Okay, well we come back to Hebrews
chapter 12 for the last time, I believe, in this series, and
I want to look at verses 25 down to 29 at the end of the chapter.
And I've called this message, The Kingdom Which Cannot Be Shaken. And that's from verse 27. Those
things which cannot be shaken, that they may remain. There's a lot about shaking in
these few verses. Shaking. And the allusion is
to earthquakes. I don't think I've ever experienced
an earthquake myself. In this country, Britain, we
do get earthquakes, but they're so slight, generally speaking,
the worst that they do is they shake a few ornaments off a shelf
and then it's gone and it's reported the next day. But you just don't
get bad earthquakes in this country, but in other places they do.
And I would imagine that being in an earthquake, in that situation
where the ground is shaking under your feet, where it's opening
up, where the buildings are falling over, must be an absolutely terrifying
thing. In the mid-90s, there was a book
which was made into a movie called Earthquake Terror or something
like that, depicting this absolutely terrifying experience of the
world under your feet shaking and opening up, a shaking. Do
you know it's a mark of God's judgment on this world? Oh, I
know that modern geology and the cult of science in this world
says, oh no, it's just all natural phenomenon. It's just tectonic
plates moving around. It's a mark of God's judgment
on this world. Jesus himself said this in Matthew
24 in verse seven, nation, speaking of the end of times, speaking
of the days, well, the end times are from when he came first time
to when he comes back the second time. And in that time, always,
it's like this, nation shall rise against nation. and kingdom
against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and
earthquakes. Earthquakes are part of it. But
it's not just physical earthquakes to shake the earth, but rather
the wholesale disruption of the settled world order at various
times. This world, its societies, its
politics, its civilizations, its wealth, its power. Look at
verse 27 in the middle of it. Once more signifies the removing
of those things that are shaken. They're all going to be shaken
and removed. This is why, if God has revealed
his truth to you, verse 14 of chapter 13 of Hebrews says what
we think as believers. Here, in this world, we have
no continuing city. but we seek one to come. Here
we have no continuing city because it's shaken, is going to be shaken,
is going to be removed, but we seek one to come, a kingdom which
cannot be shaken. In Matthew chapter six, in Matthew
chapter six, as you live your life, this is what the Lord Jesus
Christ counseled of his people. Matthew chapter six and verse
19, he says this, And think about it. I've not let off somewhere
unrelated. This is totally tied up with
this. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
Is that not everybody's experience of the things of this world?
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
and steal. For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. Where is your treasure? Where
is your treasure this morning? Is it here in this world and
the things that you possess? Because we all possess things.
We all need things in this world for the basic necessities of
life. But is that your treasure? Is
that your hope? Is that everything that you rely
upon? or is everything you rely upon in heaven? Because you know
that this world in which you live is being shaken, will be
shaken, will be removed. The message of Scripture is that
this world is going to end. That's the clear message of Scripture. This world is going to end. The end is nigh, it's near. The
end of this world, oh no, it'll just go on for several more billion
years, say those who think that everything just carries on as
it always has. Scripture talks about them too. No, the world
is going to end. because God is going to bring
it to an end. How? The very voice that said
in the beginning, let there be light, will bring all things
to an end. He who created all things by
the word of his power will end all things by the word of that
same power. And at that time, there will
be utter despair for all whose treasure is only here in this
world, in this life. but bliss for all whose treasure
is in heaven. Do you know, this is so serious.
Sometimes, you know, when preachers prepare messages, when I was
preparing this, you see such an overwhelmingly serious, important
message, and you just think, oh, I just, pray that God will
give the anointing, that it comes across to those who hear it as
so important. There is nothing more important,
yet most people in the world around us are completely careless
about these things. God's salvation from the shaking
of this world, from the ending of this world, from the removal
of this world, is so clearly set forth. God's salvation from
sin is so clearly set forth in the redeeming blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ who is our God. The blood of God has redeemed
his church from the curse of the law. God's salvation is so
clearly set forth. the message of salvation that
says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
He who believes on me, said Jesus, shall have everlasting life. If it's so clearly set forth,
Why do so many take it so lightly? We read right at the start of
this study in Hebrews chapter two and verse three, how shall
we escape just condemnation and just judgment? How shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation? Oh, that we might not neglect
such great salvation. What a blessing it is to see
it. What a blessing it is to apprehend
it. What a blessing it is to grasp
it and possess it and rest in it. There's an alarm call here
to take this seriously. Look, it's repeated again, just
as Hebrews 2 and verse 3 said, how shall we escape if we neglect
it? Look in verse 25 of chapter 12. See Take note. Pay attention. See
that you refuse not him that speaketh. Who is it that speaks?
