Transcript

Good morning, church. It's great seeing all of you here this morning. I hope you enjoyed the extra hour of sleep this morning. Everybody should be wide awake and ready to go. Right?

Unless you decided it was an hour, you could stay up later. I don't know, some of you might have done that. We're continuing our series through the Book of Hebrews. We've entitled this series Jesus is Greater. And that's based on verse four of the first chapter.

This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. That's what the Book of Hebrews is about. It's about Jesus and about how he is greater. His covenant is greater, his kingdom is greater. Everything about Jesus is greater.

And that's why we've entitled this message today about God's kingdom, about the kingdom of Christ as a greater kingdom. And we're continuing in Chapter 12. We'll finish up Chapter 12 today. If you'll recall, last week we began Chapter 12, and it began with a. With imagery of a race, not a sprint, but a marathon, that the life of faith is like running a marathon.

And so he gave us a lot of instruction earlier, first 13 verses, and now we'll pick up at verse 14. And we'll see. We have some urgent warnings, some instructions about what path to take and what path to avoid, and then ultimately, the goal that we're aimed at, which is the goal of the greatest kingdom, that unshakable kingdom, which is the Kingdom of Christ. And yet, as we think about life's race today, some of you might be thinking, well, that's great. I'm glad it's a race, but I'm exhausted or I'm distracted.

I feel like the world is always calling me to settle for less. And the truth is, when we invest our lives in temporary things, worldly things, they just never fully satisfy. They might satisfy for a season, but they always end up wearing out, rusting, breaking down, running down. You dream of having a house of your own. You're newlyweds.

You want to get a house of your own, you get a house of your own. And then immediately, all you do is work on the house that you now own, repairing things, constant. You finally buy a new car, and then it loses that new car smell, right? It starts breaking down, you got to fix it. These kind of things, just everything you have, including these bodies that we have, they start breaking down.

Everything runs down. Everything is shakable. It's easily shaken. It's less than permanent. And as we look at the world around us, maybe you're feeling that shaking in your life, shaking politically, so much disagreement in our world today, shaking morally, shaking as we consider things economically.

There's a lot of concern right now about that. And maybe you're feeling shaken up today. Well, that's why it's important for us to consider the kingdom of. Of Christ, which the Bible describes as an unshakable kingdom. It's a greater kingdom.

It's greater than the world's kingdom. And as we look at Hebrews chapter 12, as we conclude this journey called a marathon of faith, if you will, we'll see. The purpose of these instructions is to help us to run the race towards the great kingdom. The author challenged believers to stay faithful as citizens of Christ's kingdom. And I believe as we look at the text today, we'll see three reasons why the kingdom of Christ is a greater, unshakable kingdom.

So let's dig in. Get your seat belts on. We've got a lot to cover today. Okay. Verse 14 of chapter 12.

Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble. And by it many become defiled. That no one is sexually immoral or unholy, like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

For you've not come to what may be touched. 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. For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.

Fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. And to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel, see that you do not refuse him who is speaking. 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.

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. 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. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.

This is God's word. Amen. We're looking for three reasons why the kingdom of Christ is greater. That's our consideration. Today we'll be looking to answer this question.

Why is it greater? Well, here's the first reason. It's because Christ's kingdom calls us to a better pursuit. Because it calls us to a better pursuit. Notice the very first word of verse 14.

The very first word we read, strive. Strive. For it could have been translated to pursue. To seek after eagerly. To make it your life's pursuit to chase after.

This in the Greek is a Greek imperative verb, which means it's a command. We're continuing this theme, as I said before, of running a marathon. What are you chasing after? What are you running after? What are you pursuing?

And he gives us what we should pursue. And then he also gives us what we should not pursue. Notice this carefully. He gives us a two part instruction on how we should pursue what we should pursue. He says that we are to strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

He says, here's what you should be chasing after. Spiritual things. And then he warns, don't be chasing after worldly things. That's verse 15. See to it that no one fails.

And he gives three that's. We'll get those in a second. Let's back up to verse 14 so we understand. Here's what he's saying. When you're running life's race, there's something to chase after and there's something to avoid.

