Hebrews 12:14-29 • Jesus = Unshakable • Joel McCarty

Be reading from Hebrews 12/14 through 29.

Pursue peace with everyone and holiness without.

Without it, no one will see the Lord.

Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and

that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and

defiling many. And make sure that there isn't

any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his

birthright in exchange for a single meal.

For you know that later when he wanted it to inherit the

blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears,

because he didn't find any opportunity for repentance.

For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing

fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet

and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that

that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear

what was commanded. If even an animal touches the

mountain, it must be stoned. The appearance was so terrifying

that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.

Instead you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living

God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, a festive

gathering to the assembly of the first born whose names have been

written in heaven. To a judge who is God of all, to

the spirits of righteous people made perfect, And to Jesus, the

mediator of a new covenant, And to sprinkle the blood which says

better things than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks.

For if they did not escape, when they rejected him who warned

them on earth, even less will we turn away from him who warns us

from heaven. His voice shook the earth at

that time, but now he has promised yet once more.

I will not shake only the earth, but also the heavens.

This expression yet once more indicates the removal of what

can be shaken, that is, created things, so that what is not

shaken might remain. Therefore, since we are

receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful.

By it we may serve God acceptably with reverence and

awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

This is the word of God. How many of Y'all have been

without power a lot recently this last week?

Some of you Decatur folks. Yeah, some of you.

This isn't a knock on Decatur utilities, Clint.

When people bash them, I think of you so.

So we have had a lot of thunderstorms and wind this last

week. Last Sunday afternoon we were

on, they had moved my son's baseball practice to an indoor

facility. And so we were on the way there

and right as we pulled into the parking lot, the sky just

absolutely opened up. And so we're like running and

we're trying to, you know, not get too wet.

And then we're running right by this dumpster.

And it like takes the the lids of the dumpster, which had a

bunch of water on them and just like, you know, flung it all

over me. I'm soaked, you know, it's just

blowing Everything Everywhere. And then on the way home, we're

taking the same route. And we just noticed, I mean,

there are limbs down everywhere. Some of the smaller trees are

split and some of you guys. Have been seeing that going on

in our world here in Alabama. Bad weather is that type of bad

weather anyways, is something that we have to deal with

regular enough that we're familiar with it.

I grew up in Oklahoma and so that was an area called Tornado

Alley and I was pretty familiar with bad weather as well.

I can remember pulling over on the side of the road when I was

in high school and just watching a tornado, you know, go by and

you're like, well, there it goes, you know?

And anytime you look at the pictures of destruction that a

tornado or a bad thunderstorm leaves behind, one thing that is

always untouched is the concrete foundations.

You can have whole neighborhoods wiped out and you can see the

drone footage, but you can still see the footprint of what once

was because the foundation is there.

And when I think of the word unshakable, this is the type of

image that comes to mind. The concrete foundations are

surrounded by earth and rocks. They're embedded in the earth,

sometimes even feel like it's cheating to call it unshakeable.

It's like of course it is, but that's the point when a house is

being built. Before walls can ever be framed,

or before a roof can ever go up, there has to be a foundation

poured. And the hope is that the home

that is built on a solid foundation can withstand much

more than a house that is not. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus

uses this analogy when he talks about those who build their

lives on his message and his truth versus their own logic.

And this is what he says in Matthew Chapter 7, verse 24.

Matthew 7:24

He says, therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and

acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the

rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose,

and the winds blew and pounded that house.

Yet it didn't collapse. Because its foundation was on

the rock. But everyone who hears these

words of mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man

who built his house on the sand. The rain fell.

The rivers rose. The winds blew and pounded that

house and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.

The pastor of Hebrews explores a similar metaphor when he talks

about the Kingdom of God that we've been given.

He tells us that what we have received in Christ is

unshakable, that no matter what comes your way, no matter what

is thrown, your direction, that the Kingdom that you've been

given cannot be removed. It can withstand the worst of

times and the strongest of foes, even death itself, because Jesus

brings us an unshakable Kingdom. Good morning again, Church.

