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[0:00] Take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. We're going to read verses 14 through 29.

[0:10] See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.

[0:45] Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

[0:55] You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire to darkness, gloom and storm to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them because they could not bear what was commanded.

[1:15] If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.

[1:27] But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You've come to thousands upon thousands of angels and joyful assembly to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven.

[1:43] You've come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

[1:59] See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

[2:14] At that time, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.

[2:25] The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is, created things, so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

[2:37] Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. And so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

[2:55] As the election results are telling us who will be ruling over us for the next four years, I think we could be well served by the biblical history of the kings of Judah and Israel.

[3:08] They had some good kings like David and some bad kings like Ahab and Jeroboam. And sadly, whenever a good king came along, he eventually died, and too often those who replaced him were bad kings.

[3:27] And even the good kings were far from perfect with great faults of their own. So here's the thing. Whoever was ruling over the people of God, it was meant to lift their eyes with longing for their coming Messiah King.

[3:43] Everything good in their leaders was just a tiny foretaste of what it would be like to live in the coming kingdom of Messiah King. And all the blessings that abound wherever he reigns.

[3:58] And the bad stuff in their leaders would make them all yearn all the more for God's perfect king of righteousness, who would reign not only for a few years and then be replaced, but whose kingdom would last forever and ever.

[4:13] So regardless of who was on the throne, this was the job of the prophets, to continually point the people to the promised king and his coming kingdom.

[4:26] For instance, Isaiah, you're familiar with it. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders.

[4:36] And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

[4:48] He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

[4:59] And so such promises gave to God's people this glorious prospect to live in hope of their coming king and the eternal blessings of his kingdom with God's people in God's place, living under his rule and blessing in a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

[5:24] The New Testament is ever doing the same thing with us. Because wherever God's people may be on the globe, and whoever is ruling over them, this is our blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[5:43] And I believe this is the other kingdom perspective that we need, especially at this time. And so I bring it to you as my post-election sermon for your post-election blues.

[5:58] It's a perspective that is to dominate every citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice. The Lord is king.

[6:11] And our king is coming back in power and glory to welcome us into his perfect and eternal kingdom. Would you open your Bibles to Hebrews 12 if you're not there already?

[6:26] Verses 28 and 29 are our text. It's the conclusion of the letter to God's persecuted people. And notice the other kingdom perspective in our text for today.

[6:40] Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

[6:56] Brothers and sisters, we are receiving a kingdom, an unshakable kingdom, and that alone should be enough to cause us to ever be joyfully thankful.

[7:10] Now there's an already and a not yet to God's kingdom. Our king has already come the first time, announcing his gospel of the kingdom and opening the way into it.

[7:23] Some have already entered that kingdom by the new birth, by repentance and faith, and are already true citizens of his heavenly kingdom.

[7:34] Jesus says that the kingdom of God is within us. That is, he rules and reigns in our hearts as he now rules in the midst of his enemies.

[7:48] But there's more to come, much more to come. At his second coming, when his kingdom will come in consummation and final perfection.

[7:58] This is the not yet of the kingdom. And that's why Jesus tells us to pray, your kingdom come. We are in the process of receiving a kingdom.

[8:15] We have received it. And we are receiving this kingdom of God. Now, two main points this morning. The first, it's a kingdom where all the citizens trust and obey King Jesus.

[8:29] It's a kingdom where all the citizens trust and obey King Jesus. As I said, the Old Testament prophets pointed God's people to the coming of this Messiah King.

[8:42] And then, 2,000 years ago, in the desert, a voice of one crying, prepare the way for the Lord. It was the voice of John the Baptist.

[8:52] And the gospel writers summarize his preaching. It was this. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[9:04] It's here. And you must repent of your sins in order to enter it. Then the Lord Jesus, soon after, began his public ministry, preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

[9:19] And Mark 1, 15 gives us the summary of his ministry. The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand.

[9:32] Repent and believe the good news. It's here, and you must repent and believe in order to enter the kingdom. When Jesus then sent out his 12 apostles to preach the first time, he sent them only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

[9:53] And he said, as you go, preach this message. The kingdom of heaven is near. You see, it had come near in the coming of its king, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

[10:06] Now, the kingdom theme so permeates Jesus' sermon on the mount that some have called it the kingdom manifesto or the manifesto of the kingdom.

