Christ the True and Better - Hebrews 12 - Christ The Founder and Perfecter Of Our Faith

Good morning, family.

All right, so please grab your Bibles, turn to Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Yes, I didn't forget about the reading.

I gotcha.

Thank you.

We are going to go through the entire chapter.

So this is a summary of this chapter.

I'm going to pull out some major points.

But before we do that, we have a reading to do.

So I will ask the question and you read the answer.

We will go to our Doctrine of Focus as soon as I can get to Hebrews.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Chapter 12 in my Bible.

All right.

Here we go.

How are we made partakers of the redemption of Christ?

Excellent.

Westminster Shorter Catechism, question number 29.

So love those little things.

You know, it's going to take an entire lifetime to go through the catechisms and the confessions and all the other stuff.

We haven't even gotten to the Heidelberg yet.

It's so many things.

So it's really good stuff.

So I encourage you to continue, you know, if you want, read that.

Before we get started, I want to pray and then we're going to dive right in.

Okay.

Father, I want to thank you so much for your faithfulness and your goodness.

Thank you that we can come before you.

We can laugh and we can come in reverence and awe and respect of you even in our frailty and our joys and our laughter.

And you are father.

And by the work of Christ, you have given us free access to the throne room of God, to the holy of holies.

We praise you.

So, Lord, as we go through your word, I pray that the full counsel of your word is spoken, that we rightly divide the word,

that you teach us your ways that we may know you and have favor with you,

that we would understand clearly that you are the founder and perfecter of our faith.

You are conforming us into the image of your son and that you will complete what you started and that we will be perfect as you are perfect.

And Lord, we praise you and thank you.

Help us to see some very important truths and how to really understand them, apply them, but most of all,

that we would know you and that we would apply what we learn from you to you be honor and glory in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right.

So here we go.

So we're at the end of the book.

We're at this moment where you probably grab chapter 12, verse one and two, and you make a sermon on that.

But we don't have that option today because we're trying to do the whole book verse by verse.

And so in the future, I will be doing some particular sermons on just portions of chapter 12 expository.

We'll do one through four and then eventually another one through five through 18.

It'll be just a message on those things.

And but I want to give you a summary why the writer writes this, why God gives us chapter 12 and the importance of it.

And it really starts off in the first two verses of why chapter 12 so important.

So principle number one, we run the race not for a place in heaven, but we run for the prize who is the founder and perfecter of our faith, Jesus.

We don't run the race of faith to get to heaven.

You don't run the race of faith because you want a room, a mansion.

You don't run the race of faith in order to receive something.

You run the race of faith because Christ is the prize whom you've already received.

OK, now that's a very important understanding here.

Many people go, well, I want my mansion.

I just want Jesus. OK, so how do we know this to be true?

First Corinthians nine, twenty four through twenty five.

You know, I give a scripture precept upon precepts context and context.

Here we go. Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives the prize?

So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.

They do it to receive a perishable wreath.

But we but we and imperishable wreath, which we have Christ our crown Christ our prize.

Now, how do we know this to clarify this in Hebrews chapter 12, verse one, one through four?

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

how many of you guys have have been taught or have heard that this cloud of witnesses are angelic beings?

All the angels are watching us. Oh, good.

We've had some good teachers, man. I'm getting excited. Right.

How many of you guys have heard that this is all of the people before Jesus?

So this word, this term so great a cloud of witnesses is a great dense,

dense multitude of spectators in the historical sense are witnesses of how we run the race.

So all the way to Adam, all the way to the saints who have passed,

all of them are our witnesses of how we run the race.

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

OK, witnesses that not only can go before a judge by the testimony they have given that the truth of Christ is true,

but also condemn us if we are judged by our sin.

So there is a great cloud of witnesses who are watching how we run.

This is not a legalistic point of view.

This is a point of view of understanding that we are in a race.

We are in the race of life and that how we live matters.

How we present the truth of Christ matters in how we live.

How do we know that? Look, keep reading. It says, let us also lay aside every weight.

This word weight is burden or mass.

It's interesting they use the word mass. Right.

This heavy thing that we carry. OK.

And sin. The word sin here is ha-martia, meaning to miss the mark.

It's where we get ha-martiology from the study of sin. OK.

So we must lay aside every mass or missing the mark, the standard, which clings.

