WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.540 have your Bibles open at Hebrews chapter 12. It is a challenging passage and it will be helpful 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:09.900 to have it open or switched on if you prefer in front of you. And whilst you head there, 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:16.140 let me tell you a story, a story about an architect in Japan. About 14 years ago, 00:00:16.580 --> 00:00:25.199 this man was arrested in Tokyo. He was arrested for building badly designed architecture and his 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:30.939 buildings weren't especially ugly. They didn't block a neighbor's view of the sea. They weren't 00:00:30.939 --> 00:00:37.179 even particularly damaging for the environment. No, he was arrested because he was building buildings 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:44.340 that would not withstand an earthquake. In Tokyo, a city where you really need to know that when an 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:51.560 earthquake strikes, you're going to be safe. This man had built almost 200 buildings, which would not 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:57.540 stand up to the vigorous shaking of earthquakes that are so frequent in Japan. And this evening's 00:00:57.540 --> 00:01:06.460 passage forces us to ask, will our lives stand up to the vigorous shaking that its verses describe? 00:01:07.820 --> 00:01:13.020 And so as we come to the end of our series in this letter to the Hebrews, it's a letter where the 00:01:13.020 --> 00:01:18.640 writer encourages a group of first century Jewish Christians to run the race of faith. A letter where 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:26.099 we too have been encouraged to run that race. So as we come to the end of that letter, today's passage 00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:36.579 urges us to avoid being like that Japanese man as we run. See, the end of Hebrews chapter 12 warns of a great 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:46.299 shaking, and it urges us to run instead with an unshakable kingdom in mind, to, unlike that Japanese 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:53.679 architect, build our lives on something utterly unshakable. And it does that in today's passage by 00:01:53.679 --> 00:02:00.659 offering us a warning and a beautiful gift. A warning of a great shaking and the beautiful gift of an 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:07.739 unshakable kingdom. But before we get stuck into our passage, I want to ask a question. It's been on my 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:13.180 mind for a while. I wonder if you've ever even noticed it. Here's the question. Why do churches have red 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:19.439 doors? Have you ever noticed that? You will notice it now. Ours doesn't, but lots of churches have red 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:24.540 doors. I think ours is brown, but I promise you, you will notice it. Lots of churches have red doors. 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:28.540 And I've been wondering for ages why this is. I looked it up. I think it's brilliant. So I'm going 00:02:28.540 --> 00:02:36.400 to tell you. See, it's a beautiful symbol. It's because we enter into the church through Christ's blood. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:44.599 We live in a very real world, don't we? A world where we never really measure up, never measure up to 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:50.080 our own standards, let alone the standards of God. A world where something seems to be missing, where we 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:56.780 never really feel at home. And as we walk through the red doors of the church, it reminds us that there 00:02:56.780 --> 00:03:04.280 is a better kingdom or a better mountain that we enter through the finished work of Christ on the cross. 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:12.000 Last week, Neil helped us see exactly that in verses 12 to 24, that there is a better mountain, 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:19.680 Mount Zion, and that we enter it through Christ's spilt blood. He reminded us that because of what 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:26.180 Christ did for us on the cross, we have access to a far better mountain and that we can approach it 00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:34.120 with a great sense of awe and joy. And it is that same blood spilled for us on the cross through which 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:41.120 we enter the unshakable kingdom in today's passage. It's what makes a difference for us as Christians. 00:03:42.140 --> 00:03:47.140 And as we step through the red door of the church, through Christ's blood, we enter into that promise 00:03:47.140 --> 00:03:53.819 of an unshakable kingdom. And so with all that in mind, let's get stuck into God's word for us this 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:59.480 evening. Let's start by hearing the warning of a great shaking. Have a look at verse 25 with me. 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:05.539 It's the beginning of our passage. It says this, see that you do not refuse him who is speaking. 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:12.319 Why not? Well, it continues, if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, 00:04:12.399 --> 00:04:20.259 much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven. Right. What on earth is going on here? 