A Kingdom that Cannot be Shaken By Pastor Dan Kennedy www.pastorkennedy.com © January 9, 2010 Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29 Introduction • Preparing for the unexpected things that can “shake” us in life o Chains in a snowstorm… o Financial disaster o Family distress o Physical hardship o Complications from old age o Death God Allows us to Experience the “Shaking” of the Temporal in our Life, so that we will Hold On to the Eternal, which Cannot be Shaken! • We in this Church are one part in the total “Body of Christ” in this physical world – this is a serious and profound responsibility in a world filled with grief, pain, joy, sadness, death and eternal dimensions. • The Scripture is clear that there will be a time when the heaven and earth will be “shaken”, and we need to prepare for this time, should we be living when it comes…. Preparation for this coming event is not wasted, because our physical life as we know it, with our physical body, will be shaken by death! In Control A world, free-fall in space. Flung into perpetual motion by unseen hands. A massive, rotating sphere of fire, ice and vegetation kept on a precision course with an incomprehensible guidance system. Floating...rushing through eternity, to eternity. Turning, spinning, but somehow never out of control - not for one nanosecond. We appear on its surface. We do not perceive where we came from or how we got there. We build tiny shelters on this mass, huddle beneath their flimsy structure and say that we are safe. We walk along the spherical edge of the earth and peer around us; we fly from one point to another, hovering or scurrying like little ants in agents of travel, on top of, or just above its massive crust. We puff out our chest and declare that we are in control. We all nod our heads to those around us and confidently affirm, “Yes, we know everything we need to know. We are exponentially gaining knowledge. We have no need of God. We are in control!” A friend who had nodded enthusiastically with us falls mysteriously, and without any power to stop it, having been released from the spirit of life, to never breathe again. Over and over throughout the years, the powerful, the brilliant, the noble, the rich, the talented, the poor, the beggar, and the unexceptional - everyone, without exception, on the crust of this world, one by one trembles and mysteriously falls down to his or her death, never again to awaken in this life. We shake, recall the best we can remember of their life, and sadly bury their bodies in the ground, scatter their ashes to the wind, or commit their remains to the sea. Then we feebly look at each other to gather strength, and, as those who are left, nod reaffirmingly yet once again to each other, “Yes, we are in control!” Our breath stops. Our whole world is profoundly shaken. Our spirit is brought before the Living God. In that moment it becomes crystal clear who has been in control all along! Whether or not we will see the things spoken of by Jesus Christ and the Old Testament Prophets, regarding the “end times”, we will all experience our physical life, which will be “shaken”, when we die and stand before God – face to Face! Our Relationship to Jesus Christ allows us to be securely part of a Kingdom that can never be shaken! Death not only shakes each one individually, no matter when we live in the history of the world, but the Scripture clearly tells us that one day the heavens and the earth will also be profoundly shaken. In order to have a clear perspective on life, we need a clear perspective on eternity! Eternity involves a catastrophic “shaking” of life as we know it! Throughout the Scriptures, from the Old Testament to the New, the Scripture speaks of this coming “shaking” of the heavens and the earth: The Prophet Joel spoke of this coming day… Joel 2 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. The Prophet Zephaniah spoke of this day… Zephaniah 1 14The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness… Jesus spoke of this coming day… Matthew 24 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. John, the Apostle who was exiled on the Isle of Patmos spoke of it in Revelation… Revelation 6 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” The passage, which we are focusing on today, begins with a comparison of the fearful day when the Law was given to the Israelites – which shook the earth, and the day which will be coming – which will shake heaven and earth… Hebrews 12 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.” Let’s look at the events that preceded the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, as seen in Hebrews 12:18-21: • Joseph’s Trials: After having been brought into Egypt by the Lord, through the trials that shook the life of Joseph. • 400 Years: Israel was locked in bondage in Egypt for 400 years o 14 Generations: 400 years ago, would be about 14 generations of people o North America’s History: 400 years ago, in our history, would take us back to the 1600’s (a little over 100 years past when “Columbus sailed the ocean blue”). It would take North America back to a little past when Jacques Cartier was paddling his canoe around exploring the Canadian north, and other explorers looked for the Northwest Passage. It was about the time of the establishment of the colonies at Jamestown, Plymouth Rock and Massachusetts Bay…400 years was a long time for the Children of Israel to be exiled in Egypt. o Heathen worship learned: During this 400 years many of the Hebrew exiles unfortunately seemed to learn to worship after the customs of the heathen Egyptians in following the golden calf god…which they reverted to in the wilderness. • Moses potential in Egypt: Some in Israel may have set their hope on this potential heir to pharaoh’s throne, Moses, who was brought into pharaoh’s palace after being drawn out of the sacred Nile. o Could it be, some may have wondered, that Egypt itself might actually be the Promised Land, which Moses would give them? o Their hopes were dashed when he ran for his life in the desert. • 10 Plagues: Moses returned to bring down the 10 plagues upon Egypt and force pharaoh to release the Children of Israel. The Egyptian’s lives were “shaken” but they did not hold on to that which could not be shaken. 1. Water turned to blood 2. Frogs 3. Gnats 4. Flies 5. Plague on livestock 6. Boils 7. Hail 8. Locusts 9. Darkness 10.Death of firstborn • Red Sea: Israel left and ran immediately into a huge roadblock…the Red Sea. o God’s Hand delivered the Israelites by making a way through the sea while at the same time causing God’s Judgment to fall on pharaoh and his host, who had been such cruel taskmasters of the Israelites. • Insurmountable Odds in Wilderness: While wandering in the wilderness, Israel continued to face seemingly insurmountable odds against them – but God delivered them time after time from them all. • The “Shaking” of Mt. Sinai: Then they came to Mt. Sinai, where God gave them His Law, became a place of fearful shaking – as they faced the Law of their God! Shaking which got the attention of Israel: o A mountain that may not be touched, o A blazing fire o Darkness o Gloom o A tempest o The sound of a trumpet o A voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned” o So terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” God Allowed Israel to Experience the “Shaking” of the Temporal, so that they would be willing to Hold On to the Eternal, which Cannot be Shaken! This was only the beginning…it was dealing with what was to be the “schoolmaster” to guide them until the Christ should come. His Second Coming would reveal the final chapter in revealing the Eternal Kingdom of God. God sometimes allows our life to be shaken so that the vulnerabilities in this temporal world will be seen. 2 Corinthians 4 18 …we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken Hebrews 12 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. That which cannot be shaken The heavenly Jerusalem, To innumerable angels in festal gathering, To the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, To God, the judge of all, To the spirits of the righteous made perfect, To Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Cautions for us, who find ourselves in this temporal, shaken world: 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. Conclusion Let’s be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken… And, let us show our gratitude by offering to God: 1. Acceptable Worship 2. With reverence and awe Our spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ is serious. We will one day face God and the world, as we know it will be profoundly “shaken”. 2 Peter 3 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. God Allows us to Experience the “Shaking” of the Temporal in our Life, so that we will Hold On to the Eternal, which Cannot be Shaken! May we in this church be who we should in the days that we live on this earth, until the Lord comes – living lives, as part of His Kingdom which will never be shaken!