Okay, what do we chase after? Peace with everyone. The Greek word is of interest, Aryne, if your name is Irene. That's the Greek word. Peace.

Chase after peace with everyone. Shalom with everyone. To be right with God and right with one another. This is the pursuit of your life. To be a peacemaker, as Jesus taught in the Beatitudes.

The that we are blessed. If we are peacemakers. Are you a peacemaker or a troublemaker? He says, I want you to pursue spiritual things, to be right with one another. This is why in Ephesians, chapter 4.

The apostle Paul says that we're not to let the sun go down on our anger. And in our anger not to sin. We should be quick to forgive, quick to be made right with one another. One of the things that will really slow you down in the faith, the life of running, life's race of faith, is to be sidetracked by lack of forgiveness but not being at peace. Here's the thing I've noticed as a believer.

If you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you and you're not right with someone, you're not right with someone in your family, someone in your church, someone in your neighborhood, it grieves the Holy Spirit. That's Ephesians chapter four. Again, it grieves him. You'll feel like inside someone died. And that's the Spirit of God living in you.

He wants you to be right with one another and right with Him. And so pursue peace with everyone. Chase after that and chase after holiness without which no one will see the Lord. You want to see the Lord Jesus. We just sang about Jesus.

Come. I want to see him. I want to see him so that I know him and know him fully as I see him face to face. There's a day coming. I believe that that's going to happen.

But we are to pursue that, Pursue him, pursue peace with everyone, Pursue holiness. We could say pursue sanctification. Sanctification, what is that? It means you are being made into a saint. Literally, you are being made holy.

But let's really. Let's unpack it further. It means that you're being made into the image of Jesus. You're becoming like Jesus. To be sanctified means to become like Jesus because he's your access to the Father.

And so we're to pursue Jesus. Let's just simplify it like that. Because he is the One who makes us right with God and right with one another gives us the ministry of reconciliation. And we pursue him, desiring to become more like Him. Well, that's our pursuit.

Are you pursuing as you run life's race? Are you pursuing knowing Jesus better and better? Well, now, verse 15, it says, see to it that. And there are three thats. That no one fails to obtain the grace.

Then it goes on. It says that no one is. Let's see, I skipped over one. That no one fails to obtain the grace. That no root of bitterness springs up.

That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau. So there's three things to avoid. Three, that's to avoid, see to it that. Now, the word see to it in the Greek is actually a Greek participle which might better be explained like this, or translated like this. That.

Strive is the verb that powers the participle. Okay, if you remember your 8th grade English, it's an ing word really rightly translated. So seeing that. Seeing that. So pursue after peace and holiness.

Seeing that you don't do these three things. Okay, so what are these three things to avoid? That you fail to obtain the grace of God. You fail to obtain the unmerited favor of God to live a life of grace. See to it that you live according to grace, not according to regulations, not according to legalism, but according to the free gift of Christ that is offered to you freely that you can't earn.

That's our default. Humans always want to earn, but we can't earn this. It must be freely received and freely believed. See to it that you pursue God's grace. And then it says, see to it that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble.

And by it, many become defiled. Now, this root of bitterness seems to be a reference to Deuteronomy 29:18, where the people of God, as they're in the wilderness, some of them were leaning towards pursuing idolatry. And God warned that a root of bitterness was in the community that was going to infect the entire community. And so the root of bitterness might be a person in our midst, in our. In our family, in our workplace, in our church.

And they're like poison because they have a bitterness in them. And they become a root of bitterness that just injects it into the rest of the community. This person is probably a gossip. This person says good things about you to your face, but whispers behind your back, and they're the opposite of a peacemaker. They're a troublemaker.

And what happens if this person continues to sow bitterness in the church or in your family? It says it causes trouble. And by it, many become defiled. Have you ever heard some juicy gossip and then regret that you ever heard it makes you feel dirty that you even heard it? I wish I didn't know that.

I wish you hadn't told me that. But yet there's something about the flesh, about human nature. Hey, can I tell you something? You're just like, please, you know, I want to hear it. And then you hear it, you go, oh, I wish I hadn't heard that.