Now, how many of you guys think about clinging?

When you put your clothes in the dryer, they get all clingy or static cling.

Right. When you put in, you put in a sheet, it clings.

Everything clings to something. Well, this word isn't that.

This word is the idea of like a leg cramp.

When you're running and all of a sudden that leg cramp comes and you run with a stiff leg.

How many of you guys have had leg cramps?

I don't know about you, but I don't like leg cramps.

Because I'm sitting on the couch and that thing kicks in, you're like, whoa. Right.

It clings to you and it won't let go. That's the idea.

This idea, which is the term, which clings, is the word besetting or to prevent running.

Leg cramps cling to you. They prevent you from running.

So when we are carrying a burden or a mass or we are missing the mark,

that prevents us from running rightly.

So, okay, which clings, these besetting sins, these things that prevent us in our living

are closely connected. Right.

That which so closely and let us run, this idea that it's close and trust me,

a leg cramp can't get any closer.

And if this is true, let us run, treco, to exert, strive, hard, spend,

all one strength to attain something.

Are you running the race in such a way that you are exhausting yourself?

You're leaving it all out. You're emptying yourself of everything that you have

because you want to run the race in a way that glorifies God,

in a way that brings him honor, in a way that you carry his name

and when it's all done, he can say, well done.

That's the idea here.

So are we striving hard? Are we spending all of our strength to attain something?

Now, this spending all of our strength requires that we endure with endurance

the race that is set before us.

So let us also lay aside every weight, every burden, every mass

and let us not miss the mark which clings, which prevents us from running so closely

and let us run, let us exert, let us spend all of our strength with endurance

the race that is set before us.

I mean, are you running to the point that you are exhausted,

that you're fighting against, making war against your sin?

Now, this word with endurance, the race that is set before us

means to exert ourselves like a runner in a contest to attain a goal of perfection

which we are destined for.

You are destined for perfection.

What God starts, he will finish.

You will be like Jesus.

You will take off the corruptible and put on the incorruptible.

Your body will become like your spirit, perfect in every way.

That's the point.

And if we know this, how should we live?

And what has caused this to happen for us?

And how can we continue to strive in this manner as a runner running a race?

Well, looking to, verse two, to turn our eyes away from distractions

and fix them on Christ, our prize.

So when we think of the term repentance, you probably have been taught,

which all of us have been, it's a turning away from sin.

It's more than that.

It's a turning to Christ.

And by turning to Christ, you turn away from sin.

We don't turn away from something that you love.

You turn to something that's of greater value.

And as a result, you will turn from that.

That's what repentance is.

It's a turning to Jesus.

And as a result of turning to Jesus, you turn away from that which is killing you.

And so repentance is more than just turning away from sin.

It's a turning to Christ.

And that's what you see here.

Turn your eyes away from distractions and fix them on Christ, our prize.

You see, if Christ was not our focus, when we turn away from sin,

you will be quick to turn back.

How do we know that?

Scripture interprets scripture.

Just look at Lot's wife.

So we are looking to Jesus, the founder, the beginning,

the one who started it all and perfecter of our faith.

He founded our faith.

He has started our faith.

And he is the perfecter of our faith.

Who for the joy, for the absolute joy that was set before him, endured the cross.

When he was presenting himself as the sacrifice, he joyfully did it.

Of his own accord.

Why?

For you.

Set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame,

and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

That idea of the right hand of the throne of God is the ultimate authority of all things.

He is the authority of God.

Now, consider him, Christ, who endured from sinners such hostility against himself

so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.

Why did Jesus go to the cross?

Not only to redeem us, but as a reminder that he has won.

It is finished.

And that we don't need to grow weary and faint-hearted.

We will receive what was promised.

He has endured the cost for you.

And so, in your struggle against sin,

you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your own blood, have you?

No.

Christ did.

He shed his blood for you.

And we haven't resisted to the point that we would shed our own.

That's the idea.

Principle number two.

Repentance is not enough for salvation.

Ouch.

People are bugging out right now.

Well, doesn't it say in John 1, 15, repent and believe the gospel?

Yes.

But it doesn't say just repent and you're in.

Just say a prayer and you're good.

It's not what it means.

Repentance is not enough for salvation.

Salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone.