Thank you for being with us. As I said earlier, my name is

Joel. I get to serve as one of the

pastors and elders here, specifically the pastor for

preaching and oversight. And that just means that I get

to handle the bulk of the preaching ministry along with

bringing direction to the various ministries of New Eden

Church. And honestly, I'm just grateful

to be a part of what God is doing here.

And yeah, as you can tell, we're continuing in our series through

the book of Hebrews. We are looking at Chapter 12

today. We're going to be in verse 14

and we're going to work our way, as you heard read all the way

through the end of the chapter. We'll be in the CSB version.

If you want to follow along on your phones, Bibles, whatever.

We'll also have the scripture on the screen here for you as well.

So if you'll remember, our preacher throughout this whole

book has been reminding us of the supremacy of Christ.

That in all things and in everything, Jesus is better.

We've just been reminded at the beginning of Chapter 12 to fix

our eyes on Jesus, who is the pioneer and perfector of our

faith. And so, in light of the reality

of what Christ has accomplished, the preacher begins to exhort us

to run well. Because what we have received

and what we will receive in Christ is worth the pursuit.

This passage is easily broken down into four reminders that

the preacher gives us. He's going to remind us in

verses 14 through 17 of a communal race.

In verses 18 to 24, he's going to remind us of a present

reality in verse 25 through 27. He's going to remind us of a

future revealing and a verses 28 through 29 he will remind us of

a grateful response. And so let's start by looking at

the first of our four main reminders, a communal race.

Let me read verse 14 for us again.

It says pursue peace with everyone and holiness.

Without it, no one will see the Lord.

If you remember last week, he ended our time together with

reminding us to strengthen weary hands and weakened knees.

And we remember that this was a thing that we're supposed to do

together to care for each other. And then he tells them to pursue

peace with everyone. Now one interpretation of this

could take this as meaning that everyone you come into contact

with, you are to pursue peace with.

And there are other scriptures that call us to that here

though. I believe what this is saying is

it's meant to be understood that together with the church, with

everyone you are to pursue peace and holiness.

It is this idea for the church to run this communal race well,

and we see that evidence by the next three things he tells us to

watch out for. He says be on guard, watch out

that no one among you. It is this communal call that we

are looking out for our brothers and sisters.

In contrast to the voice of Cain that cried out and my my

brother's Keeper, we recognize that the gospel calls us to say

I am my brother's and sister's keeper.

And the reason we care about this communal race that we are

called the link, arms and run together is because without it

no one will see the Lord. Now, this is not meant to say

that if you don't measure up and become holy enough, then you're

not going to make it to see God. That would literally go against

the entire message of Hebrews. So, So we have to understand

that's not what he's saying. It is simply encouraging this

pursuit to live in the reality of the peace and holiness that

Christ has already accomplished on your behalf.

If you are in Christ, the reality that you live in is you

are right now. United in peace with other

believers. Whether you feel like it or not,

that is the reality Christ has done, and you have also been

made perfectly righteous and holy.

Now there's a sense in which this isn't fully realized until

Jesus returns. And so we recognize we live in

the already. Not yet.

But if if that's the reality that we live in, why not begin

to live out of that? Why wait till eternity to

experience the union, The union with brothers and sisters?

And the holiness that God has granted us, the past reality of

our justification and the future reality of our glorification,

meet in the present to spur us on in our journey of

sanctification. It's also reminding us that the

means of grace that God has given you to live out what Jesus

has accomplished is the Church. And the church is a mess.

I'm the first one to admit it. It's got baggage.

It's got brokenness. But your brothers and sisters

around you is the means by which you are kept and sustained until

the end, until we see the Lord like it is a gift to you, and

you are a gift to your brothers and sisters.

Some of you need to hear that you need the Church, and some of

you need to be reminded that the Church needs you.

Christ will complete the work, and He chooses to do it by

everyday, ordinary communion of the Saints.

This is a miracle. If you're wondering what God's

doing in the world, look around and I know it.