So, like, there's something about bitterness that's catching. It's like poison that poisons and it doesn't have to be a person in the community. It might be something inside of you. There might be something inside of you that's pumping bitterness. And the evil one agrees with it and says, you deserve to feel like this.

He says, don't pursue bitterness. Pursue peace and holiness. Don't pursue bitterness. If you have bitterness, unforgiveness in you, it'll eat you alive. It'll hurt you worse than the person that offended you.

And so don't chase after that. Don't pursue that. And then the third one is. The third one that you don't pursue, that you avoid, is that verse 16. No one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau.

As we've said before, the Book of Hebrews is kind of like the Reader's Digest version of the Old Testament. He's just constantly quoting the Old Testament. And here he throws Esau under the bus, and he says, don't be like Esau, because Esau was a worldly man. And here's what Esau did. He decided to choose a bowl of porridge over his birthright.

Now, Esau, if you'll recall, was the twin brother of Jacob. They were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah. And Esau got out of the womb just a little ahead. Jacob. Jacob's name means grasping the hill because he came out trying to pull his way back by his older brother by seconds.

Esau came out, said they nicknamed him Edom, which means red, hairy one. But Jacob came out, and he was more fair and less hairy. His name literally means grasping the heel. And he was kind of a trickster. He pulled a lot of tricks on his brother and other people, which might be where we get the phrase, you're pulling my leg.

Here's Jacob, and we have this story that Esau, he's a daddy's boy. He loves to go hunting and fishing. And he's out hunting and he doesn't get anything one day, and he comes home, he's famished, and he sees his brother, who's a shepherd, and he liked to live near the tents, and he stayed home a lot. He's more of a mama's boy, okay? And he's.

He's cooking some porridge, some lentil soup, and he's got freshly cooked bread. You can smell the aroma. Here comes Esau, and he's like, I'm about to die. I'm so hungry. And Jacob says, give me your birthright, and I'll give you some porridge.

He goes, what use is my birthright if I die, I'll never inherit it. And he goes, swear to me. And he goes, I swear. And he feeds him and Esau eats up and leaves. And so he sold his birthright for one meal.

That's the reference here. He stole his birthright for that which would have been an eternal blessing. Because by the way, Jacob's name was later changed. God redeemed the trickster, gave him the name Israel, which means one who wrestles with God. That's his new name.

He was still struggling at this time as a messed up family because he not only lost his birthright, but it goes on to say, for you know, that afterward, after he sold his birthright, verse 17, when he desired to inherit the blessing. So it's time for Isaac to pass away and he's supposed to lay his hands on his two sons and give them their blessings. And Esau's the firstborn, so he's going to get the bigger blessings blessing when that was time he desired, but he was rejected. It says, well, what happened there? Well, here comes Rebecca on the scene.

I told you it's a messed up family. Don't worry about it though, because your family's messed up too. We all messed up. But Rebekah says, I got a plan for you, Jacob. I'm going to help you out with this.

Because Isaac said to his son Esau, go and hunt some game and cook some venison, because I love the way I love wild game. Go cook it up for me. And when you come back and bring it into my tent, I'll give you my blessing. And Esau took off and he goes out hunting like a father's boy should do. And meanwhile, back at the camp, Rebecca goes, hey, let's take some fur from sheep.

Fur, and put it on your hands and your arms and some on your shoulder because, you know, know Esau's a hairy dude. And so gets him all ready. And then I'll cook up something just the way I know Isaac likes it. Some, some venison she cooks. And he goes in and he tricks his father out of the blessing.

So he not only got the birthright, he got the blessing. And then when poor old Esau shows up, he's cooked his venison. He, he got a good kill that day. He's coming in and, and, and, and now we're. The earlier story of the Birthright was Genesis 25.

Now we're in Genesis 27. It says this as soon as Esau came to his father and found that he had given his birth his blessing to Jacob. It says, he cried out, this is Genesis 27:34, with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said to his father, bless me, even me, also my father. But he said, your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing. So he lost his blessing and his birthright, all because he was a worldly man.

He was a worldly man. Well, Jacob wasn't much better. But God saw something in him that he could use. And so what we see here, verse 17. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he came late.

His father had already given it away. He was rejected because the blessing was already given to Jacob. For he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Now, this is not repentance unto salvation. He's not talking about salvation here.

