Holiness of God (part 4)

Joel Hayworth

Holiness of God • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Notes

Transcript

Introduction

Arnab Mallick had this to say regarding a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Chile in 2010, “The whole building began swaying, the furniture was shaking violently and things were thrown off the shelves. I had never experienced an earthquake before so I panicked. I ran out of the room as fast as I could and left everything behind. All I could do before running out was to shut my laptop and put on my slippers… The quake was at its peak and taxis on the street were rocking and alarms were making loud noises. I reached a safe place away from possible hazards such as other buildings, electric poles and collapsing trees. I was scared and friends from the building held each other's hands. I think the quake lasted over two minutes but it seemed like the longest two minutes of my life. I was in a state of shock and felt disoriented.”

Living in the Midwest, we might not face hurricane threat that our Southeastern counterparts do on a regular basis, but we do face other natural disasters like floods, tornados and even earthquakes. We might not realize it because it has been years and years, but we live relatively close to one of the largest fault lines in the entire United States, the New Madrid fault. Scientists estimate that the fault is long overdue to bring about a powerful earthquake. In 1811 the New Madrid fault experienced an earthquake that registered between 7.2 and 8.2 on the Richter scale. This earthquake was devastating. It swallowed up towns. It was felt as far as Washington D.C., it rang church bells in Boston, it made the Mighty Mississippi flow backwards. In fact, FEMA said that there are 4 natural disasters that would truly qualify as being “catastrophic”: A powerful hurricane hitting New Orleans, a powerful hurricane hitting Miami, a major earthquake hitting Los Angeles and a major earthquake hitting the Midwest.

On reaching the passage I sensed the magnitude of what was going on outside. Lot of people was desperately running along the narrow passage and down the staircase. People were pushing and tumbling over each other to get out of the building. There was utter chaos and a lot of noise. My legs were shaky and I had trouble keeping straight while running. Then the passage lights went off – creating more panic.

Though the emergency lights were on, it was still very dim and I had to grope in the semi-dark to find my way down the rocking staircase. I knew the stairs pretty well so managed to keep going in the right direction. I had to jump over fallen bodies to reach the streets outside.

Friends, our world is one of chaos and instability. Everywhere we look it seems like things are simply getting crazier and crazier! These disasters take place in our world and they shake us to our core. If you’ve ever seen a video of an F-5 tornado or a powerful hurricane then you know how powerful the storm can be and how powerless humanity is. This shrinking feeling can be deafening and swallow us up. With that said, many people simply say that this is how it is. We are here by chance and that life in and of itself is random. Stability is impossible to achieve and this is all there is.

Scripture paints a much different picture, though. Scripture declares that there is a Creator behind the creation and that He simply spoke creation into existence. The Bible says that God is sovereign and in control. The greatest thing that the Bible says, though, is that this sovereign God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die the death that we deserve. As a result of Christ’s coming and sacrifice on the cross, we have the opportunity to be a part of the family of God.

The quake was at its peak and taxis on the street were rocking and alarms were making loud noises. I reached a safe place away from possible hazards such as other buildings, electric poles and collapsing trees. I was scared and friends from the building held each other's hands. I think the quake lasted over two minutes but it seemed like the longest two minutes of my life. I was in a state of shock and felt disoriented.”

As the preacher of Hebrews declared in , if you are a part of the family of God, you have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. While the storms of this life rage on around us and it seems as though chaos is about to win the day, we can rest confidently in the fact that our God remains the same yesterday, today and forevermore!

Let’s read this text as we look at the practical implications of God’s Holiness.

Hebrews 12:25–29 NASB95

25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

The One who Speaks (25)

The very first sermon that I ever preached here at Morgan Baptist Church, about 10 months ago, was on . If you remember from that message, we spent a good chunk of time talking about the background of this awesome book! The theme of Hebrews is the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Christ is greater. Christ is above all other things! From the very beginning of Hebrews, this anonymous preacher declares that God spoke long ago through the prophets and in a variety of ways, but now He has spoken through His Son. The Son is the Word of God, the eternal Logos as John reminds us in .

The Son of God not only came to this earth, but He came and He spoke and taught others. Our first verse reminds us that our God is a speaking God. If you look back to verse 24 of , you see that the idea of speaking was introduced regarding the blood of Jesus and the blood of Abel. We know that the blood of Abel cried out from the ground according to . We also know that the blood of Jesus Christ acts as our source of atonement. The preacher of Hebrews is illustrating how the old way of doing things is being changed by Christ and this new covenant. Instead of going to a mountain to worship God and being full of fear and trembling as show, now through the new covenant, Christ has made it possible for us to worship at Zion rather than Mt. Sinai. We have the ability to worship at the city of the living God through what the Son has done for us! Now for some of us who don’t necessarily like new things, new songs or new people this might not sit very well because I’m sure the Israelites “liked” Mt. Sinai. They were comfortable with it. They knew what to do. The new covenant with Jesus Christ was foreign territory and that is why the preacher of Hebrews is preaching this sermon primarily to Jewish Christians in order to urge them to stay true to Christ and not revert back to Judaism. He teaches throughout this book that Jesus is better. The new way of doing things is better than the old. In fact, God doesn’t even work (the blood of bulls and goats cannot cleanse sins, but the blood of Christ can!). There’s certainly a warning for us there, is there not? These Jewish worshippers were so caught up in tradition that they could not see the Son of God right before them. Sometimes we can get so caught up in our traditions that we can fail to do something that brings glory and honor to God. That can be a ministry, a song, a conversation or a mission trip.