It might not make the news, and it might not seem miraculous,

but just the ordinary every day, caring for each other, going to

battle against sin together, picking each other up,

strengthening weary hands, and weakening.

And so He cares about this. And so he warns against some

attitudes and ideas that could keep us from experiencing that

reality in the church. He mentions what he knows the

church at Hebrews, and so he's mentioning specific dangers for

the church he's writing this letter to, preaching this sermon

to. But some of those same ideas

might be dangers for us in our midst.

The first thing he says, he says to see to it.

Make sure that no one among you fall short of the grace of God.

What this means like like we hear that and sometimes we're

like, oh, does that mean I can fall from the grace of God?

What he's saying is that we should never fail to continue

giving each other the good news of the life, death, the burial

and resurrection. We don't assume, and he didn't

assume, that just because someone was visibly a part of

the church that they had actually experienced.

The grace of God. And it would be a travesty if

someone made their home among the New Eden family and they

missed out on God's grace because we spent more time

talking about our hobby horses or our preferred political

stance or our favorite sports teams.

Like, you can talk about those themes things, but what is the

constant drum beat? Is it the grace of God or is it

one of these other things? I've heard it said this way and

this is a reminder for me all the time.

Don't assume the gospel. We should be a church that

relies so deeply and heavily on Jesus that it is impossible for

someone to be among us, even for one Sunday, without having to

face the question of whether or not Jesus really did live, die,

was buried, and rose again. If you could attend New Eden

Church just as this kind of cultural idea for for five

years. You know, it helped.

You have a better week and you, it's just kind of something you

do in the South, right? Like if that can happen and

you're not confronted with the reality of the resurrection of

Jesus and the radical grace of God, then we've missed it.

We're not a church. We're a Country Club with the

decently cool building, right? Like that's we're missing it.

We are responsible. Make sure that no one misses the

grace of God. We speak the truth over and over

and over, and if you came in this morning for a different

reason than hearing the good news of Jesus, I want to say you

are welcome. I'm not kicking you out the

door. That's not my point.

But I do want you to see that at the end of the day, what all we

have to offer is not some new set of rules.

Not a charity, a place to give your money to, or some

guidelines and principles to help you have a better life.

All we have to offer you is simple and radical.

Grace upon grace upon grace. That's it.

Cards on the table. Full transparency.

This is where we want to stake our flag.

Because if you miss out on that, you miss out on everything.

So he challenges us with this, and then he goes on to remind us

that we're running a communal race that guards against the

root of bitterness springing up in our midst.

We're told that this root of bitterness can creep in and

begin to defile many among us. And so, so the encouragement

both for you and your own heart and then the the friends around

you that you have relationship with when we begin the sense of

bitterness. And some wrongly motivated anger

that wells up in our hearts. We're willing to talk about that

and put it on the table and have that conversation.

It can happen quickly. I've been there.

Maybe I've been treated wrongly or poorly.

Maybe I've grown frustrated with how something was done or not

done, and I can begin to see that person, or maybe that group

of people with a lens that is incredibly and overwhelmingly

negative. I I put them in their box.

They're in their bucket. Nothing's going to change my

mind, right? And don't get me wrong, like, I

want to be clear that we have the freedom to exercise godly

discernment. OK, if we can objectively see

that there's unhealthy patterns. Or maybe authoritarian

leadership, right? I've even seen authoritarian

authoritarian leadership use this idea of bitterness to shut

down someone who's just exposing sin and bring it to light,

right? There's nothing wrong with that.

That's not a bad thing. But.

We are talking about something here, OK?

And we do have to be on guard against allowing unfettered

bitterness to consume us. It does cause trouble and it

does the file many and the answer is it's putting it in the

lights. And hey, you said something that

that bothered me. Can we can we talk about that?

And I'm amazed because most the time it's either a

misunderstanding or maybe God is using you to bring light to to

that situation and bring awareness to someone.

For me, I can. I don't know what it is for you,

but I can only tell it's bitterness, not discernment, OK?