Don't get confused. He's talking about he couldn't get that blessing from his father, which was the blessing of Abraham, that he would be the father of nations, that would bless the world. He did not get that blessing. And so no matter what, of no amount of repentance would allow him to go back and get that which had already been given to Jacob. Does it make sense?

So that's where we are. That's where we are as we consider these two paths, verses 14 through 17, as we consider these two pursuits. One is a spiritual pursuit, one is a worldly pursuit. One lasts forever and results in great blessing, and one gives temporary fulfillment that lasts only for a moment, and then it's gone. This is what he's warning us as we run life's race against it, says in the Book of Philippians.

Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is head, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. We're to run life's race, aiming at Jesus, running towards Jesus. I want to take hold of that for which he took hold of me.

I want that purpose in my life. If we're running life's marathon. If you consider someone running like the Boston Marathon or the New York Marathon, whatever, and you see this guy's out front and he's doing great. He's out front, he's running hard, he's doing. And then he sees the golden arches over on the side of the road and he goes, I'll just pull in here for a minute.

I'm just going to pull in here and go through the drive through. And he goes through and he, and he. And he gets a Big Mac and some fries. Okay. He goes through and he gets himself a meal.

And then he loses the race for a Big Mac and fries and a vanilla milkshake.

That's a silly story. Who would ever do that? You're a top runner. You're winning the marathon. Why would you do a silly thing like that?

Well, we do it all the time. We often settle for Big Mac and fries. Instead of aiming at the kingdom of heaven, we aim at temporary things and we make the same mistake. I wonder today, would you consider this? What is the temporary material or emotional thing that you've got your heart set on right now that's actually a distraction from pursuing Jesus in your life?

What's the thing you think is going to make you so happy? If you only had this. That's actually a distraction that's keeping you from living for Jesus with all your heart? Well, this is the first reason that it's a greater kingdom. It's because it gives you a better life pursuit.

Here's the second reason. It's because it speaks to us a better word. The kingdom of heaven speaks to us a better word. Let's go down to verse 24 to pick up where we get this point, this reason, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks out a better word than the blood of Abel. You see that word, that phrase, better word, better covenant, better word.

Remember back in chapter 11 when we were just starting chapter 11 and it's talking this, the faith hall of fame. And the first person it names is Abel, which was the second son of Adam and Eve. He was killed. He was murdered by his older brother Kennedy. It says this by faith.

Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous. God commended him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. So his example still speaks. But he's a representative of the old covenant.

It was a foreshadowing of the blood of Jesus that would be shed. That would be a permanent sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice that would take care of all. Abel's is a foreshadowing. His blood of the. Of his offering spoke a word of faith.

And even after Cain killed him, God said to Cain that his blood cries forth from the earth. And so we see that in the Old Testament there's this imagery of the blood speaking. But now there's a better word. Verse 24 is describing a better word because it comes from a better covenant. Because it comes from a better, greater sacrifice.

The Lord Jesus, you with me. So it's a greater kingdom because it comes from a greater covenant, a new covenant, a new word. Well, let's back up because we skipped all the way down to verse 24. We need to up, back, back up to verse 18 and unpack some of this. Because what we had before was there's two pursuits.

There's the spiritual pursuit of the worldly pursuit, avoid worldly chase after spiritual. Now there's two mountains. Okay, there's two mountains. We got verse 18 through 21 is Mount Sinai, the Old Covenant. And then 22 through 25, 26 is Mount Zion, and that's the New Covenant.

Okay, so there's two mountains. Man, I love the mountains. You love go visit the mountains. But if you're running a marathon, I was talking to someone about this this weekend. I used to run cross country and my grandson Nate runs cross country.

And I was like, man, I wish I could have run cross country in the flatlands. Like that would have been nice. Because those mountains up up in the Appalachians of Virginia, man, that was murder running those cross country races in the mountains. But there's two mountains. There's two mountains.

There's Mount Sinai, which represents the Old Testament, old covenant of the law. And there's a new covenant represented by Mount Zion. A spiritual covenant, a new covenant in Christ Jesus. Well, let's look at what it says, verse 18. For you have not come to believers, especially if you're a Hebrew, book of Hebrews, Jewish background, believers in Jesus, they had to be tempted to go back to Mount Sinai.