[10:20] Because in it, he gives us those eight beatitudes that describe the citizens of the kingdom. And then he commands his citizens, or he explains the righteousness of his kingdom by pointing them to the laws of God, his moral laws, and the right interpretation of them.

[10:39] This is the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven. And then he commands his citizens to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

[10:51] Above everything else, he commands them to pray for his kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. He urges all men to enter the kingdom through the narrow gate that leads to life.

[11:06] And then he warns them, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

[11:20] You see, the kingdom we are receiving, brethren, is a kingdom in which the citizens repent and trust and obey King Jesus. You remember the rich young ruler that came running up to Jesus and fell at his feet wanting to know what he must do for eternal life.

[11:39] Jesus says, Well, you know the commandments. He says, All those I've kept since I was a youth. And Jesus looked to the heart of the man and he saw the idol in his heart was his wealth. That's got to go.

[11:51] And then come and follow me. And he went away sad because he had great wealth. He was not willing to part with his idol to follow Jesus.

[12:03] Now, what follows is critical to our study. Because as he's walking away, Jesus looked at him and said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

[12:17] Indeed, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. What he had just done was rejected the kingdom of God, refused to enter it.

[12:29] And Jesus is saying, It's hard for rich men. In fact, it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

[12:41] And then the disciples asked this. They were flabbergasted and said, Who then can be? And they didn't say, Enter the kingdom of God.

[12:52] They could have. They said, Who then can be saved? You see, entering the kingdom of God is the same thing as salvation. Don't miss that.

[13:03] Or you miss the whole idea of God's kingdom. To enter the kingdom is to be saved. They're not two different things. And Jesus replied to them, Well, what is impossible with men is possible with God.

[13:21] To enter the kingdom of God is impossible with men. But it is possible with God. And in the very next chapter, you find a rich man, Lazarus, entering the kingdom. God.

[13:34] The God of the impossible. You see, our own sinful nature, left to ourselves, it's impossible to enter the kingdom because our own sinful nature doesn't want the kingdom. It doesn't want the king, his law, his gospel, his truth, his ways.

[13:48] And it never would. That's why it's impossible. We don't value the king or his kingdom. We're supposed to value it above everything else and be willing to sell everything to have this kingdom.

[14:01] And it's king. But by nature, we don't. We don't want him. And that's why it's impossible for us left to ourselves to enter the kingdom of God.

[14:16] In fact, in John chapter 3, remember what Jesus told that righteous, self-righteous Pharisee, one of the most religious men on the planet in his day. John chapter 3, verses 3 and 5, Jesus just told him right up front, I tell you the truth.

[14:34] No one can see. That is, no one can even perceive the kingdom of God unless he is born again. The idea just boggles.

[14:45] It doesn't enter in your mind. You don't understand it. You don't sense its value. You will never enter it. You'll never even see it. And then he says it again. I tell you the truth.

[14:56] No one will ever enter the kingdom unless he's born, has this new birth of the Spirit of God from above. You see, our natures have to be changed.

[15:07] That old nature that has no desire for the king and his kingdom, for his gospel and his laws, that's got to be changed. The old heart's got to be torn out and a new heart put in. That's the new birth.

[15:19] And without it, no one can enter the kingdom of God. Impossible, Jesus says. Now, a person can become a citizen of our nation, the United States of America, just by being born in the nation.

[15:35] But the only way you can become a citizen of the kingdom of God is to be born again, to experience the second birth, that supernatural birth by the Spirit of God making us alive when we were dead in trespasses.

[15:51] It's impossible without the Spirit. And what a mercy then, brothers and sisters, that he chose to give us new birth, James 1, 18.

[16:05] When we didn't want the new birth, we didn't want the king and his king. He chose to give us new birth, James 1, 18. In Luke 16, 16, Jesus says, the law and the prophets, that's a name for the Old Testament, the law and the prophets were proclaimed until John the Baptist.

[16:25] But since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, being preached. And everyone is forcing his way into it.

