I've entitled this message, Things
That Cannot Be Shaken. Things That Cannot Be Shaken. What I'm preaching on tonight,
I don't understand. You say, well, why are you preaching
on it? Well, I believe what I'm preaching. But I don't understand
it. I don't understand how God can
be one God in three separate persons. I do not understand
that. I can't grasp it, but I believe
it. I do not understand how God never
began to be. That there was never a time when
he began. but that he is eternally always
the great I am in the eternal presence, in the eternal present. I don't understand that, but
I believe it. I don't understand how God can
be absolutely sovereign and control everything, including the thoughts
of my heart, and yet I do what I want to do. uncoursed and unforced. I don't understand how God can
be absolutely sovereign, and yet I'm completely responsible. I don't understand that, but
I believe it. You see, the things we believe,
we really don't understand. But we believe them because it's
what's revealed in His Word. And what I'm going to be talking
about tonight I really don't understand, but I believe with
all my heart. And I know this, a God that you
could understand, there wouldn't be much to Him, would there?
If you could grasp Him, if you could wrap your arms around understanding
Him, there just wouldn't be much to Him. He'd be a whole lot like
you are. Thank God that's not the way
He is. things that cannot be shaken. Now, in our text, we read of
a great shaking that's going to take place. He says in the
latter part of verse 26, Yet once more I shake not the earth
only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more,
signifies the removing of those things that are shaken. as of
things that are made, things that are created, that those things which cannot
be shaken may remain. Now, great shaking is going to
take place. It's called Judgment Day. And
we read of things that can be shaken. They're unsettled. They are unstable. They are insecure. They are movable. And these things
will be removed. And only that which cannot be
shaken will remain. All that is made Everything that
you see, everything that you can touch, everything that you
can experience in that sense in the body you're in, in the
flesh, it's not going to remain. It's insecure. It's unstable. The only thing that will remain
is that which is eternal. Do I understand that? No. Do I believe it? Altogether. Do I understand how that God
could have known me before I was ever born, and that I had personality
before God, before time began? He knew me. Can I understand
that? No. Do I believe it? Yes. What moves Solomon to say, Vanity
of vanities, all is vanity. I have seen all the works done
under the sun and all, everything that's done under the sun, the
stuff you did today, the stuff I'll do tomorrow, all is vanity
and vexation of spirit. Was he simply being pessimistic? Did he have a negative attitude?
Did he get up on the wrong side of the bed? Or is this a true
and accurate assessment of things? Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. Everything done under the sun
is vanity. Now, things that can be shaken
that are unstable and unsettled is everything that we see. Everything that goes on under
the sun. I like what Paul said in 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. He said things that are seen
are temporal. They are temporary. They are
not going to last. Things that are not seen are
eternal. Now, things that can be shaken,
they're going to be removed. They're not going to remain.
And I started thinking about all the things that could be
shaken. Think about human governments. Think about the splendor of Greece
3,000 years ago. You think about the Roman Empire
that lasted for some 600 years. You think of all the European
empires of England and France and Spain, you think of Germany,
you think of the United States, all these human governments. They're so insecure. Look what's
happened in the Middle East, just as a result of what happened
in Egypt, it seems like the whole Middle East is falling apart
right now. So insecure and unstable and
unsettled. You think of the economy, we
talk about a stable economy. I think we found out there is
no such thing. You look at the meltdown that has taken place
in the last three or four years. People have lost so much. Your
personal property. You may lose it. As a matter
of fact, you will lose it for sure. You're not going to take
anything you have with you. What about relationships? How many people have truly loved
each other? They got married with the intention
of spending the rest of their life together, and they end up
hating each other, and they get divorced and split apart. What
seemed to be stable and settled did not end up that way. Best
friends can betray one another, even good relationships. I've
got a good relationship with my wife. I'm thankful. I pray the Lord will enable us
to grow old together. But that relationship is not
going to last. In heaven, she won't be my wife. She'll be my
sister in Christ. But I won't have any different
relationship with her than I do with any other believer. These
relationships here on Earth that we're so thankful for, they're
not going to last. They're unstable and they will
not last. They're temporary. I think about
our religious experiences. You know, I've had some religious
experiences. I've had some very moving religious experiences. I've had a lot of them. You know
what I think about them? I'll be honest with you, I don't
trust them. Anything that has anything to do with me, I don't
trust. I really don't. I like what Spurgeon
said. Spurgeon said, when I look at
my good works and my bad works, I can't see much difference between
the two of them. And the only safe thing I see to do is go
into heaven on the plank of free grace. My desire is simply to
be found in Christ. I think it's interesting people
talk about wanting to leave a legacy. I could care less about that.