A Kingdom that Cannot be Shaken

By Pastor Dan Kennedy

www.pastorkennedy.com

©January 9, 2010

Scripture Reading:

Hebrews 12:18-29

Introduction

•Preparing for the unexpected things that can “shake” us in life

oChains in a snowstorm…

oFinancial disaster

oFamily distress

oPhysical hardship

oComplications from old age

oDeath

God Allows us to Experience the “Shaking” of the Temporal in our Life, so that we will Hold On to the Eternal, which Cannot be Shaken!

•We in this Church are one part in the total “Body of Christ” in this physical world – this is a serious and profound responsibility in a world filled with grief, pain, joy, sadness, death and eternal dimensions.

•The Scripture is clear that there will be a time when the heaven and earth will be “shaken”, and we need to prepare for this time, should we be living when it comes…. Preparation for this coming event is not wasted, because our physical life as we know it, with our physical body, will be shaken by death!

In Control

A world, free-fall in space. Flung into perpetual motion by unseen hands. A massive, rotating sphere of fire, ice and vegetation kept on a precision course with an incomprehensible guidance system.

Floating...rushing through eternity, to eternity. Turning, spinning, but somehow never out of control - not for one nanosecond.

We appear on its surface. We do not perceive where we came from or how we got there. We build tiny shelters on this mass, huddle beneath their flimsy structure and say that we are safe. We walk along the spherical edge of the earth and peer around us; we fly from one point to another, hovering or scurrying like little ants in agents of travel, on top of, or just above its massive crust.

We puff out our chest and declare that we are in control. We all nod our heads to those around us and confidently affirm, “Yes, we know everything we need to know. We are exponentially gaining knowledge. We have no need of God. We are in control!”

A friend who had nodded enthusiastically with us falls mysteriously, and without any power to stop it, having been released from the spirit of life, to never breathe again. Over and over throughout the years, the powerful, the brilliant, the noble, the rich, the talented, the poor, the beggar, and the unexceptional - everyone, without exception, on the crust of this world, one by one trembles and mysteriously falls down to his or her death, never again to awaken in this life. We shake, recall the best we can remember of their life, and sadly bury their bodies in the ground, scatter their ashes to the wind, or commit their remains to the sea. Then we feebly look at each other to gather strength, and, as those who are left, nod reaffirmingly yet once again to each other, “Yes, we are in control!”

Our breath stops. Our whole world is profoundly shaken. Our spirit is brought before the Living God. In that moment it becomes crystal clear who has been in control all along!

Whether or not we will see the things spoken of by Jesus Christ and the Old Testament Prophets, regarding the “end times”, we will all experience our physical life, which will be “shaken”, when we die and stand before God – face to Face!