Repentance is a result of transformation.

When somebody is transformed in the heart, justified,

they confess Christ as Lord and Savior,

and they turn to Jesus and turn away from sin.

They turn to something.

And as a result, turning to something, they turn away from something.

That's the idea here.

So in this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary,

you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith,

more precious than gold, that perishes though it is tested by fire,

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

First Peter 1, 6 through 7, that the reality of our faith is proven genuine because of Christ

and his preservation of us, his preserving us,

the perseverance of us through all these things.

Now, that being said, Hebrews 12, 5 through 17.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

You are children of God.

Have you forgotten how he has called you sons?

My son, and this is what he's, listen to this.

My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

He's talking to us, you, his son and daughters, his sons and daughters.

Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, the chastising of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

How do you know when God is disciplining you?

Well, we're going to talk about that right now.

For the Lord disciplines, paiduo, to chastise by the infliction of calamities and sufferings.

In the BLB, it doesn't use the word sufferings, it says evils.

The problem is that in modern English, evils mean that it's the devil,

that anything that brings deep harm, pain to you is evils.

That's a correct term in the Old English for suffering.

But in our modern English, they have a very distorted view of what evils are.

That being said, chastisement, the Lord's discipline is chastisement

by the infliction of calamities and suffering.

Do we look at our lives and go, I'm suffering because it's just not fair.

It's just not fair.

It's not fair that I suffer.

I'm innocent.

There's no one innocent.

It's not fair that I suffer.

I'm not doing anything wrong.

You don't know the intentionality of your heart.

You don't know the deep issues of your heart, do you?

That's a hard thing to kind of understand.

So when we look at discipline and we look at all the things that happen to us,

understand that God is using everything to conform you into the image of his son.

He's disciplining you.

He's training you.

So for the Lord disciplines, the Lord inflects calamities and suffering on the one he loves.

Notice it doesn't say ones.

He's talking to you.

He loves you.

If you're going through stuff, it's because he loves you.

You're like, well, I don't want that kind of love.

Well, neither did my kids.

Here's an example because every he chastises every son whom he receives, right?

Like my oldest son, my wife remembers this.

How many of you guys know the paddle with the little ball and it could do, do, do, do, do?

Yeah, I was like, yeah, I'm taking that off.

That bro took it off.

That was my little paddle.

One covers a good surface and it doesn't hurt too bad.

Spoon's a different story.

The wider it is, the better off it is.

The smaller it is, the worse it hurts.

My mom, my mom's like switches.

I don't, who ever got switched?

Oh, everybody, a lot of hands.

Ooh, go, go cut that off that tree.

Bring it over here.

Well, I didn't.

I used the paddle.

And so one day my son does something and I say, and this is why I did this every time.

So I would have to be calm.

So in your anger, do not discipline your children when you're angry.

If you're angry, don't touch your kids.

Don't say a word to them because you're going to say something you're going to regret

and you're going to do something you're going to regret.

Don't do it.

Calm down.

Take a breath.

And then I would say, Jared, go get the paddle.

I don't want you to get so angry.

She remembers.

I'd be like, go get the paddle.

Oh, okay.

He'd go get the paddle and bring it.

Give me the paddle.

And then it turned around.

And I'd smack his butt for it.

And it would all depend on how bad it was.

See, my youngest, they didn't get that.

They didn't get paddles.

Someone said, oh.

So he would get, the severity of the paddle would be dependent on the crime.

The worse the crime, the worse the paddle.

Well, he did that.

He got one time he did something really bad.

I broke the paddle.

Once, one time.

It's a thin piece of, come on, it's a Luan.

It's not like a thick one.

It's not like a ping pong paddle.

Those would work great.

All right.

So the point is that I did that because I love him.

I don't want him to do wrong.

And the only way to change, to move the heart, to direct the heart in the direction

that the child should go is discipline.

So because I love him, I chastise him.

And if I chastise him, then he is my son.

If I don't chastise him, he's not mine.

And so the point of chastisement is because I love him.

And God loves us and chastises every son whom he receives, whom he has brought

into the family, whom he has decided is mine.

Now, verse seven, for it is for discipline, paidaya is the word here, paidaya,

discipline, calamities and sufferings that God visits for correction.

