of our regular Wednesday night
service this week for those who are able to come. I know that
Thanksgiving has different people, but if you're able, we'll be
here, okay? Tom's gonna come lead us in hymn,
your Spiral Hymnal number 32. Just read the first stanza. All
children of wrath in bondage and sin we helplessly lay condemned
and unclean. God's law and its infinite justice
and wrath demanded that we suffer an eternal death. That's what
the law requires. But we're not under the law.
We're under grace. And the rest of this hymn will
give glory to Christ for having become the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth. Tom, you come please.
Let's stand together. Number 32. ? All children of wrath in bondage
and sin ? ? We helplessly lay, condemned and unclean ? God's
law in its infinite justice and wrath, demanded we suffer an
eternal death. ? But long before time had ever
begun ? ? One stood in our place, God's glorious Son ? ? He offered
himself to go live among men ? ? And give his own life to
atone for our sins ? The great substitute, behold he has come. The price has been paid, the
work is all done. ? Christ took on himself the
great load of our sin ? ? He poured out his blood and he put
away sin ? ? God's justice and law are now satisfied ? ? And
all who believe have been justified through faith in the blood of
the lamb. We are free from sin's condemnation,
eternally free. Please be seated. Good morning. If you would, let's
read our call to worship from Psalms 78. Psalm 78. I'll start in verse 36. Nevertheless, they did flatter
him with their mouths, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
This isn't exactly a kiss like we just read in Ruth, but the
mouth here is deceiving. For their heart was not right
with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. But he, being
full of compassion, forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not.
Yea, many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up
all his wrath. For he remembered that they were
but flesh, a wind that passeth away and cometh not again. How
oft did they provoke him in the wilderness and grieve him in
the desert. Yea, they turned back, back to
Moab, and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel. They
remembered not his hand nor the day when he delivered them from
the enemy, how he had wrought his signs in Egypt and his wonders
in the field of Zohan. And he turned their rivers into
blood and their floods that they could not drink. He sent diverse
sorts of flies among them which devoured them and frogs which
destroyed them. He gave also their increase unto
the caterpillar and their labor unto the locust. He destroyed
their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with frost. He
gave up their cattle also into the hail and their flocks to
hot thunderbolts. He cast upon them the fierceness
of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble by sending evil angels
among them. He made a way to His anger. He spared not their
soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence,
and smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength
in the tabernacles of Ham. but made his own people to go
forth like sheep and guided them into the wilderness like a flock.
And he led them on safely so that they feared not, but the
sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to the border
of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand
had purchased. He cast out the heathen also
before them and divided them in inheritance by line and made
tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. Yet they tempted
God and provoked the Most High God and kept not His testimonies
again, but turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers.
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow, for they provoked Him to
anger with their high places and moved Him to jealousy with
their graven images. When God heard this, He was wroth
and greatly abhorred Israel, so that He forsook the tabernacle
of Shiloh the tent which he placed among men, and delivered his
strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.
He gave his people over, also unto the sword, and was wroth
with his inheritance. The fire consumed their young
men, and their maidens were not given to marriage. Their priests
fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then
the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man
that shouteth by reason of one, And he smote his enemies in hinder
parts. He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover, he refused the tabernacle
of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe
of Judah, the Mount Zion, which he loved. And he built his sanctuary
like high palaces, like the earth, which he had established forever.
He chose David also, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
From following the ewes great with young, he brought him to
feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them
according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by
the skillfulness of his hands. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, we thank you for bringing
us here this morning. We thank you for your word, Lord.
We ask that you would Enable us to cleave unto your
word, to the person of your son, Lord, and not to merely give our kisses as a show of
affection, as a show of deceit, Lord. We ask that you would enable
us to hear your word. We ask that you would forgive
our sins, our trespasses, our iniquities, especially, Lord.