Because those are two different things.

I can tell it's bitterness when it's normally full of sarcasm,

anger and defensiveness. OK, that's what I normally know.

It's more bitter when it's normally just like objectively.

Like, I think that was wrong. I I disagree with that.

Like there's nothing wrong with discerning right.

And so kind of just just be on guard against that.

And I found having a simple conversation can go a long way.

And then lastly, we're called to make sure that immorality and

irreverence doesn't run rampant in our midst.

And he gives us this Old Testament example, right?

We've just seen a bunch of positive Old Testament examples

from Hebrews 11 and now we get one of Esaw.

He is this negative example and he's called irreverent because

he sold his birthright for a single mill.

So if you know the story, Esaw sold his birthright.

He was hungry, came in from the field.

And and the idea here is that he exchanged the eternal something,

and in his case it was maybe not eternal, but it was something

that was given to him. And he exchanged that for

immediate gratification. And the challenge to us is that

will we trust what seems good or feels good in the moment and

ignore what God has to say about our lives, that that this path

or this choice leads towards death.

But we say, well, it feels good here.

It's said it's pleasurable for a season.

Right. So this is in contrast to Moses,

who chose to suffer with the people of God and and not enjoy

the fleeting pleasures of sin. Right?

But he saw did, and our author warns that this is dangerous

territory. He tells us that later on, even

when he saw from it from earthly logic, he realized that selling

his birthright was a bad idea. He found no place to repent.

Now, does this mean that he saw wasn't sorry?

No, he was sorry. We're told that he even shed

tears when he wanted back the blessing.

But the IT that he was seeking when he shed tears over it, the

IT he was seeking. There is not that he was seeking

repentance with tears. He was seeking the birthright

with tears. He was only sorry that he missed

out on the earthly pleasures of the birthright.

And the irony and sadness here is that if he saw had been truly

repentant. He would have got something much

greater than an earthly birthright.

He would have He would have received a heavenly one and

found his name enrolled among the first born who have names

written in heaven. The idea here is not to scare

you into thinking that if you make one mistake, you'll never

find a chance to repent. That's not it.

But it is sitting with the gravity that there are times,

and we've probably all come to these.

Forks fork in the roads in our life or maybe we've had someone

close to us come to these where people are faced with these

pivotal moments of of will I follow God or follow man?

And these can be pivotal moments that can set our lives on a

trajectory of running from God or to him.

And and at the core of this is, what do we trust and how will we

as God's people? Continue to preach the good news

of Jesus so that we might spur each other on to choose what God

has to say over what man has to say.

How will we in those moments with those people that we love,

plead with compassion and humility to turn to God and not

from him? And then I think this is

important too, because there will be times where where you

will choose self wisdom over God, wisdom and part of not

being like Esau is finding a place for confession and

repentance. Will you be like David who for a

long time just ran away from God year and a half?

Or will you eventually come to the place that David did and and

respond in true confession and say God against you and you only

have I sinned because we have it clear in scripture that God will

not cast out anyone who comes to him.

God is after that contrite heart.

That's what he wants. That is the only person that God

will not despise. But when we bear down in pride

and say, that might not have been the best decision, but you

know what? I really am only sorry that I

got caught, and I'm really only sorry that I have to deal with

the earthly consequences of it. But I don't really care that I I

send against God. Do we surrender in humility?

It's one of the reasons as a church we we corporately pray

confessions of prayer together. What that is is, is agreeing

with God and saying, you know what your way is best.

And I need to corporately be reminded of that because

sometimes my heart doesn't believe it, sometimes my heart

believes my logic and my way. And so together we confess that

we are utterly dependent on God. Sent Corinthian 710.

Paul said it like this to the Corinthian church.

He said godly grief produces a repentance that leads to what?

Salvation without regret, which is wild.

The grief of God frees you from regret, not places more on you.

The godly confession frees you, but worldly grief produces

death. It enslaves you and leads you to

the grave. The godly confession and grief

leads us to salvation. The worldly grief doesn't deal

with the root issue, and so we're placed with this caution.

