An Unshakeable Kingdom

Exegetical Idea: Christians shouldn’t turn back because if the blessings of the new covenant are better than the old, then so is the punishment for refusing Christ.

Theological Idea: If the blessings of the new covenant are better than the old, then so is the punishment for refusing Christ.

Homiletical Idea: If the blessings we have are better than that of the OT saints, then so will be the punishment for turning our back on Christ.

Outline

Introduction: Why not turn away?

The Blessings of the New Covenant

The Old

A blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of the trumpet (cf. Ex 19:18)

The voice of that made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them (19)

They could not endure the voice… (vs. 20).

Even Moses trembled with fear

None of this is said negatively. The author is drawing attention to majesty, the grandeur, the awesomeness of the Old Covenant. He says, “Yea, the Old Covenant is pretty amazing.”

But the emphasis here is on something tangible in vs. 18. It is on the fact that you can come and you can see the animal die in your place. And you can feel the animal. ANd you can smell it. And you can almost taste the blodo in the hot sticky air. And you can go to Jerusalem and go to the temple.

You have not come to this (vs. 18) - This is not the covenant for you.

The New

To the real MT. Zion and to teh city of the living God (cf. Is 54:1; Gal 4:21-31)

The Living God - The God who is still with his people, who hasn’t abandoned his people. God had made that old covenant, and God hasn’t gone anywhere, he’s still teh same. In fact, God says, I think I can give somethign even greater to teh New.

The heavenly Jerusalem - This is the same Jerusalem that the book of Revelation tells us will come down out of heaven

You’ve come to the innumerable angels in festal gathering, what Jude 14 calls the “myriads” of myriads. And notice, the angels are wearing their “feast garments”. They’re in their best clothes. They’re wrapped up in their Sunday best.

To the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven - This word “firstborn” almost always refers to the word for Christ (Heb 1:6). God says that just like there is an earthly church down here, so there is a heavenly earth. And we are enrolled in it, we are on the membership roll of the heaven above.

To God in heaven, who is the judge of all things. There is nothing outside of his control. And the blessing of the New Covenant is given to us.

To the spirits of the righteous made perfect. To those who have been declared righteous by teh grace of God, and who have finished their journey, and now they’re with God.

To Jesus the mediator of the new covenant - We have a new mediator, a new Messiah, a new person who can stand in the gap. He has ascended to the heavens and is interceding between us and God.

“To the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” - Remember, in the Old Covenant, the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies once a year, and they would sprinkle blood on what is called the mercy seat. And the mercy seat represented the throne of God. But Christ entered into the throne room of God, and sprinkled his own blood (9:11-12)

And all of this is taking place in heaven above. And what we see in vs. 22 is that you have actually to this. If you have put your faith in Jesus, through Jesus, you have drawn into heaven. You are actually standing before the throne of God. You don’t have to go up to Jerusalem. You are already in Jerusalem. You don’t have to draw close to something that can be touched, you already are with Christ in heaven by the Spirit.

The Old Covenant was amazing, expansive, grandeur, majestic. But the New Covenant is better. The Old Covenant took me to something physical, the new to something spiritual. The Old took me to the earthly Jerusalem, the New to the heavenly. The Old to a sacrifical system that was just empty symbols, but the New to teh substance.

Transition: But if the joy of the New COvenant is greater, so is its risk. How many of us think we can draw near to the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world without thinking we can draw near to the lion of the tribe of Judah. We think we can draw near to priest, but not the king. We think we can have the reward without the risk, the blessing without the curse, the joy without the fear.

The Danger of the New Covenant

Old:

They did not escape him when they refused him who warned them on earth

At that time his voice shook the earth - remember Sinai

All those who wandered about in the wilderness, the disaster of Korah, the complaining Israelites

New

If they didn’t escape him when he gave them this old covenant on earth, which wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t yet perfect, how will we escape if we refuse him who warns from heaven. How will you escape the ascended Lord (vs. 25)

Then he shook the earth, but now he will shake the heavens (vs. 26)

He will shake out the chaff so that the substance will remain (vs. 27)

Illustration: Coffee

The Unshakeable kingdom (vs. 28) Once you shake off the chaff, you are left with what is unshakeable.

The One - To turn your back on the church is to turn your back on Christ. If you drop away from teh faith, the church, the BIble, if you choose to do something other than churhc, you’re not just rejecting an institution, you’re not rejecting an abstract idea, you’re rejecting a person. And it would be one thing if that person was somebody who hadn’t done something for you, but this is the one who’s done everything for you. It would be one thing if that person had no power, but this is the one who is the king of all things. Do you really think you can escape when you reject this kind of holy love? To get at this love is to get the highest, greatest, most important thing you could ever want. But you can’t have his love without his holiness.

Objection: Well, I love Jesus jsut not the church. I’m rejecting the Chruch, nto Jesus. And I just want to tell you, Jesus doesn’t think there is any distinction between the two. (Paul’s conversion)

Application:

Jesus has said “here is an unshakeable kingdom” take this.

We live in a world that is very shakeable. Everything is coming apart, our culture is distintegrating. Everything is falling apart.

Maybe you feel like you have a life that is shakeable.

Notice the great generosity of gospel, the great goodness of the gospel… You can have a rock that you can stand on.

But if this is true, if you want this kingdom, then you better worship the king.

The kind of king who we have demands acceptable worship. Give him a worship that is acceptable with reverence and awe.

Nadab and Abihu

Our God is a consuming fire

Korah’s Rebellion

Fire consumes. It consumes everything that comes near. But it purifies. It destroys the sin which clings so closely and every weight that holds us back.

Let me ask you, if Jesus was to come back today, what parts of your life would he burn up? What are you doing in your life, what are your habits, your thought patterns, your desires that in light of eternity won’t mean much? Why are you still clinging to those

Why not give those to Jesus? Why are you rejecting him? Why are you refusing those things? What good will they do in your life in 10 years, 20 years? Why not turn those over to him.