we spent several weeks over the last few months talking about the 10 commandments during Sunday school! Let’s look at this mountain and how there is fear with Sinai contrasted with the hope we have as we approach the throne of grace.

In Exodus 19 we see several commands given to the people regarding Mt. Sinai

Exodus 19:12 CSB

12 Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death.

Anyone who touched this mountain would be put to death! Why is this the case? Because of who is on this mountain. God’s presence was on Mt. Sinai and if an uninvited sinner touched the mountain, he or she would be killed. Look at the description of this mountain, there is a blazing fire, darkness, gloom and storm with the blast of a trumpet. Friends, God is holy and we are not.

Yet, many people today do not see this infinite chasm between them and God. Many people see God as being just like them. Worse yet, many people think that they are just like God. Is that what the Bible teaches? Praise God that is not the case! What we see clearly in Scripture is that God is holy and “other” than sin whereas we are sinners. We are separated from God because of our sin and there is a consequence for that sin.

The 4th word changes everything, though. What is the 4th word in our text? The word “not!” Not changes everything. There is the Old Covenant that was written on tablets of stone which gave the law which people could never keep perfectly on their own. Then there is the New Covenant written upon the hearts and minds of Christians and Jesus Christ kept the law for us. There is a good fear of God holiness, as Martin Luther put it, “No fear is the worst fear of all.” Sadly some people do not fear God’s holiness. Friends, the Bible talks about the “fear of the Lord” in a positive light! This is a good thing, but we don’t need to have an unhealthy terror of God’s power and holiness as the Israelites did. Why is this the case? Because of the verses that follow as we see the mercy of God displayed on the cross by Jesus Christ. There is a Chasm between us and God due to our sin but Christ reconciles us to God by dying in our place.

The Cross that Reconciles us (22-24)

So the bad news of the story is that we are separated from God due to our sin. The great news of the Gospel is that Christ died on the cross and serves as the bridge, or mediator between ourselves and God! Christ perfectly fulfilled what Mt. Sinai represented - the law. Hebrews 8 talks about that reality as Christ perfectly obeyed the law and won for us the victory.

When does this happen, though? When does Christ win the victory for you? The preacher notes, “You have come to Mount Zion.” What does Mt. Zion represent here? The capital of the kingdom of God, the place where Christ reigns as we see from Psalm 110. When we you transfer your membership from a citizen of earth to a citizen of heaven? Do you have to wait until you die for this to happen? If you wait until you die to be reconciled to God, you will be spending eternity in a place of separation from God! You must be reconciled to God today! Friends, the millisecond that you are adopted into the family of God, your citizenship transfers. We experience this beautiful transfer today, do we not? Right now, you are worshiping with brothers and sisters in Christ. You have more in common with these people than you have in common with people in your very own families. We experience the kingdom of God right now, immediately, but there is also a “not yet” component to this kingdom that we long for. This part will not be consummated until the age to come in the heavenly Jerusalem. There is tension here that Paul talks about from time to time as we long for our heavenly home while living our daily lives and seeking to honor God here and now.

So we come to Mount Zion whenever we accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We join the myriads of Angels when we do this. How does it make you feel that your future home is a place of worship? AW Tozer, one of the giants of the faith put it like this, “I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.” Are you prepared for an eternity of worship today? That is what is awaiting you and friends, worship is more than the songs, alright? Some people, wrongly, confuse what we do on a Sunday morning service. There is the worship and then there is the preaching. Worship is much more than singing songs. Preaching is worship. Praying is worship. Giving is worship. What is awaiting us with these angels and those saints who have gone on before us? An eternity of serving God and experiencing ultimate satisfaction and glorification as we fulfill our life’s purpose of honoring God.

Have you ever talked with people about heaven? Have you ever asked someone if they think that they’re going to go to heaven when they pass away? Nearly everyone says yes to this question, by the way! As Paul Washer puts it, “Everyone wants to go to heaven. They just don’t want God to be there when they get there.” Who is the God that who is in heaven? Is He just like you and I? Thank God He is not! He is the judge and God of all as verse 23 tells us. We don’t like thinking of judgment because we usually view it as a bad thing, however for us as followers of Jesus is that time of judgment something to fret? No. Why? Because we are deemed righteous as people who have been made perfect. How does this work? Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross as He made us legally blameless and innocent as 2 Corinthians 5 shares with us

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is what Jesus has done for us on the cross and this same Jesus serves as our mediator right now. Jesus is the mediator of the better covenant, another reference to Hebrews 8, and we see that His blood speaks. Does the blood of Jesus speak on your behalf today? The blood of Jesus saves and washes us white as snow. Only the blood of Jesus will save you from the very real wrath of God against sin. The Cross reconciles us but if you’re not in Christ, the cross is of no good to you. Hebrews 12:24 is the crescendo of the entire book of Hebrews. What was untouchable is now touchable. What was once impossible is now possible. All of this is due to what Jesus did for us - have you called upon Him today?

The Calamity that Awaits some (25-27)

The passage continues with a final paragraph with a warning and a promise. Have you ever encountered someone who was in desperate need of help but they refused help time and time again, even though help was literally right in front of them? There is an illustration out there that talks about a man who was shipwrecked and stranded on a remote island and he prayed that God would rescue him. The next day a cruise ship happened to be passing by and sent a ship to shore and offered to take the man to port with them. The man refused saying that he was waiting for God to save him. The next day a fishing boat was in the bay and saw the man on the shore and offered to take him back to the mainland but the man once again refused saying that he was waiting for God to save him. The man was in need of saving but was waiting on God. The man passed away on the 3rd day and asked God, once he got to heaven, why he didn’t answer his prayer and rescue him. God responded that he sent 2 groups to rescue him but the man refused both times!