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:25.480 You might want to read it again. I've had to read and reread that so many times. And I want you to see this 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:30.800 with me. Quite simply, there's someone speaking, someone who were not to refuse. He's warned some 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:35.900 people before and they did not escape. And now he's warning us from heaven. And right, I've got some 00:04:35.900 --> 00:04:42.080 questions. Who didn't escape? Who warned them on earth? And who's warning us from heaven? 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:46.460 I've got to do a bit of digging to wrap our heads around this. Firstly, we have to think about the 00:04:46.460 --> 00:04:53.040 generation of Israelites, those who encountered God at Mount Sinai. They've just been rescued out of 00:04:53.040 --> 00:05:00.000 slavery in Egypt. And they were a generation who were warned on earth by God, by his words at Mount 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:06.460 Sinai as the earth shook. They were a generation who rejected that warning and walked in persistent 00:05:06.460 --> 00:05:14.160 disobedience to him. A generation who did not escape God's righteous judgment. I think that answers our 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:19.580 first two questions. It's the Sinai generation who didn't escape. And it was God who warned them 00:05:19.579 --> 00:05:26.180 through Moses on earth. And then have a look back at verse 24 because it helps us understand who warns 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:33.139 from heaven. Jesus, the mediator, which is basically just someone who breaks up a fight, 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:38.699 of a new covenant, which really just means an agreement, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks 00:05:38.699 --> 00:05:44.539 a better word than the blood of Abel. Abel was killed by his brother Cain way back in Genesis, 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:51.580 as we heard last week. So from that verse, verse 24, we see quite simply that it was Jesus who was 00:05:51.580 --> 00:05:58.080 speaking and that he is speaking by his blood and that he does so from heaven. Again, last week, 00:05:58.140 --> 00:06:04.120 Neil helped us see how much better Christ's blood is, offering us grace and forgiveness, 00:06:04.900 --> 00:06:12.200 unlike Abel's blood, which can only offer vengeance. And so the writer to the Hebrews said that we should 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:19.399 be especially careful not to reject Jesus. And not only because of who it is that does the speaking, 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:25.879 not even how he does it or where he is, but also because of what he is warning us about. 00:06:26.719 --> 00:06:34.360 Have a look at verse 26. At this time, his voice shook the earth. You just heard in the Exodus story, 00:06:34.459 --> 00:06:41.079 Mount Sinai shook at his voice. But now he has promised, once more, I will shake not only the earth, 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:49.039 but also the heavens. The warning here is that this time around, the earth and the heavens will be shaken. 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:55.779 This isn't talking about heaven as in some random spiritual place where I guess the world thinks that 00:06:55.779 --> 00:07:03.759 God is, but rather the sky, the universe, everything physical that exists, including the earth. 00:07:04.099 --> 00:07:09.779 What the writer is saying is that this time around, everything is going to be shaken. 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:16.419 So let's take a second to pause and ask ourselves a really important question. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:25.319 What's taking up most of our headspace? I found this passage really challenging personally this week 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:31.219 because there are so many things that I hold on to too tightly. Things that I spend too much of my 00:07:31.219 --> 00:07:39.259 time dwelling on. Things that ultimately will be shaken. Sometimes really stupid little things like a new 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:44.379 pair of trousers that I'd love to buy. Or even slightly bigger things like a new car or a new house. 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:51.939 Sometimes even things that are not even created, or not material, sorry, but nevertheless created. 00:07:53.039 --> 00:07:56.560 Dwelling on things like where I've succeeded in life or where I think I have failed. 00:07:57.219 --> 00:08:01.740 Accomplishments and insecurities. My head is full of all these things that ultimately 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:08.319 will be shaken when that time comes. So what are your favorite things in life? 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:15.280 What's your most treasured possession? What's your greatest achievement even? 00:08:15.960 --> 00:08:22.400 What is your least favorite thing? Your greatest insecurity? The most anxiety-inducing thing in your life? 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:27.259 Whatever it is, hear this loud and clear. 00:08:28.799 --> 00:08:32.319 Good or bad, it will not last forever. 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:40.120 When you die, you cannot take it with you, much less can it survive the great final shaking described 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:45.039 in these verses. Whatever it is that is taking up most of your headspace, 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:49.639 that fills you with exultant pride or crushing anxiety. 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:56.319 The writer here urges us to hold it lightly and recognize that it will not last forever. 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:04.860 And he's not just talking about some random ending of the world, a sort of natural end of things. 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:08.419 It's not simply that the created world has run its course. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.360 There's a purpose here, and we see why in verse 27. Have a look. 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:19.580 The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is, created things. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:22.659 In other words, hear this warning. 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:31.659 There is coming a time when the whole created order will be shaken beyond recognition, 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.800 and everything in it will no longer remain. 00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:40.740 This is the warning, that this world will be judged, it will be found wanted, 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:43.100 and it will be removed and regenerated. 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:48.700 And I'm aware that that sort of judgment and warning can be hard to take, can't it? 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:52.960 I'm aware that it can sound desperately unloving. 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:56.100 I think we've got to ask ourselves the question, 00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:00.519 how can a loving God possibly carry out such a thorough judgment? 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:04.480 And I think it works a little bit like this. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:08.980 See, when I was a child, I used to get incredibly car sick. 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:12.840 Virtually every journey that we went on that was more than an hour long, 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.579 I would actually genuinely be physically sick. 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:21.059 The worst thing that I could do was fail to tell my parents how I was feeling, wasn't it? 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:26.699 But the most loving thing I could do was to warn them of the imminent danger of continuing. 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:32.280 If I warned them that I was about to be sick, it would give them an opportunity to pull over, 00:10:32.520 --> 00:10:35.500 to escape an otherwise extremely unpleasant experience. 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.940 And I think this warning in Hebrews is sort of similar to that. 00:10:40.180 --> 00:10:43.340 Because if God is perfectly just, 00:10:44.060 --> 00:10:49.500 then he simply has to do something about a creation that does not give him the glory that he deserves. 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:56.200 When he sees almost 4,000 people homeless in this city today, he has to respond. 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:04.200 I mean, how bad would God be if he saw that sort of injustice and was simply indifferent to it? 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:11.039 He simply has to do something about a world that has been tainted by self-serving evil. 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:16.779 A world where 4,000 people can be homeless in a wealthy city like ours, 00:11:16.779 --> 00:11:19.120 and yet every day I walk on by. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.079 Which means he has to do something about me. 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:25.379 It means he has to do something about you. 00:11:27.079 --> 00:11:30.839 Something like the way I couldn't help but be sick on a long car journey. 00:11:31.319 --> 00:11:32.799 He just has to do something. 00:11:32.939 --> 00:11:35.579 But he is also completely loving. 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:40.179 And so he has to warn us that he's going to do something about it. 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:46.299 Though we don't deserve it, he is so completely loving and kind that he has warned us. 00:11:46.959 --> 00:11:50.699 And he has to give us an opportunity to respond to that warning. 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:53.539 And that's what the writer is saying here. 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:54.899 Respond. 00:11:56.359 --> 00:11:57.439 Do you see that warning? 00:11:58.199 --> 00:12:00.439 See that you do not refuse him. 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:04.599 Hear this warning of a great shaking. 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:10.560 And then receive the gift of an unshakable kingdom with thanksgiving. 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:14.779 Because as the rest of verse 27 tells us, have a look at it, 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:20.700 this great shaking will take place so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:28.480 The purpose of this great final shaking is to make way for the perfect and eternal future kingdom. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.080 That which cannot be shaken. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:33.680 This is our prize. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:35.719 This is the motivation for which we run. 00:12:35.819 --> 00:12:37.459 Just as it was, Jesus is. 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:39.419 Have a look back at verse 2 with me. 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:44.659 Because it was for the joy that was set before Jesus that he endured the cross. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.519 It was because of the kingdom that awaited him. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:55.759 And it is the joy that is set before us now as we endure and run the race of life as a follower of him. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.959 To be clear, what we're talking about here is a complete regeneration of the world that we live in. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:06.440 A physical place that is both like the world we live in now and yet completely different. 