It is God that speaks. It is God that speaks from heaven.
See that you refuse not him that speaketh. Make sure you listen
and take heed. We're always being presented.
I think it's becoming the same everywhere. They just used to
give a weather forecast, but now they give them names and
they try to whip up fear. But there's a strong storm hitting
the west of this country at this very moment, and we're a long
way down here from the centre of it. It's supposed to be doing
a lot of harm in Scotland, but even here we feel it. It's raining
hard and the wind's whipping things around. We heed storm
warnings. We heed warnings. I mean, if
I had a journey planned, I'd probably think, well, do you
know something? Probably might be a good idea if I can to leave it till
tomorrow because there might be floods, there might be trees
blown down on the road. We heed and we listen. Let's
listen to God's warning. Make sure that we heed. Let's
see that we refuse not him that speaketh. I want you first of
all to observe this world's instability. Look at verses 25 and 26. 25 and 26. See that ye refuse
not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice shook
the earth. But now he hath promised, saying
yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but the heaven also.
Everything in this world appears to us solid. The things that
are seen appear to be solid, but they're temporary, they're
passing, they're fragile. It's all fragile. God has shaken
this earth down the ages of this earth. God shook the earth at
the flood of Noah's day for the sin of this world. God ended
that kingdom of Satan in those days. God brought a flood. He
broke up the great structures of this earth, were all shaken
at the flood. in a more localized way in Sodom
and Gomorrah. The immorality there brought
down God's judgment and the sulfur pits of that area exploded on
them and destroyed them all. Verse 26, whose voice then shook
the earth. What's he talking about there?
God's voice shook the earth at Mount Sinai when he gave the
law to Moses. Look at verse 19 because there
it's spelled out. At Sinai, the people were gathered
in Exodus 19, just before the mount, when God was to give the
law of God to Moses. And the sound of a trumpet, and
the voice of words, this was loud, this was terrifying. And
the voice they heard, the people heard, all the Israelites were
gathered there, The voice they heard entreated that the word
should not be spoken to them anymore. They were terrified
of that situation. God speaking on the mount, shaking
the earth on Mount Sinai as the law was given, they were absolutely
terrified. Even Moses, who spoke to God
face to face as a man speaks with his friend, it says in verse
21 that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. God's voice shook
the earth. at Mount Sinai. It was a terrible
thing. And it wasn't only a physical
shaking of an earthquake, but it was a moral shaking. It was
a societal shaking. It was drastic. God gave his
law there at Mount Sinai. And this is what it's speaking
about. Whose voice then shook the earth, verse 26. God has
shaken the earth. But the terror of that, the terror
that they experienced, it soon faded. And they refused God's
voice. See that you refuse him not.
For if they escaped, not who refused him that spake on earth,
they refused God's voice. They were terrified for a while,
but they refused God's voice. And they didn't believe. And
you know what that meant? They could not enter in to the
promised land because of unbelief. And they perished. A whole generation
perished in that wilderness. They came out of Egypt. with
the promise of the promised land, and they didn't enter. Why not?
Because of unbelief. They perished in the wilderness.
The only ones who went into the promised land with Joshua and
Caleb were the children of that generation that disbelieved God.