[16:37] That's an interesting thing. Those who are entering are forcing their way into it. The violence are taking it by force, is the way Matthew puts it.

[16:48] There's a holy violence needed. You don't waltz your way into the kingdom of heaven. You don't just kind of stumble in and wonder, how did I get here?

[17:00] No. You must force your way in, Jesus says. That's the only way men are entering the kingdom. No. We must force our way into the kingdom of God, not because God is resisting us.

[17:13] No. He's welcoming us with open arms. He's commanding us, come on in, come to me, the king's saying. No, it's not God that resists you, but hell and your sins resist your course.

[17:28] And you just think about entering the kingdom of God and all hell will break loose to keep you out. Some of the hardest temptations come to sinners when they're contemplating entering the kingdom.

[17:42] because everyone who enters the kingdom of Christ is a citizen who is taken from the kingdom of darkness. And Satan hates losing his citizens to his arch enemy, Jesus.

[18:01] That's why you must force your way in. Satan resists you. Your own sins, your own love of money, the cares of life, the deceitfulness, all the things that sin promises you of pleasures and the things of this world.

[18:16] That's what you must force your way through, hack your way against all those enemies to get into the kingdom where Jesus is waiting to welcome you.

[18:30] Your worst enemy is yourself. That self that doesn't want to be told what to do. Wants to go your way, not God's way. Doesn't even like God telling you what to do.

[18:41] That's what we all brought into this world, that nature, self. And that's what must die, you see. That's what must die. It must be denied, renounced, as we take up a cross, a cross, an instrument of death and follow Jesus.

[18:56] You've got to force your way in, my sinner friend. You've got to be willing to step on your sin and say, I renounce it. I'm done with it. I want Jesus more than anything this world can offer me.

[19:12] There's your own sinful pride. There's your self-righteousness that wants to think that you can earn your way into the kingdom. That was the Pharisees' problem.

[19:24] But they had, that's everybody's problem. We think we deserve it. And so Jesus says to, says in Luke 18, 17, I tell you the truth.

[19:38] Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. You've got to come like a little child and receive the kingdom freely.

[19:51] You've got to humble yourself as a little child who's not too proud to receive a gift. Have you ever met a child, a little child, who's too proud to receive a gift? No.

[20:03] And that's what you've got to become like. You've got to become like a little child who's willing to come and take from Jesus a free gift of his kingdom. We are receiving a kingdom with the empty hands of faith, the great receiver.

[20:19] Because God is the great giver. In Luke chapter 12 and verse 32, Jesus says to his fearful disciples, as perhaps some of us have fears about the future and what life is going to be like these next four years.

[20:36] He says, do not be afraid, little flock. Why not? For your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. He's not only given you the kingdom, he's been pleased to give you the kingdom.

[20:54] Never was a father more pleased to give a good gift to his child than your father was to give you the kingdom of heaven in Jesus Christ.

[21:08] Oh, he rejoices to do us good. It's a love gift of the father. And that's why we are receiving this kingdom because he's given it to us.

[21:19] So, the application is clear for this first point. Be sure you enter the kingdom of heaven. Don't let these enemies of your never dying soul keep you out.

[21:30] Hold you back from Christ the king. Come, repent of your sin. Do an about-face. Renounce the whole past life that you've been living without Jesus and come and receive Jesus Christ and his kingdom.

[21:45] Come and let him save you. Let him rule over you and defend you. Believers, we're receiving a kingdom.

[21:56] A kingdom where all of its citizens repent and trust and obey King Jesus. I need some of this warm tea here.

[22:19] Number two, we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Amen. Cannot be shaken. Now, we're watching kingdoms and nations being shaken today.

[22:34] Shaken right down to their roots, right down to their foundation principles. What's it worth knowing that we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken? Impossible to move it a millimeter.

[22:49] better. Well, that's ours. We're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Look once again at Hebrews 12 and verse 26.

[23:01] We back up to the context where God is speaking from Mount Sinai when he gave the Ten Commandments. Verse 26 says, at that time his voice shook the earth and did it ever shake the earth?