That's how they grew up. That would just be like a default to go back to the law, basically. Hey, that's not what you've come to now. You haven't come to that which you could touch, which was on earth. There was a tabernacle, there's an altar.

You could touch it. No, that's not where you've come. And he reminds him, he goes, you have not come to verse 18. What may be touched. A blazing fire and darkness and gloom, and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice with words made which made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

What's that about? Well, that's Exodus chapter 20. Did you remember this? That in Exodus chapter 20, that's where we see the Ten Commandments but did you remember that God spoke the Ten Commandments? He spoke the commands out loud to the people of God before Moses went up.

Go back and read that. He starts speaking it aloud. And so they're looking up at this mountain, and this is Mount Sinai, where God told Moses at the burning bush that was burning but was not consumed. Here's a sign to you that you'll come back and worship here. And there was the mountain.

That's where the burning bush was. Same place, except it instead of it being a burning bush, now it's a burning mountain. And it's got lightning and smoke and fire. And now there's a trumpet sounding, and a voice starts speaking, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not steal. And the people are like. Like that. And they actually beg Moses, you go talk to him. We don't want to hear from him anymore.

We're afraid of him. You think I'm kidding? This is. This is. This is what it says.

See what it says? And. And the sound of a trumpet and. And voice. Who's.

And it says, and they begged. They begged that. That no further messages be spoken to them.

You can. You can look this up as. As we read about it. Let's see if I can find. I had it.

I had it posted up for me to find. Yeah. Exodus 20, verses 18 and 19. Now, when all the people saw the. The thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembles, and they.

And they stood far off, and they said to Moses, you speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, lest we die. They're like, we're okay with you, Moses. God upon the mountain. We don't need to hear from him anymore. We're afraid.

Can you imagine that?

They had the old covenant, but it was a fearful thing. It was a distant thing. It was a transcendent thing. And he's reminding them here, that's not what you've come to anymore. That's not the Christian faith.

That was the foundation. That's the old covenant. But that's not. Don't go back to that.

For they could not endure the order that was given. Even if a beast touches the mountain, it has to be stoned. Even Moses was afraid. Now we're at verse 22. Now we're coming to Mount Zion.

The spiritual, not the worldly, not the former, but you have come. Hey, believer, this is the mountain. You've actually come to you have come to Mount Zion. Now, Gary, how do you know it's a spiritual location? Well, keep reading with me.

And to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. So this is not just Mount Zion in Israel, which is where the Temple Mount is. This is Mount Zion in heaven, where God is. That's what you've actually come to. Hey, did you know that, believer?

That's where you're headed. Did you know? You want to catch a glimpse? Let's pull back the veil for a minute so you can see where you're headed. You want to know where you're headed?

Here's where you're headed. You've come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and innumerable angels and festal gathering. In other words, they're festive. They're celebrating. Contrast this with the fire and the smoke and the trumpet thundering and all this fearful.

Don't touch the mountain. No come running. Run all the way to the mountain. Run all the way to the top. Run all the way to the throne, because Jesus has paved the way.

This is the mount that you're invited to. This is the one you can come to. You can come to Mount Zion. Picture all the angels and in verse 23, and picture the ascendant assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. The assembly, the Greek word for assembly there.

Ekklesia, which is usually translated church. The church of the firstborn. Who's the firstborn? That's Jesus. And who are we?

We are the church of the firstborn who are enrolled. Man. Enrolled in heaven. Now, who is this? I believe this is every saint who believed in the Old Testament, looking forward to the Messiah.

And every saint today that looks back to the Messiah and believes in the Messiah, even the ones that are in the crib today that will believe. Maybe the ones who haven't been born yet. It's the whole enrollment. They'll all be there at this spiritual place, Mount Zion. Is your name on that roll?

The enrollment. One day the roll will be called the enrollment. Do you remember being in elementary school or some of the classes growing up? Maybe homeroom in high school, maybe a sports team. Maybe you were in the military and they had roll call.