They perished, that generation perished short of the promised
land. Israel refused God. Israel went after the world's
idols. down the history of Israel, through
the various kings, they kept going after idols, the world's
idols, the idols of false religion, and God kept saying that you
will be punished for this, you will go into captivity, you will
serve others, you will have the promised land taken off you and
the Babylonian captivity came and took them all away and their
capital Jerusalem was destroyed and their temple the glorious
beautiful temple of King Solomon was destroyed all of that came
about because of their unbelief because they refused him who
spoke on earth Yet God continues to speak from heaven through
his word by his spirit. Look, they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth. He spake on earth at Sinai and
down the ages through his law, through his scriptures. Much
more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him, he speaks
from heaven. He speaks from heaven. What does
he speak from heaven? What does our God speak from
heaven? He speaks a message of gospel
grace. He speaks a message of redemption
from sin. He speaks a message of gracious
redemption from the curse of sin, from the condemnation of
sin. A message that the blood of a
fitting substitute, who is God himself, the Lord Jesus Christ,
has redeemed his people from the curse of sin. He speaks from
heaven. the promise of a kingdom. This
is the possession of all those who in this life trust the Lord
Jesus Christ and believe in Him and Him alone, the Christ of
Scripture, not the Christ of religion, the Christ of Scripture.
They believe Him because this is the promise from God that
they will hear. We all who believe will hear
this, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. How shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation? So what does verse 26 refer to? Look at verse 26, whose voice
then shook the earth, speaking of Mount Sinai, but now he has
promised saying, Yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but
also heaven. What's that talking about? Well,
it refers to the passage we read right at the start in the prophet
Haggai. Haggai chapter two and verse
six. Haggai chapter two and verse
six says this. For thus saith the Lord of hosts,
and this is what Hebrews 12, 26 quotes, yet once it is a little
while and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and
the dry land. That's what it's referring to.
It's referring to God shaking the earth with the gospel. God shaking this society which,
because of the fall, is the kingdom of Satan. This kingdom of this
world is the kingdom of Satan. But God is shaking the earth
with the gospel. Let's go back to Haggai for a
little while. Because I want to bring out what
that verse 26 in Hebrews 12 is really talking about. The context
of Haggai, it's about 520 years before Christ came. And remember,
I always try to relate historical events to our timescale. So here
we are in 2024. If you go back 520 years, you
come to 1504. That's a long time ago. That's
before Henry VIII. That's the sort of period before
Christ came that we're talking about. And the people, because
of their idolatry, and because of what the prophets down the
ages, Isaiah, Jeremiah, had all said, they were going into captivity. Jeremiah was the one that said
it was 70 years. Nebuchadnezzar and his armies
came. and basically destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and took
all of its treasures and captured the people and Daniel and Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego and a whole generation was taken away captive
for 70 years to Babylon in Chaldea. And then God did what he said
a couple of hundred years earlier by the prophet Isaiah He raised
up a king, Cyrus, a Medo-Persian king, who came and took the Babylonian
kingdom away from them. You know, this is... Study it. Study it. Because this is just
beyond the wit of man to ever dream up such a story. It's all
because it's ordained of God. God said, I will raise up a king,
a potentate. Cyrus will be his name. was.
He came. The doubting theologians say
it can't possibly be true. It's too correct. They must have
written it after the event. No. God said beforehand he would
raise up Cyrus. And Cyrus would say, your captivity's
up. Go back to Jerusalem and rebuild
the house of God in Jerusalem. And in the days of Ezra, they
went. to rebuild the destroyed temple, but they came across
opposition from the local people. They were oppressed and restricted
and frustrated. If you think, I often refer to
grand designs. I quite like that program because it just shows
what a mess you can get yourself into if you don't plan properly.
But they're always setting out on big, big projects and ending
up running out of money or it taking far longer than they thought.
And they always overrun budget by a long, long way. Well, these
people went back to do this simple thing of just building the temple,
rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. And because of opposition and
snags and frustrations, they gave up. They gave up the work. They didn't persist with the
work. Oh, they were out of Babylon. They were content to be free
from that captivity. They were satisfied with this
world. Look in chapter one of Haggai in verse four. Is it time
for you, O ye, to dwell in your sealed houses, and this house
lie waste? You've got your nice, comfortable
houses. You've got your lovely ceilings, your lovely paneled
houses. You're materially content. But
the temple must be rebuilt. It won't be anything like Solomon's
temple, but, verse nine, verse nine, it will be more glorious. The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than of the former house, saith the Lord
of hosts. In this place will I give peace, saith the Lord
of hosts. God has shaken this world in
various ways. He shook it at Sinai and gave
the law to Moses. But via Haggai the prophet, he
speaks of a far more violent shaking of the earth and heavens. All nations, everywhere, globally. How? By the coming of God into
the world in the person of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything
will be shaken. I'll just read you two or three
scriptures. where God speaks of this shaking.