[23:19] You remember Exodus 19, 18, the whole mountain trembled violently and even Moses' knees were knocking. And verse 26 says, at that time, that time when God's voice shook the earth, but now he has promised once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.

[23:44] Now that's a quote from Haggai 2.6. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, the third book from the end.

[23:56] Tiny little book. You miss it if you blink. Oh, but it's a precious book and it holds this promise that once more God says, I'm going to shake not only the earth but heaven as well.

[24:12] Let me go on and read what the whole verses say. Once more I'll shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations and the desired of all nations will come.

[24:24] Now this is a universal shaking of the whole created order. Everything is being shaken. The final shaking of the created order at the end of this present age when the desired King Jesus comes to set up His perfected kingdom in the world.

[24:41] What a shaking it will be. Isaiah talks about it in his second chapter of his prophecy. He tells us that the Lord has a day in store when He will rise to shake the earth.

[25:00] A day for all the proud and lofty, for all that is high and exalted. Every high thing must come down in that day of shaking. A shaking that will bring down all that man boasted in, all his many achievements and the arrogance of man.

[25:21] That too must be brought low. The pride of men must be humbled and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. This is such a shaking that everything's leveled and the Lord alone is up.

[25:35] He's exalted. Everything else is leveled. He's receiving the glory. That's quite a shaking when we see our world so full of pride. Arrogance.

[25:47] It's all coming down. All that they boast in. Peter talks about this final shaking in 2 Peter 3 that the heavens will disappear.

[25:58] Remember that Haggai says the heavens, the earth, the sea, everything in it, the nations. The heavens will disappear, Peter says, with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire. The earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

[26:09] But in keeping with his promise, we're looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. Now, notice the purpose of this universal shaking.

[26:23] Hebrews 12, 27. The purpose then. Why is God shaking the whole created order? Well, the words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken.

[26:35] That is, created things. So that, here's the purpose of the shaking, so that what cannot be shaken may remain. The shakedown must remove all that can be shaken.

[26:49] the created order under the curse of sin. And that's why what remains will be the new heavens and the new earth where we're told in Revelation 21 there will be no death.

[27:07] No more death or mourning or crying or pain. No, that's the old order of things that's passed away. Everything that can be shaken will be removed.

[27:19] Death, sorrow, grief, gone, removed. So that what cannot be shaken may remain.

[27:31] and he who is seated on the throne said, I'm making everything new. That cannot be moved. That's not some temporary thing.

[27:43] That's the perfected, permanent kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. What can and will be shaken, what can and will be removed according to Haggai 2, 6 and 7 includes all nations.

[27:58] the psalmist says, the wicked will be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.

[28:12] Just a glance at the nations and our own included shows us how the nations cannot forget God soon enough.

[28:23] They're wanting to be done with him, done with his laws, his righteousness, his truth, his gospel, his kingdom. We want our kingdom to come, our will to be done, our name to be hallowed.

[28:41] The wicked will be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. It's part of that universal conspiracy of all the rulers in Psalm 2 conspiring against the Lord and his anointed saying, let's get rid of his laws.

[28:58] They're chains, they're shackles on our feet. Let's get rid of them. They're coming down in the big shaking. You know, the book of Daniel emphasizes that point.

[29:09] Just finished it in my Bible reading. There's only one kingdom that will not be shaken. It's the kingdom of the Most High and of the Son of Man whom Jesus says in Matthew 26 to those who are trying him, that's me.

[29:29] That's Son of Man whose kingdom will last forever and ever. That's me. That's me. And you'll see the Son of Man coming in his power and glory. And oh, they put him on a cross.

[29:45] Blasphemer. No, there is a kingdom of the Most High and of the Son of Man that will last forever and ever. Other kingdoms are coming down.

[29:56] His kingdom will never end. There's a lot of dreams and visions in the book of Daniel. And as I prepared for this message, I couldn't help but see how they had to do with the kingdom.

[30:13] Jesus' kingdom. The kingdom of this Messiah King and the kingdoms of this world. Strange, isn't it, that 2,600 years ago God put a dream into a pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, so that he would know what was going to happen.

[30:31] Not only in his lifetime but in hundreds and thousands of years in the future. And it's been recorded for us so that we might know what world history is all about today, the world we're living in.