OK, but with all of these cautions, the main thrust of

what he's saying is this. Choose eternal, lasting

pleasures over earthly, fleeting ones.

And to make this clear, he paints probably the most vivid

contrast and picture we get in all of Hebrews.

He shows us what is offered to us in Christ and what is offered

to us if we choose our own way. That's what verses 18 to 24 do

for us. We saw the communal race and now

we see a present reality. In verses 18 to 21 we have this

crescendo. He's already told us all

throughout Hebrews how how useless the law is and saving

sinners, how it only leads to death.

And here we get reminded that without Christ, the best hope

you have is Mount Sinai. He doesn't say its name, but for

the hears they would have known exactly what he was talking

about. All the descriptors listed would

have brought in the minds of the listeners visions of the

mountain where the law was given to the people through Moses,

this place called Sinai, he gives some descriptors.

He says it's of an earthly substance.

It can be touched. It's it's of the earth, and on

the earth, he says that it was destructive.

It's this blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a storm.

It was unapproachable. God's voice was announced with

the trumpet. It was distant and removed and

booming and loud and and impersonable.

The people themselves, they begged, I don't want to hear

anymore of the law. We can't.

We can't take it. It was unattainable.

The law that was given, they knew that it couldn't be kept,

that the best of their efforts was simply filthy rags.

And because of this, he tells them, even Moses, your revered

hero, he was scared to death. He was terrified, right?

God's chosen servant to deliver the law through was scared to

death. This is this crescendo of

Hebrews, if you haven't got it by now.

There is a vivid picture of the law and the Old Covenant, and

it's terrifying and it only leads to death.

He wants to expose for his hearers the absolutely fruitless

endeavor of trying to measure up and live under the law.

Like Paul, he says, You who want to live under the law, do you

hear it? Is that really what you want?

And he does this by showing them the destructive nature of the

Old Covenant. And he's saying it's not worth

it. All this stuff he's been saying,

Don't be like Esau. This is what it leads to.

Let me give you a clear picture of the two paths.

And he says, you who are in Christ, you have not come to

that, but you have come to something much better.

And I love that He says it in the present tense.

He says, you have come. This is the full reality now.

You have not come to Mount Sinai.

You have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God.

It is alive for the listeners. They would have known that Mount

Zion was seen as the centerpiece of worship of God's place, this

Mecca of meeting with God. It's where God's presence dwelt,

and the preacher takes this idea and gives it a new meaning.

This Mount Zion is not a physical place.

It's a person and his name is Jesus.

And this eternal Mount Zion stands in utter contrast to

Mount Sinai. Everything that Mount Sinai was,

or was it Mount Zion is the opposite.

Sinai was earthly. Zion is eternal, A heavenly

Jerusalem. This doesn't mean it's not

tangible and real. It just means it's it's eternal

and everlasting. It's the God space and it's

filling all the earth. Whereas Sinai was destructive.

Zion is cleansing and brings hilly.

And he said you have come to people made perfect and

righteous. It is approachable.

He says that those you have come to you it is it is full of the

first born whose names are written in heaven.

This is identity. Unlike Esau, who sold his

birthright for a meal and lost out, those who trust Christ have

received an eternal birthright. You have access to God, who is

the just a judge of all that's not meant to scare you.

If you are in Christ, that is saying that God is the one who

justifies and has declared you righteous.

So who cares what the accuser says?

The judge of all has declared you perfect.

Be encouraged. We are made clean This mountain,

Zion. This new covenant Kingdom is

attainable and up close It wasn't a distant word thundered

from a mountain. The word himself came down, made

his home among us, took on flesh and blood and every bit of of

suffering you face and weakness you face as a human.

He experienced it, and he didn't come with the blast of a

trumpet, but with the cry of a baby.

This mountain, I love it. It's the opposite of fearful.

It is joyful. Do you understand that?

He says. It is a festive gathering.

This is a party like Jesus brings the better wine.