It's in his name we pray, amen. Let's stand together again. We'll
sing the hymn that's on the back of your bulletin. ? Come guilty soul and flee to
Christ ? ? Uplifted on the tree ? ? Who bore the dreadful wrath
of God ? ? That sinners might go free ? Behold the Savior's
precious blood and know the love of God. Behold God's justice
satisfied in Jesus' precious blood. Here in His love, God
gave His Son to die the sinner's death, that He might justly save
each one who comes to Him in faith. ? Dear Lamb of God, I
come to you ? ? And all my sin confess ? ? Trusting your blood
and righteousness ? ? I'm saved by sovereign grace ? Please be
seated. Let's open our Bibles again to
Ruth chapter 1. We know that Bethlehem, the house
of bread, Judah praise is a picture of the church where God's people
gathered together to praise Him and to feast on the bread of
life, the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that
Jerusalem, the city of peace, is also a picture in the Bible
of the gathering of God's people. in his church. These things not
only apply to the corporate gathering as we're doing now, but they
also apply to each and every individual member of the body
of Christ. And so you individually are Bethlehem
Judah rejoicing in feeding on the bread of life. And Jerusalem,
you have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
really the picture here. I've titled this message, All
the City Was Moved. All the City Was Moved. We're
in Ruth chapter one at verse 19. So they went Until they came to Bethlehem,
Judah, Orpah has gone back to Moab, Naomi and Ruth traveling
alone. They come to Bethlehem, Judah,
and it came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all
the city was moved about them. And they said, is this Naomi? And we cannot read this verse
of scripture without turning to another place in God's word
where the Holy Spirit speaks similar words. Matthew chapter
21. Matthew chapter 21. We know that in the volume of the
book, it is spoken of me. And so this, historical event
of Ruth and Naomi going to Bethlehem Judah is a picture, it's a foreshadowing,
it's a type of what would be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus
Christ entered into the city of Jerusalem. Lazarus has been
raised from the dead. Some believed. And some believed
not. And the ones who did not believe
ran back and told the Pharisees what had happened. And the Pharisees
said, we've got to do something. If we allow this man to remain,
we'll lose both our nation and our place. We'll lose our position
of power. We'll lose our people. The Romans
will come and destroy us and take away our power. And so they had met together
in a determined effort to rid the city of the Lord Jesus Christ. But before they're allowed to
do that, the Lord Jesus leaves Bethany where Lazarus had been
raised and travels the few miles down into the city of Jerusalem.
We refer to this as his triumphal entry. It is about a week before
his crucifixion. And in the fulfillment of prophecy,
he comes riding upon a colt. And the masses of the people
gather together and they cry, Hosanna. And they throw palm
fronds out on the road and they acknowledge that this is the
promised Messiah. And they're crying out to him
to save them. And the Lord is riding on a colt. a picture of his humility. We
find in the book of Revelation, when he comes again, it's not
going to be on a colt. It's not going to be on the back of an
ass. It'll be on a white stag. With eyes like fire and tongue
like a sword, he'll come as a conquering savior to establish his eternal
kingdom. But the first time he came humbly,
to give his life as a suffering servant for his sheep the second
time he comes to take charge of his eternal kingdom once and
for all. So this is the triumphal entry
of the Lord Jesus Christ that's referred to here in Matthew chapter
21. Look with me at verse 10. And when he was coming into Jerusalem,
The same Holy Spirit is writing these words that wrote the words
in the book of Ruth when he was come into Jerusalem, not Bethlehem,
Judah, but Jerusalem, but meaning the same thing. Bethlehem, Judah,
Jerusalem, picture of God's people, God's church gathered individually
or gathered as a congregation or individually. That's, The
picture here, that's the type that the Lord's given us. And
when he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying,
who is this? Who is this? Who could this be?
And some began to cry. It's Jesus of Nazareth, the promised
Messiah. And that's when they began to
cry, Hosanna, Hosanna to the son of David. Save us, Lord. Save us right now. It's a picture
of the triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a picture
of what happens. Go back with me to Ruth chapter
one. It is a picture of what happens when the Lord Jesus himself
enters into the city, whether it be manifesting his grace and
his glory Among his people, as they gather together for worship,
which is always our prayer, it's always our hope. Every time we
come together, our prayer is, Lord, rend the heavens, come
down. Lord, speak to us. Lord, show us your grace and
show us your glory. We cry continually, Hosanna.