Isaiah 13 verse 13, he says, Therefore I will shake the heavens
and the earth, shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of
the Lord of hosts, in the day of his fierce anger. We could
look at several more, but Ezekiel 21 verse 27, I will overturn,
overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more, until he come
whose right it is, and I will give it him. in the prophet Joel. As I say, I could read many,
many of these. God is always frequently referring to shaking
this earth, this world's order, with the gospel of his grace.
Joel chapter 3 and verse 15. The sun and the moon shall be
darkened, the stars shall withhold their shining, the Lord shall
roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the
heavens and the earth shall shake. that the Lord will be the hope
of his people and the strength of the children of Israel. And
then in Haggai itself in the second chapter. In verse 21,
just before the end, he says, speak to Zerubbabel, governor
of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth, and
I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy
the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen, and I will overthrow
the chariots, et cetera, et cetera. See, shaking, he's shaking. He's
shaking this world. It's summarized in 2 Peter. 2
Peter, the second epistle of Peter, and chapter 3 and verse
10. Let me read just a couple of
verses to you, 10 to 13. But the day of the Lord will
come The day of the Lord? The day when the Lord Jesus Christ
returns a second time in judgment. The day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night. The thief doesn't phone you up
beforehand and say, oh, I'm your local thief. I'm thinking of
coming to rob your house. Could you make sure the door's
open for me? Does he? He comes as a thief in the night,
unexpectedly. In the which the heavens shall
pass away, shaking. with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with a fervent heat, shaking, shaking. The earth also
and the works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing then
that all these things, all these things, this world where we put
all of our possessions and our lives and our affections and
the things that everybody in this world seems to rely on,
all of these things will be burnt up, seeing then all these things
shall be dissolved, They're going to pass away. But you in your
spirit are not going to pass away. What manner of persons
ought you to be in all holy conversations and godliness, looking for and
hasting unto the coming day of the day of God, wherein the heavens,
being on fire, our God is a consuming fire, shall be dissolved and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we,
according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth
wherein dwelleth righteousness. It's pictured, I mentioned it
last week, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter two. Remember
that little stone, there was all this worldly history going
on, but there was a little stone, he saw a little stone made without
hands and that little stone rolled and gathered size and gathered
size and the end of it was it crushed everything. that statue
representing the history of this world. It ground it to powder
and it filled the whole world. That's Christ, that's the kingdom
of God. In chapter two of Haggai in verse
seven, I will shake all nations, says God by his prophet, and
the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house,
this temple that you're struggling to build with glory, saith the
Lord of hosts. The desire of all nations shall
come. In Malachi, the last book of
the Old Testament, in chapter 3, it says, The Lord whom ye
seek shall suddenly come to his temple. The Lord whom ye seek,
God, God who dwells in unapproachable light, in eternity, in the heavens,
God shall come to his temple. God shall come to his temple.
The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Who's that?