Let's celebrate and dance and shout and sing because that's

what we've been invited to do. A myriad of angels like the best

guest ever. There's laughter and eternal

pleasures forevermore. It's not just this somber thing

like, yes, we'll sit and grief, but there is a day coming where

it will all be made new and we can experience that in the

present now. It's not just the future

reality. See, because of the work of

Christ, this is offered to each of you.

And I love this, this final crescendo of Mount Zion and

first born names in heaven. And to God, who's judge of all

in this festive gathering, a myriad of angels and all these

beautiful benefits of being in Christ that are incredible.

But what does the crescendo end with?

What is it that we gain? Ultimately, you have come to

Jesus. That's the center of everything.

It's the one we long to be with, and it's the one we have access

to right now. He's the mediator of a new

covenant, the one who has shed his blood for you, and it speaks

over you. Better things than the blood of

Abel. The best the blood of Abel could

do was cry out from the ground for vengeance, justice.

But the blood of Jesus cries out for mercy and acceptance at the

foot of the cross. That's what it's all about.

Church, I told you. That's what we all All we have

to offer is Jesus every week. He lived the perfect life.

He pursued peace and holiness perfectly.

He allowed no root of bitterness to spring up in him, even as he

was rejected by his own, even as he wept blood and tears in the

garden and could have grown angry at God for calling him to

walk through the suffering. Instead, he says, Father, not

your will, but mine be done. He was unwilling to trade his

place as the first born, among many, as he's called, which he

knew meant death. And the enemy came and offered,

Hey, give up that birthright and you can have all of this, all

that the earth offers, much more than a bowl of soup.

But he stays faithful even in the tempter's face.

He said his face like a Flint towards Jerusalem.

He knew it meant pain and death, and he offers up his life as the

mediating sacrifice for sinners. His death is bringing about the

inauguration of a new covenant, and it is one based not on work

keeping that only brings death, but one that is based on the

grace and mercy of God that brings life.

Mount Sinai could not be approached, but Calvary's

mountain is open to all, and by his atoning death, he becomes

both the judge of all. He's just because he takes our

place, but he's also the justifier of the ungodly.

He takes the things we should have received because our law

breaking the gloom and doom and destruction of Sinai.

He takes in his own body and bears it and lays in a tomb.

The sky shakes. The sky grows dark.

The earth shakes and he breathes his last, but death and sin

could not hold him. On Easter morning, gloom gives

way to rejoicing. The stone rolls back and up from

the grave. He rose, and he triumphs over

his foes. And he wins for us the joys of

Zion by walking through Calvary's suffering.

And when we trust in him instead of artworks or the pleasures of

this age, his blood speaks over you, that you are made

righteous, you are adopted as sons and daughters, and your

name is written in heaven. This is the hope of the gospel.

This is the present reality. This is accessible right now

through Christ, for all who've repented and believed.

And this is what we plead for you.

If you've not accepted the free offer of grace, if, if, if

you've made it about what you can do and how much you can

bring to the table, we urge you and beg you.

That only leads to death. Just simple faith and trust in

Christ. We want you to exchange this

temporal life for eternal life. We don't want you to reject the

one who spoke to us by the life and death of His Son, because he

will return one day and he will reveal the hearts of men.

That's what verses 25 to 27 remind us of.

There's a call and a reminder of a communal race.

There's a present reality, but there's also a future revealing.

As sure as Christ arose from the grave, so will he return to

bring a new heaven and a new earth.

All the things we've longed for, the consummation of the the New

Jerusalem, the eternal Zion will be ushered in.

And all who are in Christ will be revealed to be righteous and

perfect and presented as a a bride for the best groom ever.

But we are also warned not to reject the glory of God as

revealed for us in the person of Jesus.

There is a promise that the earth will shake once more.

And the goal of this is not destruction.

The gold is purging. The gold is revealing, It is it

is to shake, to reveal who has built their house on a

foundation that cannot be shaken.

He says that the created things which doesn't mean all the

things that God created which it.