Do you remember when they were going alphabetical? And the teacher? I remember some of my elementary school teachers wouldn't let you just say, huh? Like. Like a lot of young people like to do today.

They wouldn't just let you say here, you had to say present.

Gary Combs, present. I mean, all year long you know, I'm like, you know me now, don't you? I mean, just look at your little attendance book. Can't you just look out there? No, you had to say present.

And if you were talking. Oh, boy. Right, Roll call. So there's an enrollment that everyone has been enrolled, both past, present and future. Because God stands outside of time.

And he already knows those that will believe in His Son in advance. He has foreknowledge. He knows this and that assembly of the firstborn. And to God, he'll be there, the judge of all. And then to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.

Who's that crowd? Well, I took a deep dive right here this week, and I've come to a conclusion. I'll share it with you. You study it on your own. Maybe you'll come to a conclusion as I did.

I believe this is those saints that are in present heaven today. So they represent those who no longer live in these bodies. They have a spiritual body in present heaven. They're with the Lord now. It's not a complete group, but they're there.

But they've already been made perfect. They've already hit the completion of their race. They've already finished life's race. And they're the ones. They're waiting.

My mom is waiting for me. She graduated to heaven before me. My daddy is there. I haven't seen him since I was 8 years old. My little brother who died at age 52 and got ahead of me and preceded me to heaven, he's there.

I know this because they confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I think that's who this is. My grandparents, my uncles and aunts. I'm getting to be where I'm like the patriarch of my clan. I don't know how this happened.

I'm like one of the oldest guys in my family. The spiritual people that are already there. The spirits of the righteous made perfect. And then we come to the climax into Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. Now we're talking about this new mountain, this new covenant.

It's a better word because it's his blood that speaks a better word. The cross, the gospel, the sacrifice speaks a better word. And this is the mountain that we're called to run to. And they were warned. It says they were warned in verse 25 at Mount Sinai that if they didn't believe that they would die in the wilderness.

And many of them did not believe. Says if they didn't escape. And then he says, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His gospel is the only provision. There's not another way.

There's not an alternative way to be made right with God. There's not an alternative path to heaven. There's one way through Jesus. He's not going to offer a newer covenant. He's offering his way.

And those who reject Jesus will reject heaven. They will reject the Father. They will reject Mount Zion. It's very clear. See to it verse 25, that you do not refuse him.

This is the fifth big warning in the book of Hebrews. The first one was in chapter two, and there are four others. But here's the fifth and final one. See to it that you do not refuse him. Who is speaking.

Don't refuse the blood of Jesus which was given for you. Don't say no to the blood of Jesus. There's no better word. There's no better, no greater covenant than the blood of Jesus. Don't refuse it.

Because by faith, if you reject it, you'll have chosen hell over heaven. You'll have chosen an eternity apart from God at that time. Verse 26 says, his voice shook the earth. But now he's leading us to a future time when he'll shake the earth again. Here's what it says in Hebrews, chapter 10.

Just looking back for a minute. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way open for us through the curtain that is his body. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings. You don't have to stand at the foot of Mount Sinai trembling with fear and guilt, knowing that you'll never be good enough to approach God's holy mountain. No, you can come to Mount Zion and receive the grace.

Because the blood of Jesus speaks a better word and a better covenant. And you can run all the way to the top of the mountain and into the Father's presence, because Jesus has paved the way for us. Here's the third reason. The first reason was it's a better pursuit. The second, his blood is a better word.

Well, here's the third, because it offers a better future. We're in the final verses now. It offers a better future. You'll see the word shake, shook, shaken, like five times here. And there's a world that will shake.

And then there's a kingdom that won't shake. And this word shake has the idea of an earthquake or that which utterly destroys. And so he talks about it. Here he goes. At that time, his voice shook the earth.

Mount Sinai. He shook Mount Sinai. But there's a time coming that he promised yet once more you'll see that in quotations I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. He's quoting Haggai 2. 6.

Remember how I told you it's like the Reader's Digest version of the Old Testament. He's. He's preaching from Haggai now, and he's telling us what yet once more. What do you mean, once more? Well, there was an earlier time when he shook the earth and flooded it and destroyed the earth by flood.