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:10.100 I think C.S. Lewis puts this best in his Narnia story. 00:13:10.280 --> 00:13:14.460 See, just as the children in those stories are entering into this new creation, 00:13:14.900 --> 00:13:16.820 they look around and they are amazed. 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:18.540 Because it's just like Narnia. 00:13:18.660 --> 00:13:20.920 Just like the world that they've come from. 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:23.740 But better in an indescribable way. 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:28.080 Those hills, said Lucy, the nice woody ones and the blue ones behind, 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:30.460 aren't they very like the southern border of Narnia? 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:33.940 Like, cried Edmund after a moment's silence. 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:35.720 Why, they're exactly like. 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:38.299 Look, there's Mount Pyre with his forked head. 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:40.919 And there's the pass into Arkenland and everything. 00:13:42.180 --> 00:13:44.240 And yet they're not like, said Lucy. 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:44.879 They're different. 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:47.060 They have more colours in them. 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:49.639 And they look further away than I remembered. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:53.579 And they look more, more, I don't know. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:58.019 More like the real thing, said the Lord Diggory softly. 00:13:59.479 --> 00:14:01.719 This is what we have to look forward to. 00:14:01.979 --> 00:14:06.099 A perfect, indescribable version of this world. 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:08.639 But more than that. 00:14:09.180 --> 00:14:12.420 Because this is not simply a future physical reality. 00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:17.139 Because in a sense, this is all already happening in the life of the believer. 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:18.960 We are being shaken. 00:14:19.560 --> 00:14:23.399 And we are laying hold of the unshakable today. 00:14:24.800 --> 00:14:29.860 At least it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit would be at work convicting us of our attachment 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:32.080 to the shakable things of this life. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.800 And instead, to take hold of the unshakable today. 00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:42.180 When we accept Jesus and are born again by the Holy Spirit, our lives are greatly shaken. 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:43.159 Are they not? 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:49.840 And we are receiving this unshakable kingdom today both in promise and in power. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:56.840 We receive it in promise because a perfect promise, like we see here, is as good as the thing itself. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:04.000 And we receive it in power as we see the life-changing power of Jesus at work, 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:06.080 even in this very room today. 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:10.720 Just take a moment to think about the difference that that makes. 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:16.159 About the difference Jesus has made and is continuing to make in our lives today. 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:21.920 Setting us free from our slave-like attachment to the shakable things in our lives. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.919 Setting us free from our materialism, our pride and our insecurity. 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:31.459 And offering us peace in both power and in promise. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:34.939 This is the unshakable kingdom today. 00:15:34.940 --> 00:15:42.920 And it is just a pale shadow of the future perfect promise of a regenerated reality. 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:47.899 And our passage urges us to be thankful for it. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:52.939 It urges us to not underappreciate the value of this kingdom. 00:15:53.599 --> 00:15:55.799 Have a look at verse 28 with me. 00:15:55.799 --> 00:16:01.379 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. 00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:08.899 The shakable things of this world do everything they can to distract us from this. 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:13.600 When things are going well, they seem like the very thing that we should be thankful for. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:18.340 And when they're going badly, it feels like there's nothing to be thankful for. 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:22.600 But this is the beauty of the unshakable kingdom. 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:27.360 It is a gift of promise and power that exceeds our current circumstances. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:31.240 I think this is a great opportunity for us to be distinctive. 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:39.340 When the world around us is instinctively and perhaps rightly negative about our current circumstances. 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:48.919 We have a brilliant opportunity in this moment to offer hope in apparently otherwise hopeless times. 00:16:49.820 --> 00:16:52.039 We have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:54.860 And we can always be thankful for it. 00:16:54.860 --> 00:16:59.840 Antiques Roadshow is a brilliant TV program. 