Our Relationship to Jesus Christ allows us to be securely part of a Kingdom that can never be shaken!

Death not only shakes each one individually, no matter when we live in the history of the world, but the Scripture clearly tells us that one day the heavens and the earth will also be profoundly shaken.

In order to have a clear perspective on life, we need a clear perspective on eternity! Eternity involves a catastrophic “shaking” of life as we know it!

Throughout the Scriptures, from the Old Testament to the New, the Scripture speaks of this coming “shaking” of the heavens and the earth:

The Prophet Joel spoke of this coming day…

Joel 2

30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

The Prophet Zephaniah spoke of this day…

Zephaniah 1

14The great day of the Lord is near,

near and hastening fast;

the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;

the mighty man cries aloud there.

15A day of wrath is that day,

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of ruin and devastation,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and thick darkness…

Jesus spoke of this coming day…

Matthew 24

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

John, the Apostle who was exiled on the Isle of Patmos spoke of it in Revelation…

Revelation 6

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The passage, which we are focusing on today, begins with a comparison of the fearful day when the Law was given to the Israelites – which shook the earth, and the day which will be coming – which will shake heaven and earth…

Hebrews 12

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.”

Let’s look at the events that preceded the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, as seen in Hebrews 12:18-21:

•Joseph’s Trials: After having been brought into Egypt by the Lord, through the trials that shook the life of Joseph.

•400 Years: Israel was locked in bondage in Egypt for 400 years

o14 Generations: 400 years ago, would be about 14 generations of people

oNorth America’s History: 400 years ago, in our history, would take us back to the 1600’s (a little over 100 years past when “Columbus sailed the ocean blue”). It would take North America back to a little past when Jacques Cartier was paddling his canoe around exploring the Canadian north, and other explorers looked for the Northwest Passage. It was about the time of the establishment of the colonies at Jamestown, Plymouth Rock and Massachusetts Bay…400 years was a long time for the Children of Israel to be exiled in Egypt.

oHeathen worship learned: During this 400 years many of the Hebrew exiles unfortunately seemed to learn to worship after the customs of the heathen Egyptians in following the golden calf god…which they reverted to in the wilderness.

•Moses potential in Egypt: Some in Israel may have set their hope on this potential heir to pharaoh’s throne, Moses, who was brought into pharaoh’s palace after being drawn out of the sacred Nile.

oCould it be, some may have wondered, that Egypt itself might actually be the Promised Land, which Moses would give them?

oTheir hopes were dashed when he ran for his life in the desert.

•10 Plagues: Moses returned to bring down the 10 plagues upon Egypt and force pharaoh to release the Children of Israel. The Egyptian’s lives were “shaken” but they did not hold on to that which could not be shaken.

1.Water turned to blood

2.Frogs

3.Gnats

4.Flies

5.Plague on livestock

6.Boils

7.Hail

8.Locusts

9.Darkness

10.Death of firstborn

•Red Sea: Israel left and ran immediately into a huge roadblock…the Red Sea.

oGod’s Hand delivered the Israelites by making a way through the sea while at the same time causing God’s Judgment to fall on pharaoh and his host, who had been such cruel taskmasters of the Israelites.

•Insurmountable Odds in Wilderness: While wandering in the wilderness, Israel continued to face seemingly insurmountable odds against them – but God delivered them time after time from them all.

•The “Shaking” of Mt. Sinai: Then they came to Mt. Sinai, where God gave them His Law, became a place of fearful shaking – as they faced the Law of their God!

Shaking which got the attention of Israel:

oA mountain that may not be touched,

oA blazing fire

oDarkness

oGloom

oA tempest

oThe sound of a trumpet

oA voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned”

oSo terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”

God Allowed Israel to Experience the “Shaking” of the Temporal, so that they would be willing to Hold On to the Eternal, which Cannot be Shaken!

This was only the beginning…it was dealing with what was to be the “schoolmaster” to guide them until the Christ should come. His Second Coming would reveal the final chapter in revealing the Eternal Kingdom of God.

God sometimes allows our life to be shaken so that the vulnerabilities in this temporal world will be seen.

2 Corinthians 4

18 …we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 12

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.

That which cannot be shaken

The heavenly Jerusalem,
To innumerable angels in festal gathering,
To the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,
To God, the judge of all,
To the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
To Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Cautions for us, who find ourselves in this temporal, shaken world:

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.

Conclusion

Let’s be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken…

And, let us show our gratitude by offering to God:

1.Acceptable Worship

2.With reverence and awe

Our spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ is serious. We will one day face God and the world, as we know it will be profoundly “shaken”.

2 Peter 3

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

God Allows us to Experience the “Shaking” of the Temporal in our Life, so that we will Hold On to the Eternal, which Cannot be Shaken!

May we in this church be who we should in the days that we live on this earth, until the Lord comes – living lives, as part of His Kingdom which will never be shaken!