The Son of God is the one who is speaking here in verse 25. In the Old Testament God spoke directly to Israel through the prophets (as we’ve been studying in the books of Nehemiah and Hosea lately). Israel belonged to God because He chose and spoke to them. Israel knew God because they heard His voice. While this is true, they did know God, they also rejected Him. This verb, reject, is important to look at. The presentation of the Gospel message is not simply a message to consider. It is an ultimatum that must be received or rejected. Whenever we present the Gospel, there will be a response. Many times the answer is rejection, but we must be faithful to continually share the message. Jesus Christ walked the earth and spoke to people, yet many rejected Him. There is a consequence for anyone who rejects Christ and His Holiness.

The argument employed by the preacher is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If judgment is certain on those who reject God’s message on the earth, how much more certain is judgment on those who reject God’s message from heaven? Judgment is certain and it is also inescapable. Why does the preacher use the word escape? What are people escaping? God’s wrath against those who reject His Son. God is a Holy God and if you stand before His holiness by your own power, you will be doomed because the wrath of God will be upon you. However, if you stand before the holiness of God as a child of God, Christ has already bore the wrath of God on Calvary. The Bible is straightforward, friends. Everyone will face the wrath of God. Either you face it yourself or Christ faces it for you.

God speaks and people reject His message. This has been a theme seen in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. This is a message that people still reject today. What we must remember is the fact that God’s wrath is not evil or unwarranted, our rebellion and sin deserve His wrath. We should praise God for the fact that His wrath has been poured out on His Son for all who believe. With that said, we must be faithful to tell the whole story to others: If you reject Jesus, you will not escape wrath. If you come to church, that’s great. If you go on a mission trip, that’s great. If you memorize all of Scripture and can recite the entire Baptist Faith and Message and the entire Baptist Hymnal, that’s great, but it’s not going to help you escape the coming wrath of God. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that. Listen to Him when He speaks - Listen to His Word and apply it to your life today and every day.

The Final Shaking (26-27)

One of the interesting things in Scripture is to see the physical reactions whenever God speaks. Often times Scripture says that His voice shook the ground. This is exactly what we find in . The same voice that shook the earth then will shake the earth and the heavens. In the Greek, the preacher uses the perfect tense when he says “he has promised” which indicates that this has happened in the past but carries with it present implications. The preacher quotes . If we look over to , we understand what God is promising.

Haggai 2:1–6 NASB95

1 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying, 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? 4 ‘But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.

Haggai 2:5–9 NASB95

5 ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 9 ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

Haggai 2:2–9 NASB95

2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? 4 ‘But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 9 ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

Haggai

God promises that He will shake the earth and the heavens and He will restore His temple. He affirms that He owns all things and He will judge the world! God is the ruler of all, but His Holiness demands justice against sin. Because of that, there will come a day in which sin is judged and eradicated from the world. Just as an earthquake shakes our cities, God’s justice will shake the entire universe. With that said, verse 27 notes that this final shaking will shake the things that can be shaken so that the things which cannot be shaken will remain. This means that all that will remain after this final judgment will belong to the Lord. Our present hobbies, tools, pastimes, jobs, houses and cars provide us with satisfaction and joy, however we should not place our hope in this present world because it will not continue!

As a diehard St. Louis Cardinal fan, there are few places I would rather be in October than Busch Stadium because that means that the Cardinals are playing playoff baseball - something that they haven’t done a lot of recently! With that said, even though I love going to Busch Stadium and cheering on the Cardinals, I would never dare place my hope in them because they let me down on a near yearly basis. Many of us have jobs and it can be easy to place our hope and trust in the security of having a job or a home, but we know that jobs can dissolve and homes can be destroyed. Many things in our world can be shaken and they can lead us astray. Unfortunately, many people in our world have been led astray and have bought into the lie that their possessions define them and their social status is what truly matters. You might be laughing or rolling your eyes, but there are billions of people out there who would do next to anything to get verified on Twitter or Instagram. There are millions of people who think that the greatest thing in life is living the American Dream: great job, early retirement, nice house, great car, happy wife, a couple of kids and a dog. The American Dream is awesome and represents some of the best things that our world has to offer: success, family, happiness. But it pales in comparison to the things which cannot be shaken, the things that are eternal!

Church, there are churches out there that preach things that can be shaken. They preach health, wealth and prosperity. As Piper said, “It is not the gospel, and it’s being exported from this country to Africa and Asia, selling a bill of goods to the poorest of the poor: “Believe this message, and your pigs won’t die and your wife won’t have miscarriages, and you’ll have rings on your fingers and coats on your back.” That’s coming out of America—the people that ought to be giving our money and our time and our lives, instead selling them a bunch of crap called “gospel.” If your Gospel message includes anything besides what Christ has done for sinners on the cross of Calvary then you have built your life upon a shaky foundation. If you believe that there are multiple gods out there and that you can one day become a god as well - Mormons - then you are advocating and promoting a Gospel that is not Biblical and one that will be shaken and destroyed one day.