I mean, everybody's going to forgive me anyway. I mean, maybe
my My immediate family won't be going down that line in 20
or 30 years. You ever heard of Todd Norris? No, who's he? He's
going to be gone. Nobody's going to remember me.
What kind of legacy are you going to leave? I'm not going to leave
a legacy. Even if I try to leave one, it won't last. No, all my
desire is, is simply to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. When he shall come with trumpet
sound, O may I then in him be found, dressed in his righteousness
alone, faultless to stand before God's throne. Everything that we see is temporary. That is why what took place in
the Old Testament, all of the sacrifices, all of the feast
days, all of the rituals, the priesthood, the things you could
see. You had a priest you could see.
You had a material tabernacle that could be touched and felt
and observed. You had sacrifices. You even
had a law that could be outwardly kept. Paul said he did. Outwardly. Touching the righteousness
which is in the law. I was blameless. You could keep
that thing outwardly. But the writer to the Hebrews
says of it all, of it all, all the Old Testament economy, it's
decayed. It's waxed old. It's ready to
vanish away. It's only temporary. Anything
made, anything you can see, anything done by man can be shaken. It can be exposed to be sinful,
weak, unsettled, and unstable. And you can't really tell the
truth about somebody when it comes right down to it. I love
what George Whitfield, who some say was the greatest preacher
of the 18th century anyway, I've read his biography and so on,
and I do admire the man, George Whitfield. What he put on his
tombstone, I think, is what I want on my tombstone. Here's what
he said. Here lies George Whitfield. What
manner of man he was, that great day will tell. That's simple
enough, isn't it? Only that which is eternal and
everlasting is that which cannot be shaken. Everything else is
unstable. Even this planet we're living
on is going to be burned and melted with a fervent heat. As stable as it may seem, oh,
it's so unstable underneath. All the geological things that
take place underneath. And one of these days, God's
going to burn it all up. Turn with me for a moment to
2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3, verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night. I know this much about the return
of Christ. He's going to return when nobody expects Him. And
all efforts at predicting His return are futile. You're not
going to know. The Lord Jesus, I don't understand
this. He said, I don't even know. The Father knows. Now He's gone.
How can He not know something? I don't know. But He said, I
don't know. Only the Father knows. There's something else we can
put in the category of, I don't understand, I just believe. The
Bible says it. I love what Donnie Bell said.
It's my favorite statement regarding the Word of God. He said, if
the Bible said that Jonah swallowed the whale, I'd believe it. And
I would too. I believe what God's Word says. That is our rule of faith and
practice, the Word of God. God said it. I believe it. That
settles it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. God
said it, that settles whether you and I believe it or not.
His word is eternal. It's fixed. It's settled. It cannot be shaken. Only that
which is everlasting and eternal is that which cannot be shaken. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise and the elements shall melt The elements. You know, for many years I said,
well, you can't destroy an element. Yeah, you can. He's going to
destroy it. The elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth
and the works that are therein shall be burned up. That's what's
going to happen to everything we see. Is it any wonder that
Solomon looked upon the earth and all the works that were done
under the sun and said, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Well, what is it that can't be
shaken? Notice back in our text in Hebrews
chapter 12, the writer says, yet once more
signify the removing, the doing away of those things that are
shaken. Those things that are unstable,
those things that can be shaken, as the things that are made,
that you can see, that are temporary, that those things which cannot
be shaken may remain. What can't be shaken? Well, first,
God. The eternal God is thy refuge. Immutable, sovereign, immortal,
God cannot be shaken. He can't be changed. Isn't that
wonderful? You think of how often you change.
You think of how often that person beside you changes. I mean change
and decay in all around I see. O thou that changest not. Abide with me. The God of glory is eternal. He cannot be shaken. He's not
unstable like me and you. He's the ancient of days. He
never began to be. He always is, and He'll never
change. All that He was, He is. And all
that He is, He always will be. That's the God of glory. His Son is the eternal Son of
God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was. Eternally He was in the beginning
with God. God the Holy Spirit is called
the eternal Spirit. God's Word is eternal. The psalmist said, Forever, O
Lord, thy Word is settled in the heavens. It can't be shaken. It can't be added to. It can't
be subtracted from. It's the truth. Truth remains
while the opinions and errors of men will all be destroyed.