Save us, Lord. Have mercy upon us. And it is
also a picture of what happens every time you and I individually
are brought by the Spirit of God to that place of prayer when
we come before the throne of grace with boldness and we cry
out to the Lord, Lord, come, come into this city. Lord, take
control. Take charge. Manifest yourself. Show me your grace and show me
your glory. Lord, save me. Save me. Here's what this is a picture
of. As we saw in the previous hour,
this matter of salvation is a spiritual thing. It requires spiritual
eyes to see it. It requires a spiritual heart
to believe it. and it requires God's grace to
have it. And so, the whole city was moved. This
is what happens when the Lord comes. There's a movement that
takes place. This word move means to be shaken
to its foundation. The whole city of Bethlehem,
Judah was moved when they saw Naomi and they said, is this
Naomi? Could this be? She left and was
lost for 10 years and look at her now. Is it Naomi? And the city of Jerusalem was
moved when the Lord Jesus Christ came riding upon that ass and
the cult of an ass. And they said, who is this? Could
this be the one we've been waiting for? Could this be the promised
one? And the whole city, the whole
city was moved or shaken to its foundation. If the Lord Jesus
Christ comes in grace through faith to your heart and to my
heart, there'll be a shaking. There'll be a moving to the foundation
of our lives. If he comes into this assembly,
the city will be moved. Things will be shaken in order
that those things which cannot be shaken might remain. Let me
show you that. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
12, Hebrews chapter 12. We'll begin reading in verse
18. For you are not come unto the mount that might be touched
and that burned with fire, nor into blackness and darkness and
tempest. Now the previous verses speak
of Mount Sinai, the mountain of the law. The Lord said, if
even a beast was to touch that mountain, you were to thrust
it through with a lance. And so nothing could touch the
mountain of the law and remain alive. And the Lord said, you've
not come to Mount Sinai. If you came to Mount Sinai and
touched Mount Sinai, if you tried to be saved by something, the
law keeping that you do, the law will kill you. That's all
it can do. The law pronounces judgment. The law pronounces guilty. We
cannot be saved by our law keeping. There's no amount of good works
that we can perform that will obligate God to save us or that
will earn us any favor with God. That's the picture here. You've
not come to this fearful mountain that shakes and quakes and kills. Verse 19, and the sound of a
trumpet and the voice of words, which voice they that heard entreated
that the word should not be spoken unto them anymore. The people
said to Moses, you go talk to God. We've seen enough of the
fire and the wrath and the judgment of God. We don't want anything
to do with him. You intercede with him for on
our behalf. And we have a prophet like unto
Moses. And in a sense, we're like the children of Israel.
We don't want anything to do with that law. We don't want to touch
that mountain. We don't want to try to present
our good works to a holy God for the hope of our salvation.
Lord Jesus, you speak to him for us. You intercede for us. You present yourself. for our
righteousness. So look at verse 20. For they
could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as
a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust
through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight
that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. Did the Lord
Jesus Christ not fear and quake when he touched that mountain?
Sure he did. That's why he cried from Calvary's
cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The law was
lancing him through. That's the picture of the cross.
The law was exercising its judgment against the Lord Jesus Christ
as our substitute. And he did fear and he did quake. But because of that, because
of what the Lord Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross, becoming
the sacrifice for sin and satisfying God's righteousness and establishing
justice once and for all. Therefore, you are come, not
to mount the mountain of the law, but to Mount Zion, and unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge
of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to
Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel. Here's your
hope. The law has nothing to say to
you. There is now therefore no condemnation
by the law to them that are in Christ Jesus. We come to Mount
Zion. We come to that mountain where
the Lord Jesus was crucified. And we look to his death as the
hope of our justification before God. We look to his life as all
the hope of our righteousness before God. If we're going to
have favor with God, if he's going to accept us, it will have
to be in the beloved. It'll have to be in the Lord
Jesus Christ. There's our hope. Oh, the whole world is still
trying to be saved by going to the mountain of the law. They're
still, they're still trying to satisfy the demands of God by
their, by their religious works and by their law keeping, not
knowing that they've never been able to keep one of God's law.
And one touch to that mountain, one touch to that mountain, if
it happened to, to dumb beast who had no moral standards, what
would happen to those who are responsible to God for their
sin that touch the mountain. Here's our hope. We come to the
Lord Jesus Christ, the mediator. There's one man, the God-man,
who mediates between us and God. Verse 25, see that you refuse
not him that speaketh. For if they escape not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. If we do like Orpah,
if we weigh the cost and we decide to go back to Moab and going
back to Moab is a decision. It is a decision. Coming to Christ
is not, but going back to Moab is. Men talk about their free will.