That God will use things that are besetting upon us because of stuff such as sin

or just that we live in a very broken world, God will use it.

Or that God will cause calamities and sufferings.

You ever wonder about that?

And that you have to endure those things is all you have to do is look at Job.

There wasn't, if you were to look at Job outside of Job's life,

you would think he didn't deserve that at all.

But God's like, no, so you don't see the intentionality of the heart that I see.

And so God says, hey, talks to, you know, Apollyon, Lucifer and says, Satan,

however you want to call him, have you considered my servant Job?

He's like, yeah, but I can't, I just, you know.

He's like, fine, you can do all this, but you can't do that.

Calamity kills all his kids.

Satan kills all his kids, steals all his stuff.

That's called a calamity.

And then God says, second time, have you considered my servant Job?

I can't touch him.

Fine, you can touch his body, but you can't kill him.

Sufferings.

Did he deserve it?

You would say no.

God says he did.

Because what you end up finding about Job's life is God dealt with the pride of his heart.

Job felt he was good.

I'm good, I'm doing my thing.

I bring offerings to the Lord.

I pray on behalf of my kids.

Like, I'm wealthy.

I'm doing the right.

And God's like, yeah, but your heart is messed up, man.

And God ultimately will perfect us.

And that's what you see in Job's life.

That we, just like Job, should endure the discipline of God.

God is treating you, continue on verse seven.

God is treating you as sons.

For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

If you are left without discipline in which all have participated, all of us have been disciplined.

If you are left without discipline, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

We should be going through stuff.

Now, some would say, well, I've had enough of that stuff.

Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who discipline us and we respect them.

Trust me, I know some really good dads.

Here we go.

So, it says that we had earthly fathers who discipline us and we respect them.

Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of Spirits and live?

If we are subject as its children to him, then we will live.

But if we are not subject to him and we don't belong to him, there is no life for you.

Verse 10.

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them.

But he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

That you may be like him, perfect, the perfector.

That's what this is all about.

Verse 11.

For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.

Trust me, it doesn't feel good.

Your suffering isn't good, doesn't feel good, but it's good.

Your suffering is painful and it hurts, but it's good.

Why?

Because later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness, the conformity to Jesus.

Jesus is our righteousness.

The peaceful fruit of righteousness is to be like Christ.

To those who have been trained by it.

When you discipline, it's training.

You train, you are trained by discipline.

Not only self-discipline, but discipline for the wrong that you do.

Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths.

What does it mean to lift up your drooping hands?

When you got a leg cramp and you're in a race because we're still running,

we're still in the running idea here.

When you see the end of the race, they're like spent.

They're exhausted.

Their electrolytes are low.

What do they do?

They're like, they're dragging, right?

They're like, and their stuff's all coming out of them and you're like, they're about to die.

That's because they're exhausted.

They've gone through it.

They have been beat down.

Well, this is what he says, lift your drooping hands because when your hands are up, you can run.

Strengthen your knees, get your knees back under you because when your knees are back under you,

you can run hard, firm, strong.

The race isn't over for us.

It's not the end.

Doesn't matter how old you are.

There's no retirement for Christianity.

It's not a spectator sport.

You must participate.

And so get your hands up and get your knees under you and make straight paths for your feet.

This is what this means.

When you are not drooping and your knees are good under you and you're running strong,

you can stay in lane.

This word, paths, is this idea of walk or ride in the track that has already been laid, the rut.

So horses and buggies would ride the rut.

You would go from Strouds on the rut to Sellersburg, well, Ross, that would be called Ross.

You would be riding the rut.

You don't ride off the rut because you ride off the rut, you're going to find stuff you don't want.

You stay in lane.

That's the idea here.

So we walk and ride in the rut, in the track that's already been laid for you.

Why?

So that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

See, when you're on the rut, sometimes there's a rock there.

You can avoid that.

Sometimes there's a hole.

You can get through that.

But as long as you stay in the lane, the wheels are sure and they're not going to fall off.

As long as you're running in the lane, you're not going to go off into a different direction

and break your ankle.

That's the idea.

And this is what he's telling us here.

So how many of you guys have read Pilgrim's Progress?

Watch Pilgrim's Progress.

If you haven't read it, watch it.

If you haven't watched it, read it.

Either way, what happens to Christian is he decides, I'm going to do a shortcut.