[30:44] with the kingdoms that we see come and go. So Nebuchadnezzar ruled over the empire of the Babylonian kingdom having conquered many nations.

[30:58] Israel was one of them and he took some of the best to be trained and brought into his kingdom to advise him. Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[31:09] So Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and in his dream there's this dazzling enormous statue shining before him and while he's watching the statue a rock is cut out of the mountain but not with human hands.

[31:31] strange. And it came tumbling down the mountain and smashed into this dazzling statue.

[31:45] And it smashed it crushed it to powder and the wind blew it away there was nothing left. It was gone. No more. Now that's amazing enough but what happened next was even more amazing because that rock then that smashing rock started to grow and it kept growing and growing until it was a mountain and then it didn't stop growing the mountain just kept growing until it filled the whole earth.

[32:15] There was nothing on the earth but this mountain this massive mountain that was just a little rock in the mountains that was cut and came down and smashed the statue.

[32:27] Now I was so fearful of a dream that Nebuchadnezzar did something that no king had ever done I don't think he had ever done before. He called his wise men and he said tell me what I dreamed. He said no king has ever asked that of them.

[32:40] You tell us the dream and we'll tell you what it means. No, no. I want to know for sure that the real meaning of my dream and to know that it is coming in truth you tell me my dream and the interpretation.

[32:56] Well obviously they couldn't and Nebuchadnezzar was going to kill all of his wise men. Daniel hears about it and says give me some time and he and his three friends prayed and during the night God gave him the dream and he went before Nebuchadnezzar then.

[33:15] He gave him the dream and the interpretation and he told Nebuchadnezzar this doesn't come from man it doesn't come from me. No, there's a living God who reveals himself to men.

[33:27] Hebrews 1.1 In the past God revealed himself to us in many times in many ways dreams, visions but in these last days he has spoken to us through his son. Well this was it.

[33:38] A revelation from God to man. You saw this statue Nebuchadnezzar and that head of gold was you and the Babylonian kingdom your Babylonian kingdom ruling over the ends of the earth and then following you is the chest and there will come the Medes and the Persians after your kingdom and after them the belly and the thighs will be the Greeks and then the knees and the legs the ankles and the feet the Roman kings and in the time of those kings O Nebuchadnezzar the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed nor will it be left to another people.

[34:28] It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end but it will itself endure forever. Daniel 2.44 You see just as Haggai spoke of the shaking of the nations so Daniel says the kingdoms of this world are in for a crushing by the kingdom of God.

[34:50] Not once but eight times I counted in Daniel we're told that this kingdom of the most high that will crush the kingdoms of this world will not pass will never end but will endure forever.

[35:05] You see what can be shaken will be removed so that what can't be shaken might remain God's kingdom. Now what's wrong with every form of fallen human governments?

[35:29] Whether socialism communism monarchy a democracy what's wrong with human governments? Well it's sin isn't it? It's the sinners who sit in those places of leadership.

[35:42] And yes we can argue that our form of government takes with checks and balances but no even our constitution cannot rein in sin. It can't keep men in track.

[35:58] It can't control sin or sinners. It can't deliver from sin which is the undoing of the nations. That's why all human governments are destined to shaking and removing.

[36:11] The anti-God hostility within them corrupts not only politics but every segment of the world system its business its economy its judicial systems its court its morality its religion its churches its education its schools.

[36:28] Sin and sinners and all their institutions can and will be shaken and removed so that what cannot be shaken the kingdom of our God and of his Christ might remain forever.

[36:44] Daniel goes on to say in chapter 7 twice that the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever.

[36:56] Yes forever and ever. What Daniel is telling us in his prophecies is that this is God's kingdom and it's the kingdom of his son the son of man and it's the kingdom of his saints.

[37:11] You are receiving a kingdom Daniel says and now some 600 years later the writer to the Hebrews says we are receiving you and I we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

[37:30] Revelation 11 takes us to the end of this age and a loud voice in heaven says the kingdom of this world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ his Messiah and he shall reign forever and ever.