Your free will will lead you back to Moab. The only way you
will cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ is if you have no other
place to go, no other choice, no other options. God has shut
you up to Christ and you've got to have Him. Here's where I wanted to get
to. Look at the next verse. whose voice then, verse 26, shook
the earth. But now he hath promised, saying,
yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
That's what the Lord's doing. When the Lord Jesus Christ, like
Naomi and Ruth, and like the Lord Jesus himself, at his triumphal
entry, enter into the city, the foundations of that city are
moved. There are things that happen
in the city. The whole city is in an uproar. What things are moved? Verse 27, and this word yet once
more signified the removing of those things that are shaken
as of those things that are made. So when the Lord Jesus enters
into this assembly, When he enters into your heart, he moves the
very foundation of those things that are man-made. That's what he does. Anything
you've made, he's gonna move. Anything I've made, he's gonna
move. He's gonna shake the very foundations
of it. so that it cannot sustain any
structure on top of it. That's what he does. The whole
city was moved. Are you willing for the foundations of everything
you've made to be shaken? Abraham looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker was God. You see, the
city of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Judah have a foundation that
cannot be shaken. Now let's read the rest of this. This is so important. We begin
back in verse 27. And this word yet once more signified
the removing of those things that are shaken as of those things
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. When the Lord Jesus Christ enters
into the city, he shakes that which is made, that which can
be shaken to manifest and reveal that which cannot be shaken. Wherefore, verse 28, we receiving
a kingdom which cannot be moved. All the kingdoms of men, whether
they're our own little, peanut personal kingdoms or whether
they're world superpowers, all the kingdoms of men that are
made of men. When the Lord comes into the
city, the whole city is moved. The whole city is shaken to its
very foundation. That's what happened when the
Lord went over to the Gadarenes and he cast those demons out
of that demon-possessed man and put them into the swine and the
swine ran off the cliff into the ocean, into the sea. And
the people of the Gadarenes came and said, depart from us. This
is too dramatic. We don't want you around here.
You have shaken the foundation of our economy. You have, we
were happy the way we were. Please depart from us. Please leave us. And that will
always be the response. You see, men don't want the foundations
of things that they've made to be shaken. But the only way to
reveal that which cannot be shaken And the only way for that which
cannot be shaken to remain is for the Lord to shake that which
is made. The whole city, the whole city shall be moved. Look at the rest of verse 28
in Hebrews chapter 12. Let us therefore have grace. And that word have means to hold
fast or to cleave to. We're back to Ruth. She's cleaving to Naomi. Let
us therefore cleave to grace. It's the only hope we have. whereby we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire
outside of his grace. There's nothing but wrath and
judgment. That's the fire. That's the mountain that quakes
with fire. What are the things that are
made that the Lord shakes? to its
very foundation when he enters into the city. Four things, man-made
religion, man-made relationships, man-made
possessions, and physical life itself. And men will say, I don't want
him in my city. Because I'm very happy with the
religion that I have. And the relationships that I
have with men, I value more than the praise of God. And the possessions that I have,
well, that mammon is my safety. That's my hope. You see, these
are the things that men trust in. And life itself? Oh no, I
don't want God to be in control of that. I want to take care
of my own life and preserve my own life. Let's take these one at a time.
The whole city is moved. Man-made religion. Idols are
tightly held, aren't they? A lot of effort, a lot of treasure,
a lot of time has been put into man fashioning his idols. And the gospel threatens to take
them away. And men will say, you're not
shaking that foundation. I'm going back to Moab. I'll
not have that man reign over me. I want a salvation that gives
me some credit for something that I can do, a prayer that
I can pray, a decision that I can make, a work that I can perform,
some knowledge that I can achieve. That's what I wanna have my two
cents worth on this thing of salvation. And all man-made religions,
all man-made religions are freewill works religion, every single
one of them. I don't care if you're talking
about Hinduism or Judaism or Islam or the variety of Christianities
that there are in the world. Any religion that man makes is
going to involve man's free will and man's good works. And God
shakes that foundation to its core and says to you and to me,
It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. It is
not by your will, nor by your works. For God will have mercy upon
whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. It
is the Spirit of God that quickeneth. I'm going to get all the glory.