Even the messenger of the covenant. What covenant? The covenant of
grace from before the foundation of the world between the persons
of the Godhead to save a people, an elect multitude from their
sins, from every tribe and tongue and nation. The desire of all
nations shall come. God spoke by Haggai that he would
upset this world's godless stability. He spoke by Haggai that he will
upset, he will shake all nations, this world's godless stability,
this kingdom of Satan's godless stability, he will shake it,
he will upset it with the gospel. with the salvation of his elect
out of this world. Christ is the desire of all nations,
you say. Doesn't look like he is. Look
around. Nobody seems to want to know. Ah. The elect of God
is a multitude which no man can number. We cannot see them now. We only see twos and threes in
our own location. But John saw them in heaven,
a multitude which cannot be numbered of every tribe and tongue and
kindred. And the temple, the temple, that
temple of Solomon, that glorious, magnificent temple. You see,
look, look at verse three of chapter two of Haggai. where
the prophet asks this of those. There were some old people amongst
the ones that came back from Babylon. And he says to them,
who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? Who was it that saw Solomon's
temple before it was destroyed? And how do you see it now, this
pile of stones, this ruin? Is it not in your eyes in comparison
of it as nothing? Oh, they wept. They wept when
they thought back to that glorious Temple of Solomon that was destroyed. And he said, look, now you're
trying to build something that will replace it. And is it? It's
nothing, is it, by comparison. This temple is a picture of the
church, of the body of Christ, of the kingdom of God. Christ
came to this rebuilt temple because they did go on and build it.
You have to read in Ezra of the rebuilding of the temple. They
did rebuild it. Christ came to this temple, to
this picture of what the thing was really representing. This
rebuilt temple, he was brought into it as a baby. 500 years
later, he was brought into it. Mary and Joseph brought him as
an eight-day-old baby. And Simeon saw it and said, now
I can depart. I've seen your salvation. when
he started his ministry. He cleared it of the extortioners
and the money changers and those that were using it as a den of
thieves. That was a miracle. How can one man do all of that?
He did it. When he died on the cross of
Calvary, he tore its thick veil from top to bottom, opening the
way to where people could never have gone before except the high
priest on the day of atonement. He tore its veil by his death.
He destroyed it as a picture of the church in AD 70, when
the Romans destroyed that temple. And now it's fulfilled in verse
nine. this latter house the glory of
this latter house yes he's referring to the rebuilt temple but do
you know it really means what we're doing now, in this day,
in this age, in every age since Christ returned to glory. The
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former,
saith the Lord of hosts. In this place will I give peace. This latter house is the church
of God. The church of God is not built
of stones quarried out of a quarry, but it's built of living stones.
Look at 1 Peter chapter two. 1 Peter chapter 2, and verses 4 to 10. So, coming
to the Lord, to whom coming? To the Lord, as unto a living
stone. That's Christ. He's the living
stone. Disallowed indeed of men, but
chosen of God and precious. You also, you believers, as living
stones, lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. No you're
not, says Paul to the Corinthians, that you are the temple of the
living God. You're a holy priesthood. not the priests wandering around
in their Levitical robes. You are a holy priesthood to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion, this is where we've
come. not to Mount Sinai. I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. Unto you therefore which believe
he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone
which the builders disallow, that's Christ, The same is made
the head of the corner. He's the keystone. And a stone
of stumbling, because they trip over him, because they don't
like the gospel message. And a rock of offense, because
the gospel offends religious people. Even to them which stumble
at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed.
You, believer, you, lively stones, are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. All of that is quoting
Exodus 19, 5 and 6, the chapter where they were terrified before
the mount. You're a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should
show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of the
darkness of this world into His marvelous light, which in time
past were not a people. but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. You see, the glory of this latter
house of Haggai 2 verse 9 is this church. It is the church
of the living God. It's mentioned again in Ephesians
chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19,
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens and saints, and of the household of God, and
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. in whom all
the building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in
the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation
of God through the Spirit." Do you see how this prophecy of
Haggai is fulfilled in the church, in the gospel? And what does
it say at the end of verse 9? In this place. Which place? Which temple do we have to go
to? Well, it can be just here. in a living room with believers
gathered together to hear the word of God and to worship God,
or wherever it might be. Don't revere your church. If you are blessed enough to
have a church building, and I know many of our friends, especially
in the USA are, there's an awful lot more space over there. than
there is here and you've got don't revere your building be
thankful for it because it keeps the rain off your head and it
keeps the cold and the heat out so you can worship in reasonable
comfort but don't revere it as a place the thing is the gospel
When the gospel is preached, that's when, in this place, I
will give peace. God doesn't give peace in a building. We have cathedrals all over this
country which seek to imitate the glory of Solomon's temple
in some sort of way. It's not that that gives peace.