But he put a rainbow in the sky as a covenant, saying, I'm not going to do that anymore. The next time I destroy it, it'll be by fire, not flood, and I'll destroy it utterly and replace it with a new heavens and a new earth. Well, he's quoting from Haggai 2. 6. Here in verse 26.

This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, things that have been made. What we know today, what we celebrate, maybe it's the stuff we care about we've invested the most in. It'll all be shaken and replaced. It'll all be gone. How much have we invested in things that will be shaken?

He warns us against that future. But then he says, in order that the things that. This is the latter part of verse 27. In order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. There's something that can't be shaken.

What is that? I want some of that. I want to be part of that which, when everything is shaken, this remains. Well, he tells us he doesn't leave us hanging. Verse 28.

Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom. There's we got the title for this message that cannot be shaken. Oh, it's a greater kingdom. The world's kingdom will be shaken and destroyed. But there's a kingdom coming, and it's already here and it's already working.

And if you're a part of this kingdom, you've called Jesus king, and now you're part of this kingdom of heaven that is coming and it will never be shaken. That's what he's talking about. Have you chosen this kind of future? This kind of future is the goal that we're running towards. And then he says the right response to this, if you're running life's race, the right response, knowing that you're receiving this unshakable great kingdom, we should respond like this respond first of all by being grateful.

Therefore, let us be grateful. Be thankful. Be full of grace. Be thankful. That's the only way to be in response.

You don't have to earn this. Just be thankful. Thank you, King Jesus, that you've given us this. By a better word, through your blood you've made us part of your kingdom. All we can really do, we can't earn it, but we can be thankful.

We can be grateful in worship. And he says, be thankful. Be grateful. And thus let us offer to God acceptable worship. Well, what would be acceptable worship?

What could you give the one who owns everything? Maybe your heart, maybe you. Maybe you're the thing that he wants to purchase through the blood of Jesus, that you have excluded yourself from Him. But he would buy you back. He would buy you out of sin and death and distance to himself.

This is why Paul says in Romans, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as. 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 and acceptable and perfect. What is your acceptable worship? You offer yourself as a living sacrifice.

He gave himself as an actual sacrifice so that you could offer yourself as a living sacrifice and do it with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire. He concludes here by quoting from Deuteronomy 4. 24. For the Lord, your God is a consuming fire.

A jealous God. He's jealous for you. He wants you. He wants to be your Lord. Since we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, where are you investing your time, your talent, your treasure?

What are you pursuing in your life today? Who are you putting first, I wonder today as we close, when God calls the role, I couldn't help but think about this. And I know some of you have been like, man, you're like the singing preacher lately. I'm okay with that. I was thinking of a song.

I looked it up. It was written by James Black, 1893. This was the song that came to me when I was reading the section about us being the assembly of those that are enrolled, the assembly of the firstborn, the church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven. And I was thinking, when they start calling names up there someday, I don't know if they'll do it in alphabetical order or not. I don't know how they'll do it, but I want to be present don't you?

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more and the morning breaks eternal, bright and fair when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore and the roll is called up yonder I'll be there. You know this song? When the roll is called up yonder when the roll is called up yonder when the roll is called up yonder when the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, you speak a better word. By your blood, you've purchased us out of sin and slavery. And you set us free to worship you and to be called to Mount Zion, that heavenly kingdom that is unshakable. Oh, we're thankful. We're in awe.

But I pray for that one that you're knocking on their heart's door right now. You've never said yes to Jesus. You've never said, I believe and I receive. What are you waiting for? Right now in my hearing, the spirit's moving.

Would you say yes to Jesus? Pray like this. Dear Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner, but I want to give my life to you. I believe you died on the cross for me. That you shed your blood for me.

That you were raised from the grave. That you live today. I believe that. Come and live in me. Forgive me of my sin.

Make me a child of God. I want to follow you as my Lord, as my king, as my Savior. I give you my life. I surrender.

Thank you for saving me. You can do that. You can say thank you. That's why I came. If you're a believer today, you've received Jesus as Lord.

Give him thanks right now, Lord. Thank you. Thank you for this better, greater, unshakable kingdom that you've called us to in Jesus name. Amen.