And if you ever have A need for Christ and a desire for Christ
is because I made you willing. And if you ever do anything that's
honorable to God, it's because I worked in you, causing you
to will and to do after my own good pleasure. Not because of
anything you've done. You will see yourself for the
rest of your life as an unprofitable servant. God shakes the foundation
to its very base. This is, the whole city was moved. Is this Naomi? Is this Naomi? If Naomi can be saved after having
left Bethlehem, Judah and wasted her life for 10 years in Moab
and lost her husband and her sons, if Naomi can be saved,
if God's going to have grace upon her, Then what does that
say to me about the things that I've been trusting in for my
salvation? You see, the whole city was moved. The whole city
had to reevaluate what they believed about God and what they believed
about salvation. Just like when the Lord Jesus
Christ on his triumphal entry came into Jerusalem and the whole
city was moved and they said, who is this? Could this be Jesus
of Nazareth? Could it be the Messiah? Could
it be the long awaited one, the Christ, the anointed one? The
one who promised to save all of Israel, all of Israel. That's
why they cried Hosanna. You know, I said that word Hosanna
means save us now. It comes from the word to be
propitious. Lord, be propitious toward us.
In other words, put our guilt and our punishment on someone
else. Don't exercise your wrath against
us. He shakes all man-made gospels
to their foundation. Nicodemus' gospel of works was
shaken to its foundation. We know that thou art a prophet,
son of God, for no man can do the things that thou do, except
God be with him. Nicodemus, except you be born again, you shall
not see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, you don't, you've
never seen the kingdom of God. You don't know what the kingdom
of God is. You tell a religious person that, who's trusting in
a man-made religion, and they're going to get quite offended.
What do you mean? I don't, you know, I'm sure that
after After Orpah got back to Moab and got over the feelings
of regret that she was having, she probably had thoughts or
maybe even had conversations with more of the Moabites saying,
you know, they think they're better than we are. That's why
they wouldn't come back to Moab. She probably at some point when
she was going back to Moab wanted Ruth and Naomi to follow her. Let's just all go back to Moab.
And what would Ruth and Naomi have said? We can't. We can't
go back. And Ruth probably or Paula probably
had those thoughts that you've heard and I've heard. What do
you think you're better than we are? Naaman thought that. When Naaman
came down from Syria and the prophet Elijah said, go bathe
in the River Jordan, what did Naaman said? Well, we've got
better rivers than that back in Jordan. Our rivers are a lot
cleaner than that muddy Jordan River. Why would I want to bathe
here when I could have bathed at home? That's what men say. When God shakes the foundation
of man-made religion, they say, well, you know what? I've got
just fine. Thank you very much. What do you think you're better
than we are? That's the foundation that God
shakes. The whole city will be moved
and man-made religion will be exposed for what it is. It certainly
was with Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar thought, this
kingdom that I have built. And that, you listen to religious
people, and the very first thing they will tell, the very first
word out of their mouth, usually, if they're trusting in a man-made
religion, will be the word I. And that's the problem with man-made
religion. Men have an I problem. They can't see. And they rest
all the hope of their salvation on something that they did. Well, you know, I was doing this
and I was doing that. Now I'm doing this and I prayed
this prayer and I. Shakes that foundation to its
core. Takes the eye completely out
of your salvation. Takes you completely out of the
equation. Gives to Christ all the glory.
You come to see that you're nothing but a big zero. Matter of fact,
you're a whole string of zeros. But you put a one in front of
that string of zeros, and now you've got something. And the
more zeros you have, the one in front of that number makes
that all even better, isn't it? How many zeros do you have for
you? The more zeros you have, the
more you're going to value that one. Oh, he shakes the foundation
of man-made religion to its core. Paul went to Athens, and the
Athenians had gods. They had statues to every god. They had a statue to the unknown
god. Paul said, I see that you're even covering all your bases
here. You've got one to the unknown god. That's the god I'm going
to preach to you, the one you don't know. And they had to burn
all their idols. When the Lord moves into the
city, the idols are all thrown away. They're all thrown away. And men don't want that. The whole city was moved. Has
your city been moved? I know this city's been moved.