The Gift of an Unshakable Kingdom (28-29)

The only thing that remains is the Kingdom of God’s purchased people who were purchased by the blood of Christ and will never be shaken. Everything else in our world will crumble and fall apart. They will face the judgment of God and be destroyed, but the Kingdom of God remains. All of God’s people should respond with gratitude and worship.

Church, why are we here this morning? Why do we continue to gather and sing praises, read Scripture and hear the preached Word every single Sunday? It better not be because mom and dad make you. It better not be because your grandparents make you. It better not be because your spouse makes you. It should be because you have gratitude to God for giving us the Gospel. We gather to worship because we know that while everything else in our life can be gone in an instant, God’s Word will remain. We know and have faith that God’s Kingdom will ultimately triumph over the powers of this world and His Kingdom cannot be shaken.

With Thanksgiving coming up, we have so many reasons to be thankful, do we not? Did you know that the “average” individual income in the world in 2018 was $2,100? Did you know that nearly every American ranks comfortably in the top 10% of wealthiest people in the entire world? Did you know that we have one of the best health systems in the entire world? Americans are wealthier, have access to better medical care and have far more freedom than nearly every other country on the planet. We have much to be thankful for during this season of giving thanks simply by being an American! All of these things look like rubbish compared to what we have received from God as we have been adopted into His Kingdom.

The only reaction that is appropriate is what we find at the end of verse 28: We serve Him with reverence and awe. This does not mean that we fear God’s wrath as His children. That has been paid in full by Christ’s sacrifice for all time on the cross. How are we doing in this regard, friends? Are we serving Him faithfully? Are we using our Spiritual Gifts (that He gave us)? Do we acknowledge the Holiness of God and the reality of our sinfulness or do we dumb God down and make Him into our own image as shows us? We must serve Him with reverence and awe. That service transcends the walls of this church, too. It encompasses our entire lives! Our work life, our school life, our family life, our giving life. We serve the King, faithfully.

Why do we do this? Because of verse 29. Our God is a consuming fire! He is a merciful God to those who repent and return to Him, but the fact that He is a consuming fire should serve as a warning for those who reject His message. We are supposed to live our entire lives in light of God’s future judgment. We know that only those who remain and trust in Christ will remain unshaken. Our Gospel hope is not merely fire insurance. Our Gospel hope is that God in His infinite mercy sent His Son to save us from the holy wrath that we rightfully deserve.

How does the promise of God’s unshakable kingdom and its certain victory encourage you to endure in your faith today, even when you face trials and difficulty? It should give you hope in times of hopelessness, courage in times of anxiety and peace in times of chaos. We know the end of the story and we know that God’s Kingdom will not be shaken.

So, why do we allow things like jealousy, bitterness, hurt feelings and pride to get in the way? Friends, we have an unshakable kingdom before us through Jesus Christ. You can choose to stay mad and let anger build in your heart for years and years, or you can choose to move on with your life and give it to God. I guarantee you that’s the way to go. We fight those fleshly desires with the fruits of the Spirit and I’m pretty sure that none of them include vengeance, justice or even “my rights”. Church, those things have an expiration date on them. They will shake one day. Let us move on from the things that Satan would love to cause division and disunity and let us unite as members of this unshakable kingdom with reverence and awe.

Conclusion

Just as an earthquake can cause destruction for miles and miles, the coming wrath of God will shake the earth and the heavens and cause destruction. With earthquakes, pressure builds up between the fault lines and eventually leads to an earthquake. We never know when these quakes will go off, though. This is similar to how this final shaking is. We know that God’s Word declares that God will judge the world one day, however we don’t know exactly when that day will be. Because of this, we should live each and every day as though it were our last. Knowing that we should serve God obediently, knowing full and well that He is a consuming fire.

God is holy. He is set apart. Yet, as we have seen these last couple of weeks, He shares His holiness with us by cleansing us of our sin and crediting our accounts with Christ’s righteousness. This new covenant calls for allegiance and obedience. We see that God’s holiness spreads life everywhere it flows. It brings dead hearts back to life, it remains accessible even in times of drought and it remains unshaken even in the storms of life.

As a result of God’s holiness and His sharing that Holiness with sinners like us through His Son, we must respond! All of life is an expression of worship. We sing, we share our testimony, we serve and we give with grateful hearts because of what Christ has done for us.

Again, though, God’s Holiness is a double sided coin. A failure to listen attentively to what God is saying and what He has done for humanity leads to catastrophe. Listen to what God has said. Repent of your wrong. Place your faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and experience real, genuine life.

Some people might say that life is all about success, wealth and winning, but Christianity says that life is really about dying. Die to yourself today, pick up your cross and follow Christ. Freedom is not found in doing what you think is right or what the law says you’re allowed to do, true freedom is found in surrendering it all to Christ. I pray that today might be the day where you give it all to Him. Let’s pray!