We Are Receiving a Kingdom Which Cannot Be Shaken

8-24-25

Hoonah-Hadley

Hebrews 12:18-29

Call to Worship Psalm 103:1-8

Daily Verse Hebrews 12:28

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” We want to remind you this morning that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Yes, there is a context in which this epistle was written, as is the rest of the bible, it was addressed to a certain people, in a certain place, at a certain time, but it is as applicable to us, today, right here as ever before. Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Matt. 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” God’s word is for us, it is ever before us, but even more so, it will accomplish what He, God, intents for it to accomplish. Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please… it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Notice the language in all these verses, “we are…the word is…the word of God stands…will by no means pass away…it shall not…but it shall accomplish…it shall prosper…”, present tense. We Are Receiving a Kingdom Which Cannot Be Shaken. We are, today, in the presence of a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, period.

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Hebrews 12:18-24 speaks of a glorious company. It compares the “old” with the “new”, what was, and what is, what we have and what we have not. “For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest…But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels…to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks of better things than that of Abel.” This is Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Fear was the dominant theme of Mount Zion, touchable, earthly and temporary upon which the “law” was given. On the other hand, joy and confidence characterizes the heavenly, eternal mount, Mount Zion, because the Savior is there with the blood of forgiveness. Can we take a praise break? Out with the old, in with the new, it’s what we have, “better things”, “an innumerable company of angels”, “to Jesus”, hello? Anybody? Somebody? Can we get a “hallelujah”? The penman of Hebrews brings us full circle comparing the “old” with the “new”. The epistle begins in chapter 1:1-4 with this, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things…upholding all things by the word of His power…having become so much better…He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name…” Praise God we can clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ, set the old filthy rags out at the curb on garbage night and in our solemn rest at 3:30 in the morning when we hear the brakes form the garbage truck stop out front, we know our Savior has come to take away our sins. 2:3 “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” We have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God!

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Vs. 25 “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks…” This is massive! When we’re on vacation, going somewhere, perhaps for work there is today of course what is called GPS which is questionable and actually is of little if any use to those who don’t have “smart” phones or a vehicle equipped with that technology. Roads, highways, landmarks are however, generally well marked. There are different color signs, road maps etc. to mark the way, to point us in the direction of our destination, God’s word does that and verse 25 here is one of those road signs that is huge, has flashing lights on it and goes over top of all the lanes of the Kings Highway. If we refuse Him who speaks, deny His word, doubt, worry, fear, disobedience, it comes in many forms, any and all of which are “signs” we do not believe He is able to save us from our predicament, we don’t trust that what He is telling us will accomplish what He says it will and we continue in our lost, dark, wandering wilderness without the Guide, Advocate, Helper, Friend and Savior whose sole intention is to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and into the kingdom of light where there is no more sorrow, death or crying.  There are plenty of exit ramps along our journey with signs saying, “Weeping and gnashing of the teeth”, “Heavenly Angels”, “A Great Cloud of Witnesses”, “Son’s of Perdition”, “Eternal Glory”, etc., but if we miss the sign, we’ll likely miss the exit. There is a sign that says, “If you don’t know where your going, you may not like where you end up.” Vs. 25 continues, “For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on the earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven.” Refusing God is denying His word, ignoring the very things for which He sent it, among other things, eternal rest. We’ll not likely fumble our way to heaven. There’s an exit without rest, and one called “Peace”. 

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Vs. 26 “whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” We want to observe the obvious here, God’s voice shakes the earth and heaven. Isaiah 13:13 “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the Lord of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.” Joel 3:16 “The Lord will roar from Zion and raise His voice…heaven and earth will tremble.” Matt. 24:29 “…The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Herein the authority of the voice of our Lord, “but now He has promised”, our God is a promise maker and a promise keeper. These promises have been fulfilled, are being fulfilled and will be fulfilled, He will “make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken.” God literally and physically did shake the earth in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai and He will as described in Revelation bring a “great earthquake”, but it also describes a time when everything will be upset, times of confusion, upheaval and peril. A time where hope and confidence in government, science, medicine and humanity will be shaken. We don’t need to tell you this time is upon us. Vs. 27 “Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” Herein the wheat and the chaff, see Ps. 1. Good news for those who put their trust in God, bad news for those that deny Him. Vs. 28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken…” The “Therefore” is the application, God’s intention for the verse. “We are receiving”, know it, trust it, believe it. “Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” Serve God acceptably. Amen!