As a congregation, God moved in this city 26 years ago. By
the way, that was last Sunday. I forgot to mention it. 26 years
ago was our anniversary. God moved in this city and caused
us to have to get rid of all our idols. And I ask you, has
God, has the Lord Jesus entered into your Jerusalem? Has he entered
into your Bethlehem, Judah? Has he caused you to say, you
know, that's idolatry. Any hope that I had in a religion
that depended upon anything other than the finished work of the
Lord Jesus Christ, is idolatry, and he has shaken that religion
to its foundation. Second thing that he shakes to
the foundation and to the core, the whole city shall be moved,
is relationships. We value our relationships. We
have family members we love. We have people we enjoy being
with most of the time. We value relationships, don't
we? But here's what the Lord Jesus
Christ said, when I come into Bethlehem, Judah, when I come
into Jerusalem, I do not come to bring peace. I came to bring
a sword. I will set a man at variance against
his father. and a daughter against her mother-in-law,
against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and
a man's foes will be of his own household." Now, don't you know
that Naomi and Ruth pleaded with Orpah to come, come to Bethlehem
Judah with us. We don't want you to go away,
we love you. It was Orpah that decided to go back to Moab. So if we offend people by our personal
offense, don't blame God for that. We don't want to offend
people. We don't want to add our offense
to the offense of the gospel and think that we hold that up
as our badge of honor because we now have people that hate
us because of the gospel. Don't do that. Be at peace with
all men whenever possible. Be kind to people, love people,
want their best. But when they hear the gospel,
some of them are going to be greatly offended and some of
them are going to be of your own household and they will leave
you. You won't have to leave them. And that's a foundation that
men don't want shaken. Men value the praise of men more
than the praise of God. I'm not going to sacrifice that
relationship. for Jesus to come in to Jerusalem. That is a foundation. We make friends, we talk about
making marriages, we make households, and yet when the gospel comes,
when Christ comes into Jerusalem and into Bethlehem, Judah, just
as he moves the foundations of our false religion, he will move
the foundations of our relationships. And even, even healthy and happy
relationships, people that are not offended by your gospel,
the gospel. He will move the foundation of
that. What do you mean, preacher? Well, when the Lord Jesus Christ
comes into Jerusalem, when he comes into Bethlehem, Judah,
The heart is so moved toward Him that though you enjoy and
you love the relationships that you have with your family and
your friends, you don't have to have them. You hear me? You don't have to have them.
You've got Christ. And if Trouble or distance or
divorce or death separates you from someone that you love, you
still have Christ. You see, men lose relationships
and they are devastated without any hope because all of their
safety, all their security, all their hope was in those relationships. And the Lord Jesus Christ shakes
that foundation. And he causes you, I've got Christ. I would love to have that other
relationship and I'll do whatever I can to maintain it or to restore
it or to save it. But if God in his good providence
decides that I'm best without it, I've got Christ. He's shaking that foundation. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
6. Quickly. I'm running out of time. Matthew
chapter 6. This is what happens. This is
what happens when the Lord enters into the city. And the whole
city is moved. And God shakes those things which
are man-made. Those things which can be shaken.
In order that those things which cannot be shaken might remain.
That's what we need. The things that cannot be shaken.
Lord, if it can be shaken, shake it. I need that which can't be
shaken. Look at Matthew chapter 6, and
we'll begin reading in verse 23. But if thine eye be evil,
and that word evil means full of labor. If you're looking to
Christ plus something that you've done, a prayer you prayed, a
work you performed, if your eye is full of labors, The eye is
not single towards Christ alone. If the eye be full of labors,
then the whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. Here's what God's saying right
there. If a man thinks that he can see God when he can't, he's
the most blind of all. He's trusting in an experience
or in a man-made religion for his salvation. But his eye is
full of labor. Now look at the verse just before
that, verse 22. The light of the body is the
eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall
be full of light. Christ is all I have. He's all
I need. He's all my life. Verse 24. No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon. Therefore, I say unto you, take
no thought for your life. What you shall eat or what you
shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on,
is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment. Behold
the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap,
nor they gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you taking
thought can add one cubit to a statue? And why take ye thought
for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet
I say unto you that even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed
as one of these. Skip down to verse 20, 33, but
seek ye the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these
other things that be added unto you. You hear people talking about how
materialistic the world is. The world has always been materialistic.