Friends, sometimes we are so busy that we miss the point. This happens in church but it also happens in life. If we are not careful, we will miss the message. Sadly, some people don’t even realize that they are lost to begin with. Verse 25 reminds us that we must not reject the one who is speaking. Who is the one speaking?

2 Timothy 3:16 CSB

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

All Scripture is inspired by God, therefore the message that is being rejected here is ultimately a message given by God. First we see that people rejected the prophets on earth. People who rejected the prophets did not escape the judgment of God. The preacher uses an argument from the lesser to the greater and says that those people didn’t escape and you definitely won’t escape if you reject the one who speaks from heaven! What will these people not escape from? The very wrath of God - this is an essential part of the Gospel: If you reject Jesus, you will not escape God’s wrath.

{If Time Allows}

(Consider whenever you receive a command. Perhaps you are told by a co-worker that your boss needs you to do something but you reject it because you didn’t hear the boss yourself. If you do this, there’s a chance that you will get punished. However, if you are given a direct command from the CEO of your company and you reject it, you will certainly get punished!

The same principle applies here, but it’s even worse. People rejected the prophets and they are without excuse. People continue to reject Jesus Christ and they too are without excuse! Why? Because He will shake the earth once more and remove what can be shaken as verses 26-27 note.)

The preacher quotes from Haggai 2:6 in verse 26 but that quotation is really from a paragraph in Haggai 2:2-9. The Lord shook the earth at Sinai and promises to shake both the earth and the heavens - He promises to judge all things and this is what we call the time of judgment as the kingdoms and people of this world will be judged one day in the future. Friends, if you’re not in Christ, the day of judgment will be a day of great shaking however, if your hope is built on Jesus’ blood and righteousness and you’re a part of the kingdom of God, then you have nothing to fear because you will not be shaken. As David Allen says, “God’s kingdom is immutable and possesses eternal stability.” If you’re not in Christ, though, and you are seeking refuge and stability in things, people, kingdoms, and ideas then you will be in for a rude awakening on this day. Some people think that they are fine because of what they do or who they vote for, church, if that’s where your hope is then there is a calamity and disaster upcoming. The only name that saves is the name of Jesus and He is our king.

The Command given by our King (28-29)

Sometimes grammar can be difficult. Have you experienced this to be the case from time to time? For people who are born in another country that does not speak English as their primary language and they are trying to learn English, they will often tell you that English is a tricky language to understand. Before you say something mean about people learning English, some of you in this room and online do not understand proper English either! There are parts of our language that are difficult to understand and there are other parts that are very simple. In the Greek New Testament, things are easier to understand once you have a grasp of basic Greek grammar. In verses 28-29 we are given a command by our King. What is that command? It’s simple.

We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is in the present tense as we are receiving this today! We don’t have to wait until we die to receive this kingdom, we receive part of it now as the Holy Spirit dwells within us. In this sense the Kingdom of God truly is at hand already, but yet, at least all the way. What should our response be to the fact that we are already a part of God’s Kingdom? We should first, be thankful. In your world, what does it mean to be thankful? Does it mean to take things for granted or to act one way at church and another way outside of it? No. We are to be people of grace and give thanks to God for what He has done for us! As we give thanks what are we supposed to do? Serve God with reverence and awe.

Romans 12:1–2 CSB

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

We serve God and we worship Him with reverence and awe.

[There are 2 dangerous extremes when it comes to worship: Have you ever heard someone talk about worship in terms of something that they have to do or something that is done with carelessness? I know for a fact that I’ve heard and witnessed both of these extremes - the legalistic approach and the emotionalism approach. How are we to worship God? With reverence and awe because God is holy and we dare not think that we deserve to serve and worship Him. We must have humility in our worship! Not arrogance or legalism.]

Again, if you don’t like worship, praying, teaching, preaching, and singing then you are not prepared for heaven. Friends, we all have room to grow in this regard!

Our final verse notes that God is a consuming fire. What is unique about this verse? What word comes before “God” in this verse? The word our. Do you see how this one word changes everything? The God of the Bible is not some distant, removed, deity who doesn’t care about His creation or His people. He is relational. He sent His Son! He loves us and He works all things together for the good of those who love God! Church, the God of the Bible is “your” God if you’re a part of the kingdom of God! Him being a consuming fire should be a comfort for us because we know that a refining fire is a good thing

But, if you are not a Christian, the God of the Bible being a consuming fire is far from a good thing. He will consume you and you will be judged by your wickedness when the day comes. Church, the Gospel isn’t fire insurance. The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ saving us from the wrath that we rightly deserve. So, in light of this, how should we worship?

We must be aware of God’s holiness and our unworthiness. We must respond to His love with trust and serve Him each day of our lives. This is done because we understand that we are saved to serve because we are a part of a kingdom that is not of this world. A kingdom that will not be shaken.

Conclusion

We are living in a strange time. A time of division, uneasiness, conflict, and confusion. What should the response of the Church be in such a situation? Friends, it’s the same message and the same response that Christians have had for thousands of years. The message that Jesus saves and that Jesus is Lord. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in things and we have a duty to be good stewards and care about things going on around us, but at the end of the day can you confidently say that you belong to Jesus? If you belong to Jesus, you have nothing to worry about. We don’t have to wait for the future to be a part of God’s kingdom, we are a part of it presently. We have come to Mt. Zion. We will not be shaken. Therefore, let us be thankful and serve God presently, as the Greek reads, and worship God with reverence and awe because He and He alone is worthy of our praise.

Have hope, trust in Jesus and, as the preacher has said many times in this sermon, persevere until the end!