[37:54] Yes Mr. Handel that's worthy of a hallelujah chorus and that's why he wrote it because of Revelation 11 15 that the kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ hallelujah praise the Lord he shall reign forever and ever I heard it again this morning it moves you to tears will be there saints he's giving us the kingdom we're receiving it the stone cut out of the mountain not by human hands will crush the nations but it will remain forever and ever in Matthew 25 Jesus himself takes us to that last judgment when he returns the second time so what he says when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him he will sit on his throne now a throne belongs to a kingdom someone who's really a king he will sit on his throne in in heavenly glory and all the nations will be gathered before him and he'll separate them the one from the other as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he'll put the goats on the left and the sheep on the right this is the judgment from which everyone goes away either into everlasting punishments or into everlasting life this is it the king all the nations before him separating out from those nations those who are his sheep and all the others who are goats and then this is what

[39:43] Jesus says then the king will say to those on his right hand brothers and sisters you will be there you will hear Jesus saying this to you then the king will say to those on his right come come you who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the world was created did you hear what what he's going to say to us so welcome come on come in inherit the kingdom that God has prepared for you even before you were made before anything was made and we will know in that day more than we have ever ever known before in our lives that the only reason we're on his right hand and not on his left is because of him and what he's done for us that he our king took the curses that we should have heard because what are these people going to depart from me away from me you cursed calm you who are blessed the only reason I'm receiving blessing is because my king took the curses or I'd still be over here under the curses forever and ever it's grace that brings us into the kingdom it's the grace one and given to us at

[41:12] Calvary when our king took our sins upon him and said father punish me and he gave his son the curses that he might give us the blessings so how do we respond to such grace well our text tells us therefore since we are receiving a kingdom verse 28 kingdom that cannot be shaken let us be thankful let us be thankful do we even appreciate what we're receiving oh we will in that day we will in that day when the kingdoms of this world are crumbling and coming to nothing we'll be established in a kingdom that cannot ever be shaken with Christ in the new heavens and a newer the home of righteousness our place in the kingdom is all of grace pure sovereign grace he he he prepared this kingdom for us before the world was created he chose us to be in Christ that we might partake in that kingdom he chose to give us new birth so that we could perceive the kingdom and even enter it and he gave us his son who shed his blood that we might be qualified to enter the kingdom

[42:38] Paul has this theme burning in him in Colossians 1 12 let me read it for you joyfully giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light for he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and he's brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins isn't it isn't it wonderful that that when we were in the kingdom of darkness and just loving the darkness hating the light loving the darkness God the father rescued us out of that kingdom broke the bands of sin and Satan and and transplanted us into the kingdom of the son loves this is a kingdom where love and light reign and where forgiveness of sin is found joyfully giving thanks to the father who's qualified us for the kingdom gratitude you see is the the fitting response for grace received and it should be the summary of our whole lives it should mark every step of today and tomorrow and whatever you're doing you live with gratitude with thankfulness to to this God it's that living sacrifice that you make to the Lord every day as you present your body in light of all of his mercies to you and his grace you say here it is

[44:15] Lord I'm a living sacrifice for you I'm so thankful to be in your kingdom I'm so thankful to know the king Jesus that you would you would shed your blood to bring me into this kingdom and what I have to look forward to at your coming or my going to you yes let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and all now this is the heart behind all worship and service that is acceptable to God gratitude for his prior grace are you bringing this ingredient to your worship of God whether here or as you go to work and there you serve him in a different kind of worship are you bringing this ingredient that makes your worship and service acceptable to God it's the ingredient of thankfulness yes Thanksgiving's coming what Hebrews is telling us is that we ought to be thankful every day because we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken but acceptable worship requires not only thankfulness notice it also requires reverence and awe a most reasonable request in light of who our God is and what he's done for us and what we deserve from him he's to be held in reverence and all and not flippant familiarity as if it's no big deal to be in the kingdom we'd have been over here on his left and heard those words curse depart from me