Always. Men have always put the hope
of their safety, their happiness, and yea, even their salvation
in their possessions. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
enters into Jerusalem, riding upon that colt, when Ruth and
Naomi entered into Bethlehem, Judah, the whole city was moved. Lord, all of this belongs to
you. and none of it can save me. You
know, you hear people talk about money can't buy love, money can't
buy salvation, and yet, and yet money, we put so much stock in
it. We put so much of our time and
effort and security into it, don't we? The Lord shakes the
foundation when he comes in. Lord, these things can't save
me. Man-made religion can't save me. All the things that I've
made through my hard work and effort can't save me. My relationships
that I've put so much time and effort into can't save me. The last thing that the Lord
shakes is physical life itself. The one thing that you and I
are reminded of most often, most often, that day you go by without
you hearing about somebody being terminally ill or somebody dying. Death and sickness is all about
us and yet we live as if there is no tomorrow. You know, we We go about our lives presuming
upon God. You see, the Lord will shake
the foundation of even that. It takes the grace of God and
what grace it is for the saints of God to be able to say, Christ, my life. Death, my gain. My gain. Men live in denial of that. They
ignore all the warning signs. And yet when the Lord Jesus Christ
enters into Jerusalem, child of God, there's not a day that
goes by you don't think about it, do you? You know, and you
don't think about it with remorse or sorrow. You think about it
with great hope. See him as he is and be made
like him. Job said, man that is born of
woman is a few days. Few days. What is your life?
It is but a vapor. It appears for a little while,
then it vanishes away. Man that is born of a woman is
a few days and full of trouble. Full of trouble. And yet we put so much of our
structure, so much of our house is built on the foundation of
living another day. God shakes that foundation. The whole city's moved. You realize,
yeah, that foundation is not much of a foundation. Aaron,
you see a lot, don't you? People die every day. Not just
talking about old people, young people. Death is real. And yet here's our hope. The
Lord Jesus Christ conquered death. He put it away. He rose from
the dead and he established an everlasting kingdom. We just
read it in Hebrews chapter 12. The kingdom of God which cannot
be moved. Nebuchadnezzar said his kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom. It's from generation unto generation. The kingdom of God. The kingdoms
of men are going to be shaken. Don't you love that image of
the world that Nebuchadnezzar had? Had a head of gold and arms
of silver and a belly of brass and legs of iron and feet mingled
with iron and clay. You know what the United States
of America is? It's the little toe on the left foot of that
great statue. The head of gold was the Babylonian
Empire and the arms of silver were the Medes and the Persians
and the brass was the Greek Empire, and the legs of iron was the
Roman Empire. And those are the only four world
dominating empires that ever have been or ever will be. You
and I, ever since the fall of the Roman Empire, have lived
in the toes of that kingdom, iron mingled with clay, and that's
all we are. And if the Lord tarries, this
great kingdom that we've enjoyed will fall. It will fall. The Lord shakes all those foundations
when we see the hand that cuts out the rock from the mountain
and crushes that entire kingdom. That entire statue is crushed
and the winds blow the chap away and that rock grows into a great
eternal mountain. That is the kingdom of God that
cannot be moved. Cannot be moved. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes
into Jerusalem, whether it be the assembly of our church or
any assembly of saints, or whether it be into your heart and my
heart, the whole city is going to be moved. Idols are going
to have to be done with. Relationships are not going to
be what they were. They're going in that you're
not going to trust in them. Enjoy them. You know, care for them, do what
you can to, but that's not my life. My life is Christ. That foundation has been shaken.
Material possessions. All be faithful to what you have.
God gave it to you. Be generous. Be responsible. Bible says, oh no, man, anything.
Don't get yourself in such debt that you're in bondage to the
bill collectors. That's not the way the Lord would
have his children to live. But my safety is not there. Regardless
of what I have or how free I am, my safety is not there. It's in Christ. He shook that
foundation. Preserve life, be healthy, do
all you can to care for yourself. Thank God for doctors and medicine. All that being said, it is appointed
unto you and to me once to die. That foundation, physical life
is not my hope. It's eternal life. It is the
kingdom of God that cannot be moved. And everything else is
shaken in order to reveal that. Our Heavenly Father, thank you
for your mercy toward us. Thank you for revealing to us
that which is eternal. Give us the grace to rest our
hope in Christ. For it's in His name we pray.
Amen. 268. Let's stand together. Number
268. How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent Word. What more can he say than to
you he hath said, ? To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled
? Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed ? For I am thy God,
I will still give thee aid ? I'll strengthen thee, help thee Upheld by my gracious, omnipotent
hand. When through the deep waters
I call thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow,
for I will be with thee thy troubles to bless and sanctify to thee
thy deeds. ? And through fiery trials thy
pathway shall lie ? ? My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply
? ? The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design ? ? Thy draws
to consume ? and thy gold to refine. The soul that on Jesus
hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his
foes. That soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no, never, no,