Truth remains unchanged. God's decrees are eternal. His will is never changed. Whatever he purposed, it is. Turn with me for a moment. Hold
your finger there and turn with me a moment to Isaiah 46. Verse 9. Remember the former things of
old. For I am God, and there's none else. I am God, and there's
none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from
ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
yea, I have spoken it, I will bring it to pass, I have purposed
it, I will also do it. Now that is the God of the Bible. All he has decreed, he does. He's God. He has the power to
make sure whatever he wills comes to pass. It's what's called the
sovereignty of God. We read in Ephesians 3, verse
11, of the eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. In Romans 9, 11, reading of Jacob
and Esau, for the children being not yet born, talking about Jacob
and Esau, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose,
there you go, there's the word, the purpose of God, according
to election, might stand utterly stable, not of works. But of him that calleth, it was
said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it's written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. That's God's word. His eternal, unmovable, unshakable
word. That is why after Paul preached
in Acts chapter 13, And Luke's giving a summary of what took
place in Acts chapter 13, verse 48. And when the Gentiles heard
this, they heard this glorious message that Paul preached. They
were glad and they glorified the word of the Lord. And as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Who believed? Those who were ordained to eternal
life. purpose is eternal. Whatever God does is eternal. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter
3. Now, like I said, we're creatures
of time, and there ain't no way that we can understand eternal
things. We can believe Because I do believe everything I'm saying.
Do I understand it? Can I grasp it? No. But you know,
I'm so OK with that, that doesn't bother me a bit. It doesn't bother
me in the least. I believe what God says. Look
here in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Verse 14. I know that whatsoever God doeth,
it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, or
added to it, or anything taken from it, and God doeth it that
men should fear before him. That which hath been is now,
and that which is to come to be hath already been, and God
requireth that which is past. Whatever God does is eternal. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ,
talking about His death, He's called in Revelation 13.8, now
listen to this. The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. The Lamb slain from before time
began. He's always been the Lamb slain. Now, He came in time and was
slain in time. He had to because He's the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. Whatever God does
is eternal. Salvation is what God does. Now
turn to this scripture. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2. I'm sorry, 2 Timothy chapter
1. Paul says to Timothy in verse
8, Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God who hath saved us. Now that is our theology. He
saved us. We didn't save ourselves. We
didn't help. We didn't contribute. He did
it by himself. And you see, this is good news
if you're a sinner, because if you know that you're a sinner,
you know there's nothing you can do to save yourself. The
only hope you have is that he would save you. Now let's go
on reading. He saved us and called us. What came first? According to
this verse of scripture. What came first? He saved us. Then He called us. Now that's
what this passage of Scripture says. Do I understand this? No. Do I believe it? Yes. He saved us and He called
us. Look what it says next. He called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works. God's
salvation has absolutely nothing to do with something you've done.
You better thank God for that. If He was dependent upon your
works, me and you, it's over for us. It's over. But thank
God He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Everything I have in Christ Jesus,
I don't care what you're talking about. Justification, sanctification,
redemption, adoption, any blessing that God has to give, it was
all given to every believer in Christ Jesus before the world
began. That's what God's Word says.
And everything God does must be eternal because He's God.
He doesn't operate in time the way you and I do. He's the eternal
God. And everything He has to give
was given me in Christ Jesus before time began. Now, if He
had to wait until after time began, He wouldn't have given
me anything. He was, if he ever saw me just in and of what I
am in myself, all he could do is send me to hell. But thank
God, all that I have was given me in Christ Jesus before the
world began. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Very familiar passage of scripture.
Verse 28, we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the call according to his purpose. God is a God of purpose. He saves
on purpose. Somebody says, doesn't God give
everybody a chance? God doesn't save by chance. He
saves by purpose. Verse 29, for whom he did foreknow.
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate them he also called, and whom he called
them he also justified, and whom he justified them he also glorified."
Past tense. Now that's how complete this
salvation is. I'm already in heaven. Well,
you don't look like you're already in heaven, I know, but that's
just what you see temporarily. I know it doesn't look that way.
But according to that passage of scripture, every believer
in Christ is already in glory. That's how secure I am. I'm already
there. If Christ is already there, I
am too. As He is, so are we in this world. Now, what I'd like to do in closing
is consider these words in the Bible that have the adjective
eternal or everlasting before them. It's the same Greek word,
eternal or everlasting. We read of the everlasting gospel
in the book of Revelation. The gospel is eternal. It wasn't
God's response to us messing up. It wasn't God Seeing Adam
fall and say, well, that didn't work. Let me let me try to respond
by by making, you know, I'll make a way to say, no, this is
the eternal gospel that never had a beginning. We read of the
eternal purpose that he purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in
Ephesians chapter three, verse 11. That can't be shaken. That's
why I love Romans 828. I don't suppose I preach very
many times without quoting it. And we know that all things, all things. How much of that
is all things? Every bit of it. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them that are called
according to His purpose. We read of an eternal salvation
in Hebrews chapter 5, 9. When was I saved? Well, I was saved when I first
believed. I know that. Whenever it was
I believed the gospel. I can't tell you exactly when that was,
but I was saved then. But let's take it back a little
further. When was I saved? I was saved when the Lord Jesus
Christ said, It is finished. That's before I was even around.