[46:05] I never knew into everlasting punishment how can you read those words from Jesus without reverence and awe do you do you live before that Jesus for our God is a consuming fire that's New Testament now he's quoting an Old Testament passage Deuteronomy 4 24 and what it's telling us is that the God of the Old Testament is the same God as the New Testament he's holy he's just he's righteous you don't play games with him don't push his word away from you earlier in this chapter that's what that's what he tells them if if those who heard him when he warned them from the earth did not escape when they rejected his word how much less will you escape if you push his word away when he's warning you from heaven today as his gospel of the kingdom is being preached and he's being offered to you oh be sure that you don't turn away from this word you see there is something awesome about this

[47:29] God and king and the fact that we're on his right do you know Calvary shows us just what a consuming fire our God is he is such a consuming fire that he's determined to punish sin wherever he finds it even when it's found in his own son as he bears the sins of his people he doesn't spare him no he's a consuming fire he will judge sin he will judge the sinner even when it's his own son who has made sin for us oh don't treat him lightly don't treat his gospel lightly but come to him with reverence and awe live before him in reverence and awe as we worship here as you go to work there as you go home as you play as you do everything we live corum deo before the face of this God and we love Jesus who took that curse and was consumed by the fire of God for us so there's joyful thankfulness wedded to reverence and awe wonderful blend found in the believer so this is the kingdom that we're receiving a kingdom where all its citizens trust and obey

[48:51] King Jesus is that you if not he's inviting you today come come all you are weary and heavy laden I'll give you rest learn from me you'll never find a nicer King he says I am gentle and humble and hard you'll find rest for your soul your soul's troubled it's gotta be troubled you don't have Christ but you come to me and you'll find rest rest in that spot you can't touch you may not even know what's wrong but Jesus does it's his spot and when he comes you'll know rest the kingdom and all of its citizens trust and obey King Jesus secondly it's a kingdom that cannot be shaken and if you are in this kingdom by grace then let your life and worship be marked by glad thankfulness and reverence remember after all what you're receiving if this is you then pray for the kingdom of

[49:54] God to come we gather each week on Wednesday to pray for the kingdom of God you know it has its outposts all over the world more and more are being gathered in and we're praying for the kingdom of God to come in power his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven that's not a pipe dream that's gonna happen one day when Jesus returns and his kingdom comes in consummate power his will will be done on earth even as it is in heaven and if you are in this kingdom then seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness are you giving it priority stature in your life the kingdom this kingdom we've heard about is it first place far and away this king and his kingdom no rivals at all anywhere near to be found seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness is the kingdom first in your finances are you investing in something more than these kingdoms that are going to be shaken and removed are you investing in that kingdom that will be forever are you laying up treasures there in that kingdom that will never ever die is the kingdom first in your time your time in his word you know this is the book where the righteousness the righteous laws of our king are found it's where we meet him our king and so in a very real sense this is our king's authoritative word and when we come to this book we're bowing before it we're acknowledging him as our king what would you have me to do you see that's the posture when we come to god's word we need that every day we've still got something of rebellion in us that wants our way so every day we've got to get before a king and bow low king jesus what do you want me to know to do to believe seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness choose the the necessary thing is his kingdom first in your allegiance your allegiance oh yes we are very thankful that we live in the united states of america how many mercies have come to us how many blessings for that which we never chose most of us ourselves but our allegiance does not come and go with leaders of this nation or with any nation or kingdom our allegiance goes to king jesus give to caesar what is caesar's go ahead pay him taxes give him honor give him respect but give to god what is god's your heart your soul your all i think it's a corrective we need we're going to see it as we continue our study on hope that the biblical orientation of the christian is far more future than i think we christians in the west have been as we've had it so good we've just kind of settled into this world when the orientation of the bible is other kingdom the coming kingdom oriented while we wait for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ let's pray lord this is an awesome thing that you have a kingdom you've from eternity you plan this kingdom you prepared it for a people that you would

[53:54]  choose and give new life to and give your son to die for and give your spirit to quicken to new birth and to keep us in the way give us your word your gospel your laws your commandments oh and and give us that that that hope that keeps us going to know what's coming that we are in that kingdom is all of grace so make us joyfully thankful make us reverent in awe in awe of you and for those who are outside of the kingdom draw them today don't let the enemy of their never dying soul keep them from Jesus we ask it in his name for his glory and for our good amen