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.480 You might disagree with me on that, but I love Antiques Roadshow. 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:08.819 And I think when we watch Antiques Roadshow, we're all waiting for that same story. 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:11.240 You know the story that I'm talking about. 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:12.259 We're all waiting for it. 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:16.900 It's the story where Bill has inherited this awful looking lamp from Aunt Betty. 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:20.400 And it's been gathering dust in his attic for about 20 years. 00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:23.140 And to be honest with you, he's thinking about throwing it on the skip. 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:28.660 But when the Antiques Roadshow comes to his local big house or wherever they film it, 00:17:29.060 --> 00:17:30.040 he's brought it along. 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:33.259 He's brought this lamp along just on the off chance that it might be worth something. 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:34.900 And of course it is. 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.460 It's worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.500 And we all think that Bill is a bit of a mug. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:45.640 All those years this lamp has been sat collecting dust in his attic. 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:51.259 All those years Bill has failed to appreciate the value of this incredible gift. 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:52.940 What a mug. 00:17:54.600 --> 00:17:56.640 But we so often do the same thing, don't we? 00:17:57.800 --> 00:18:01.480 Again, I've found this a real challenge in preparing for this evening. 00:18:01.560 --> 00:18:08.259 Because the extent to which I can take the gift of the kingdom for granted can be staggering. 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:13.000 The ease with which my mind is distracted when I pray. 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:16.619 Or my eyes are distracted as I read God's word. 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:18.259 Or my ears as I listen to it. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:26.900 The ease with which I disregard Christ's death on the cross and live as though the unshakable kingdom were not a reality. 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:32.900 When I rely on my own efforts to bring the kingdom and to make sure that I'm there. 00:18:32.900 --> 00:18:41.460 And so this passage forces us to ask, are we thankful for the unshakable kingdom that we are receiving? 00:18:41.780 --> 00:18:47.420 And are we willing to relinquish our grip on the shakable things of this world? 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:56.000 And finally then, just as we finish, have a look at the ultimate response to this unshakable kingdom. 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:58.740 It's back in the second half of verse 28. 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:03.460 It says, worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:06.380 For our God is a consuming fire. 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:09.880 Our God is a consuming fire. 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:15.259 Now, you might have a footnote in your Bible telling you that that's a reference to Deuteronomy chapter 4. 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:22.900 And in that passage in Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the Israelites, that disobedient generation that we've been hearing about, 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:25.859 of the warning that God gave them at Mount Sinai. 00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:34.319 He describes God there as a consuming fire and reminds them that he alone is worthy of their praise. 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:43.299 God is a bit like the sun, really, because he's described as a consuming fire, like that great ball of fire in the sky. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:48.379 And apparently, if we were any closer to the sun, it would utterly consume us. 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:52.240 And yet, if we were any further away, we would freeze. 00:19:53.420 --> 00:20:01.840 And in a similar sort of way, God is a consuming fire, both life-giving and yet with the deadly potential to destroy. 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:06.760 We see that in our passage today, don't we, with the gift and the warning. 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:15.059 God is perfectly just and therefore has to do something about suffering and evil and sin in this world. 00:20:15.140 --> 00:20:17.400 He has to cause this great shaking. 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:20.400 But he is also perfectly loving. 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:27.319 And so he has to warn his people and provide a way for them to enter into the gift of the unshakable kingdom. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:32.660 Two things that are both taken care of perfectly on the cross. 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:35.160 That's why churches have red doors. 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:38.940 It's where God's righteous judgment is poured out on Jesus. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:44.460 And it's in this act that his love for his people is best expressed. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.880 And for the Christian, that can result in acceptable worship, as verse 28 describes it. 