It's the glory of this house that gives peace, and the glory
of this house is the gospel of grace and the blood of the new
covenant. Are you, by grace, a new creation
in Christ? Is this gospel, have you known
the shaking of this gospel in your life? Has the foundation
of your life been turned upside down? Are you a new creation
in Christ? Old things passed away? all things
made new, is your heart set on Mount Zion. Read those verses
earlier in Hebrews chapter 12. You're not come to Sinai, you're
come to Mount Zion, to the company of angels, to an innumerable
company of angels, to the church of the firstborn, to all of those
things. Is that where you've come? Well, let me just finish
with one final shaking. One final shaking. Verse 27.
of Hebrews chapter 12, verse 27 says this, and this word,
yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that
are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which
cannot be shaken may remain. Those things which cannot be
shaken. The shaking of the gospel age, we saw it, Haggai chapter
two and verse six, I will shake the heavens and the earth and
the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations and
the desire of all nations shall come and fill this house with
glory. It will culminate with the second
coming of Christ as a thief in the night, as he said in Matthew
24. And When he comes as a thief in the night, don't think that
nobody will know. Every eye shall see him, and every tongue shall
confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Everything
in this world will be removed. It will be removed. That's what
it says, Hebrews chapter 12. Everything will be removed. It
will be ended. It will be ended. If you want
a further reminder, and we don't have time to look at it now,
but read again Revelation chapter 18. which is God's prophecy given
to John of the end of this world and of the destruction of everything. The final shaking of this world. Everything will be swept away.
The merchants, the traders, the families, the society, everything. Their response will be weeping
and mourning over their loss in one day. Because in one day,
everything will be taken from them, everything will be ended.
Then, in that day, in that day, in that day of removal, yet once
more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken,
as of things that are made. In that day, when Christ comes
again, everything that we rely on now the comfy seats that we
sit in, the possessions that we have, the money in the bank.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing of this world
that you value, whether you're a believer or an unbeliever,
because let's not be in any doubt, believers have things that they
possess and they value in this life, but none of it will count
for anything. None of it will count for anything. None of it. Believers, you who
say your hope is in heaven, Do you bow at the idol of the world's
material comforts? It's not wrong to have them.
Abraham had them, Job had great riches. It's not wrong to have
them as God gives them, but it's wrong to grasp them, to grasp
them, hold them on an open palm, because they'll be snatched away
in a moment. Everything that looks permanent,
says Paul to the Corinthians, Things that are seen are temporal,
temporary, they're passing away. It's the things that are unseen.
It's this kingdom of God. It's this glorious temple of
God. This kingdom which cannot be shaken is what will remain,
end of verse 27. That kingdom of God is what will
remain, that glorious temple of God. his eternal kingdom of
what does he give it says in Haggai in that place he will
give peace peace the peace of God look up in your concordance
or on your online bible and put Peace and God in the search,
and see how many times, the peace of God, the God of peace, the
peace of God, the God of peace, again and again, because in the
gospel of grace, he has made peace. How has God made peace? Answer, through the blood of
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, because that has turned away
wrath. It has propitiated. It has made propitiation for
the sins of his people. a kingdom of peace and bliss
which cannot be shaken. And it's the inheritance of believers. Look at verse 28. Wherefore,
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, as Peter said in his epistle. What sort of people ought we
to be, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear? How are we to serve God acceptably?
What are the things that we're to do? has won right at the start
of this chapter 12. Let us go forward, running the
race, the course that God has set before us to the end, looking
unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Let us
serve God acceptably, because our God is a consuming fire. Don't treat this lightly. See
that you refuse him not who speaketh. I've put a piece by Tim James
from his commentary on Hebrews in the bulletin, the first article,
and he says at the end of it, Our God is a consuming fire,
and only that which cannot be shaken is fireproof. The kingdom
of God is fireproof. If you're in that kingdom of
God, our God who is a consuming fire, his wrath and his judgments
against sin will not touch you, because in him, in Christ, you
are made the righteousness of God. Well, what a glorious hope
we have. So let's come to the end of this
now. Amen.