And every time he does a shortcut, it's like he breaks an ankle.

He does something foolish.

And what happens?

He gets disciplined.

Wow, because he's in a bad place.

And God uses it to teach him something and to conform him into the image of Christ, to

put in the character of God to make him holy.

Well, when you go offline, that is the idea.

And if we go offline, we have to be careful when we're offline.

The reason why you should always stay in the rut.

Why?

Because we strive for, verse 14, we strive for peace

with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

This word holiness, hegasimas, hegasimas is the sanctification of the heart and life.

It's the cleansing.

It's the sanctification of the heart and life that we strive for peace with everyone

and that we live in the sanctification of the heart and life by, without,

that we will not see Jesus.

Do you hear that?

Not everybody gets to heaven.

That's tough.

Verse 15, see to it.

Beware that no one fails, that no one is left behind, that no one, it fails to be a

partaker to obtain the grace of God.

Beware.

Be careful.

That no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble.

This word of root of bitterness literally means what it means.

It is the things that cause us to be defiled that by the root of bitterness continued

and by it many become defiled.

Many become worthless, unusable.

Like the root of bitterness kills everything.

It is a cancer without a cure.

That's the idea here.

If you live there, you're going to die there.

And God says do not let it spring up and cause trouble.

Why?

Because it will pull others away.

You'll see that in a minute.

That no one is sexually immoral or unholy.

This is the hard part.

See, what the root of bitterness does, if it springs up and causes trouble, it defiles

a lot of people.

And it produces in people sin that is really bad.

Sexual immorality and unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

Now think about that.

Porridge.

I'm thinking porridge is like grits or, you know, cream of wheat, which I like.

But I'm not going to give it up.

I'm not giving up heaven for that.

Jacob's porridge must have been really good though.

Or he would have been really hungry.

But Esau was a dog.

Look what it says about Esau.

You guys, this is going to hurt you.

This is going to rustle some feathers.

This is going to make you really uncomfortable.

You'll be like, how many of you guys have heard that God is the God of second chances?

Come on now.

Listen, if you watched anybody on YouTube or if you watched Steven Furtick or Joel Osteen,

I know you've heard God is a God of second chances.

Nobody's heard God is a God of second chances?

Okay, thank you.

Here, listen to this.

He's not.

God is the God of the only chance, not the second chances, third chances, fourth chances.

For you know that afterward when Esau, he desired to inherit the blessing, when he wanted

the blessing back, when he's, I'm ready to get in line now.

What's it say?

He was rejected.

You know what, that Jesus thing, I think I'm going to wait until I get my life together.

Some things I need to fix first.

You have the power to fix that stuff.

Here it says Esau was like, God's like, yeah, it's too late.

I don't want you.

As a matter of fact, we know because in the scripture in Romans, it says that Jacob, I

love, but Esau, I hated.

Malachi says Jacob, I love, but Esau, I hated.

And in Romans, it says that he loved Jacob, but hated Esau even before they were born,

before they did anything.

Why?

Because God knows the intention of the heart.

He knows the evil heart.

And all of a sudden, Esau looks at Jacob and goes, I want that now.

I'll give my porridge back.

Nope.

Too late.

Look what it says after that, for he found no chance to repent.

That's power.

God says, not only are you rejected, but you're not even going to repent.

It's not even going to happen.

Why?

Because I'm not going to let it happen.

How do we know that?

Because it says, though he sought it with tears, Esau begged for forgiveness.

But what did God see?

God saw the heart.

See, that's what makes conversion so amazing.

Because God changes the heart and makes it suitable for him, which brings repentance

because it's been transformed and made new.

Isn't that interesting?

Repentance is not enough for salvation.

It must be the faith of God as a gift given to the person by the power of the spirit,

which transforms the heart.

And in response to the transformed heart, the heart repents, turns to Jesus.

The thing that he hates, he turns to and loves and adores and desires.

That's the point.

Repentance is not just turning away, it's turning to.

So third principle, we must obey and never ignore God speaking through his word.

And like Moses, our attitude must be, I tremble with fear.

Everything will be shaken off its foundation and Christ's kingdom will be the only thing

left standing.

Everything on this earth will be gone.

All the kingdoms made by man will become nothing.

The only thing that will be left is Christ and his kingdom.

Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire.

The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain trembled

violently.

As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered

him.

Exodus 19, 18 through 19.

Look what it says.

Hebrews kind of helps us understand even a little more.

For you have not come to what may be touched.

This is God speaking.

Don't touch the mountain, he says.

And a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and

a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

God's presence on Mount Sinai was so intense that they said, please don't talk to us anymore.

Why?

For they, verse 20, could not endure the order that was given.

They could not endure the commandments, the perfect law of God.

We can't do it no more.

And God says even a beast touches the mountain, it'll be stoned.

Not even an innocent bird flying in the air who lands on the mountain will live.

You are to kill it.

That tells you the depth of corruption of sin upon all creation.

Verse 21, indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.

But you have come to Mount Zion, you, you have come to Mount Zion, the mountain of God,

and to the city of the living God called the heavenly Jerusalem and to innumerable angels

in festal gathering.

God's angelic beings come and they gather in a festival singing and praising all because

it's him.

Do you come to church because it's him?

Are we here because we are before the presence of the living God and his word is spoken and

given and read and we sing of his glorious beauty and his doctrine and his truth and

we soak in the reality of the character of Christ because that's the only thing that

can change you or do you hear, oh, you're wonderful.

God loves you.

The very presence of God, the very character of God is amazing.

And look what it says.

Not only do we come before the mountain of God to the city of the living God, the heavenly

Jerusalem and all the angels, the myriads and myriads of angels gathering, but we also

come to the assembly of the firstborn, the protokos, those who have already inherited

heaven.

They are there.

How do we know?

Well, scripture says that when Jesus gave up the spirit on the cross and the resurrection

and the dead came out of their graves, oh, that's called the first resurrection.

They are with him.

They have been bodily resurrected and have been taken with him.

He and they are there and they are the assembly of the firstborn proclaiming the holiness

of our God.

Why?

Because they were enrolled in heaven and through the assembly of the firstborn who were enrolled

in heaven, whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation

of the world.

That's why Abraham is in.

That's why Jacob is in.

That's why Isaac is in.

They're in because they've always been in.

Well, that's not fair.

Since when is it fair?

God doesn't care about your fairness.

He cares about his holiness.

He's the determiner whether we like it or not.

What an amazing God.

How is all this accomplished?

Not only are we there in the sense that we are before the city of the living God in heavenly

Jerusalem and all the angels are there and all the assembly of the firstborn are there

and all that are enrolled in heaven and to God.

Yahweh Elohim, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the judge of all and to the spirits of

the righteous made perfect and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.

How is all this accomplished?

And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel, the blood of

Abel screams from the garden, I need a redeemer, but the blood of Jesus screams, I am the redeemer.

So see that you do not refuse him who is speaking.

If you are hearing the spirit of God speak through his word and he is speaking to your

heart, don't refuse him.

Don't walk away knowing he's talking to you through his word.

For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will

we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

Verse 26, almost done, four more verses.

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised yet once more, I will

shake not only the earth but also the heavens.

Notice what it says in verse 27, there's one more time, one more chance, not because God

is the God of second chances, God is the God of the only chance.

This is what it says, this phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that

are shaken, that is things that have been made in order that the things that cannot

be shaken may remain.

All of the kingdoms of the earth of men will be gone.

The only thing that will remain is Christ and his kingdom, therefore let us be grateful

to receive, for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Do you hear that?

It means present tense, future tense.

Well actually past, present and future tense.

We have received, we continue to receive and we will receive.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus as

a result of that, that we are not in those other kingdoms, let us offer to God acceptable

worship with reverence and awe.

Why?

For our God is a consuming fire.

I would be terrified to be in the hands of an angry God.

Let me say it this way, I am terrified to be in the hands of a holy God.

Therefore I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies

as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing

you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12, 1 and 2.

Hopefully as I did a synopsis of chapter 12 what we see is God is so good to his people

and I am thankful.

So to God be the glory.

That being said let's pray.

Father I want to thank you so much for your word.

Thank you for the truth of chapter 12 that you are truly the founder and perfecter of

our faith.

That you are perfecting us through discipline and that we will be with you in your kingdom

which is unshakable and we praise you that you are our God and our Savior.

In Jesus name, Amen.