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:57.019 But I think we have to ask ourselves the question, what is acceptable worship? 00:20:57.019 --> 00:21:03.960 What does it mean for the Christian to relate to God with reverence and awe? 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:08.480 I think chapter 13 really answers that question. 00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:11.079 And I won't read it, but do go away and read it yourselves. 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:12.500 I think you'll find that edifying. 00:21:12.779 --> 00:21:18.579 But let me just list some of the specific examples that the writer to the Hebrews gives in the next chapter. 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:20.220 Love one another. 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:23.359 Show hospitality to strangers. 00:21:24.639 --> 00:21:26.119 Remember those in prison. 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:29.119 Remember those you have treated badly. 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:33.019 Honor God's blueprint for sex and marriage. 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:37.000 Do not love money, but be content with what you have. 00:21:38.879 --> 00:21:40.119 Remember your leaders. 00:21:40.779 --> 00:21:44.119 Have confidence in them and submit to their authority. 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:52.579 Now, these are all things that were clearly particularly timely for the original Jewish Christian readers of this letter for lots of reasons. 00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:55.979 But they also apply to us today, don't they? 00:21:56.119 --> 00:22:00.359 I think they force us to ask ourselves some questions. 00:22:01.479 --> 00:22:05.199 How well do we love one another as a church? 00:22:06.459 --> 00:22:09.879 How often do we show hospitality to strangers? 00:22:10.159 --> 00:22:12.239 To people we've never met before? 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:14.239 To people who don't look like us? 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:16.439 Who don't sound like us? 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:22.440 How welcoming are we of those who have ended up here because they have nowhere else to go? 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:28.840 How is God's blueprint for sex and marriage treated by the society around us? 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:31.519 Are we prepared to be different? 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:33.519 Are we prepared to speak up about it? 00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:36.099 How much do we love money? 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:37.980 How content are we with what we have? 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:43.000 How do we respond to our church leaders and their authority over us? 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:52.640 Notice that all of these things have everything to do with how we relate to the world around us and the people in it. 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:55.500 And there's something really profound in that, I think. 00:22:55.500 --> 00:23:02.980 Because in other words, what this forces us to ask is, are we living in reverence and awe of God? 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:09.559 Remembering what he has done for us as we relate to the world around us and the people in it. 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:12.900 I think that's Hebrews' challenge to us. 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:15.900 Hear the warning of the great shaking. 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:20.820 Receive the gift of the unshakable kingdom with thanks. 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:24.480 And respond with this acceptable worship. 00:23:25.820 --> 00:23:30.840 Just a couple of weeks ago, there was an earthquake down in Bedfordshire, down in the south of England. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.540 And the people there were utterly unprepared for it. 00:23:34.120 --> 00:23:40.080 The Bedfordshire Police Department tweeted saying that their control room was overwhelmed with a large number of calls. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:44.059 Now, let's be honest, that was a very minor earthquake. 00:23:44.500 --> 00:23:50.699 One person actually described it as like having a convoy of heavy goods vehicles driving down the street outside their house. 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:53.139 It was hardly a great shaking. 00:23:54.419 --> 00:23:58.319 But in Japan, earthquakes really can wreak havoc. 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:02.679 Cities can be torn down in a matter of minutes. 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:07.179 Particularly when the buildings aren't properly designed. 00:24:07.180 --> 00:24:13.259 It's no wonder then that the man we met at the beginning was arrested for poorly designed buildings. 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:17.920 Selling people homes that would simply crumble in an earthquake. 00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:22.440 And this is the challenge from God's word today. 00:24:23.060 --> 00:24:24.840 It's what Hebrews is asking us. 00:24:25.860 --> 00:24:31.820 Are we building our lives on created things that will crumble at a great shaking? 00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:37.960 Or are we building our lives on the great unshakable kingdom that we have received 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:42.679 as we walk through the red doors of Christ's spilt blood for us? 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:56.660 As we walk through this verse 8th to 12 h kiedy-edit is what we see on the other Earth. 00:24:58.940 --> 00:25:00.019 OPERATIONS