When were you saved? Let's take it back farther than
that. When Christ agreed to be my surety. before time began,
and took full responsibility for me at that time, everything
that God requires of me, he looked to his Son for. That's when I
was saved. That's eternal salvation. Understand that? No, I don't
understand. I don't even begin to. But I
believe it with all my heart and soul and strength, and I
rejoice in it. We read of eternal judgment in
Hebrews chapter 6, verse 2. Well, Christ is the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. My sin was judged then. I was
justified then. We read of eternal redemption
in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 12. He has obtained eternal redemption. A redemption that never had a
beginning and that will never end. We read of eternal glory. We read of the internal inheritance.
The house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now this
thing of my salvation being eternal, the scripture that speaks most
powerfully to me regarding this thing is when David was dying. King David, the man after God's
own heart. King David. the sweet psalmist
of Israel. He's dying. These be the last words of David. And I love what he said. Matter
of fact, turn there so you can see this yourself. Second Samuel,
chapter 23. Verse 1 says, now these be the
last words of David. David's dying. And he says in
verse 5, you know, when we talk about
ourselves on any level, we pretty much have to begin with an although,
don't we? Although my house be not so with
God. And David's house was a mess. God told him it would be. He
brought such sorrow on his heart and in his life, and that affair
with Bathsheba, it brought such grievous things to him. The sword
never left his house. He saw I tell you what, you read
the history of David, it's not family friendly. I mean, the
things that happened to him in his house will make your skin
curl. It's awful. He said, although
my house be not so with God. And you know, I also think he
meant this house, this house of flesh, the old man. what Paul described as, oh, wretched
man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? Only a believer feels that way.
An unbeliever can't understand it, but a believer knows something
about this body of death that they're carrying around. Although my house be not so with
God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant. It never had a beginning, and
it'll never end. He's talking about the covenant
of grace, isn't he? When Christ agreed, before time began, to
be the surety of his people. He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. Look what he says next. For this is all my salvation. It's all of it. And not only is it all my salvation,
it's all my desire. I don't desire anything else
but this right here. This is all my salvation and
all my desire, though He makes it not to grow. Now most of the time when we
read the word eternal, we read of eternal life. Eternal life. That phrase is
in the scripture over and over again. It's the life of God in
the soul. Do I understand that? No. Do
I understand how somebody is born again? No. But they are. Do I understand how somebody
is actually being made partakers of the divine nature? No, I don't
understand that, but I believe it. Every believer is given an eternal
life, a new nature, a holy nature that will continue all the way
throughout eternity, and that's why they won't fall away. They
continue in the faith because of this eternal life that they
have abiding in their soul. This is life eternal, our Lord
said, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom Thou hast sent. And because a believer has this
eternal life abiding in his soul, what he does, what she does,
out of love for Christ, will last forever. I can think of so many examples
of that. What about Judgment Day when the sheep and the goats
are separated? And what does the Lord give as
evidence that the sheep were sheep? He said, I was hungry. And you gave me something to
eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was sick and in prison
and you visited me. We read in Revelation 14, 13,
blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Yea, they have rest
from all their labors, and their works do follow them. They follow them. But I think
the example that came to my mind most was that woman who broke
that alabaster box of very precious ointment. And she poured it upon
the Lord and anointed his head and his body with that precious
ointment. And the disciples got mad at
her. They said, why was this waste made? They were very practical,
very pragmatic. They said, this could have been
sold for 300 pence and given to the poor. And she wasted it
like this. And the Lord said, let her alone. for she hath wrought a good work
on me." And from now on out, wherever the gospel is preached,
this that this woman has done will be a memorial, a memorial
to her. Anything that is done out of
love for the Lord Jesus Christ will last eternally. What will be removed? Everything
we see. Everything that's made. Everything that's created. What will last
forever? Everything that's eternal. And
if you're a believer, you have eternal life. You have an eternal
righteousness, an eternal acceptance with God, and that will last
forever. What will last? Well, I think
of that song. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Is that all? Yep. That's all. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is single sand. Now, we're going
to observe the Lord's table together, and in observing the Lord's table
together, the Lord said, in remembrance of me. We are remembering that
the only reason we'll be in heaven is because of what this represents. And it's a good meal. May the
Lord enable us all to truly observe this table in remembrance of
him.