What this means is that things that men have built for

themselves, for their own kingdoms, that will be shaken

away and removed, and what will last, is the Kingdom of God.

Paul talks about it this way in his letter to the church at

Corinth. He says no one can lay any

foundation other than what has been laid down.

That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the

foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or

straw, each one's work will become obvious for the day.

We'll disclose it because it will be revealed by fire.

The fire will test the quality of each one's work.

So here it's described as a fire and Hebrews is described as a

shaking. I don't think it's about making

it about whether which one of those is literally the point

here is that there will be a future revealing and it's easy

to hear this and think well man, I better get to work I better

start doing a lot and start building my house like.

But notice what's important. What he says will stand is what

it's built on right. You can from the outside it can

look great. You can't see the foundation.

You might look like you have an amazing ministry and you have a

great track track record in the sunny school.

Chart has all the stars by your name because you never missed

one. And it can be built on a

foundation and all that will be revealed for what it really is.

Build on Christ alone. You can't add to it.

You can only receive what he's done and simply reflect that and

image it to the world. This is not about getting it

right. It's making sure that you don't

miss out on God's grace because you think Christianity is

somehow about being good enough. You can grow up in the church

and know the songs and quote the scriptures.

If your faith is not in Christ alone, it is meaningless and

empty. As we've said multiple times,

it's not about the amount of your faith, that is about the

object. Who is it placed in?

But if you have, doesn't matter what else is going on, you

should be encouraged because the preacher of Hebrews, he gives

that warning. But then he wants to speak over

you with incredible confidence. Look at verses 28 and 29.

Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom that can not

be shaken, let us be thankful. The primary posture of the

Christian is gratitude. By it we may serve God

acceptably with reverence and all, for our God is a consuming

fire, he says. The Kingdom we have received

through Christ cannot be shaken. It is unshakable.

It is a firm foundation, and we receive it not based on any

merit we have or deeds we do, but only by the grace of God.

And this unshakable Kingdom we've received leads us to the

last thing we'll see a grateful response.

If this is all true, if everything that we've

proclaimed, if it really is a reality that we have received a

joyous, eternal Kingdom, then the only response of that is

gratitude and thankfulness. See, it is the gospel and the

gospel alone that transforms our hearts from the inside out.

It is the goodness of God that changes us.

He even says the only way we can worship and serve Him acceptably

is through this Kingdom that you didn't do anything to earn.

It is through grace alone. So if you think man God did a

lot for me, I better go do a lot for him That's going to get

tired and weary. But if you said, man, God did a

lot for me, thank you. Thank you for what you've been

giving me. Now what is it?

Here's my life. And from a new heart we begin to

live with gratitude, not out of duty, but out of delight.

Why would we not want to rule and reign with God as his

subject? He says, come partner with me.

And making this world new you who messed it up the first time,

Let's go. Like the father who's letting

his kid help him mow the lawn even though the lines are

crooked and straight. He's like, because I care about

you, let's go, I'll fix it. We get to partner with God in

our lives and our families and our churches and our communities

wherever we may go. We are simply building on the

foundation that has already been laid.

And we sit back and watch God of Work.

He'll take care of the results. He's the consuming fire again.

For those in Christ, this is meant to be encouraging.

You don't have to take on the role of judge and fight every

battle. He'll handle it.

We just walk in simple gratitude and obedience.

And the the preacher of Hebrews is going to get real practical

Hebrews 13, one through 6. We'll look at that the next

week. He gives us some clear examples

of what that means. Clear exhortations.

But as we run this race, let us not forget the foundation of our

lives. The one who ran before us, the

pioneer and perfector. Be encouraged, Church, the

battle is 1. You have received an unshakable

Kingdom. We're going to sing about it in

a minute, and you're probably going to hear me say something

like yeah or something. Because it's exciting.

You have received an unshakable Kingdom and no one can take it

away. So join the shout of festive

gathering, Feast on the life of Jesus and go in peace, knowing

that you have been made righteous by the blood of

Christ, who speaks a better word over your life.