Sunday 11th
Hebrews 12:18-28
NIV (vv28-29) – ‘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.”’
ESV (vv28-29) – ‘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.’
Three things we see in these verses 1) we will receive an eternal kingdom, 2) therefore we should be thankful and worshipful 3) we should remember who God is and come before him with reverence and awe.
We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken speaks of that which is yet to be, and which is eternal, it is the eternal kingdom of God. What is yet to be is also mentioned in the final chapter of Hebrews in verses 14, ‘For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.’ It is a comparison to the world we live in presently, a world that is full of turmoil as a result of the fall, a world that is ‘groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now’, as the apostle Paul puts it Romans 8:22, a world that eventually will be dissolved to make way for that which will be the promise of God, a new heaven and a new earth in which the righteous dwell. (2 Peter 3:11-13)
This new heaven and new earth is seen again in Revelation21:1-4 ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”’ and we who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb will be there, this is the kingdom that cannot be shaken for anything and everything that is unclean etc. will not exist there for everything that has been in opposition to God will have been cast into the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8) Therefore because of this incredible Kingdom which we will receive or be welcomed into, it leads to the second point.
We should be thankful and worshipful. Referring to the final chapter again verse 15, ‘Through him, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that acknowledge his name.’ Just stop and pause for a moment and meditate upon what God has done for you in Christ Jesus, the whole spectrum of salvation and the blessings that flow out from it, then consider all that God has prepared for those who love him, the splendour of the new heaven and the new earth, the very fact that we will be there, all the trials of life over, no more suffering, no more pain, no more death, no more despondency and depression, everything made anew, complete and perfect – and God will be there and the Lamb who was slain and we shall be in this place of perfectness and beauty for ever, nothing being able to separate us from the love and the presence of God, surely this should cause us to be thankful and worshipful, our hearts should be overflowing with Joy, with adoration and praise to him who alone is worthy and therefore we;
Come before him with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. God deserves our utmost respect, he deserves our full and undivided attention, when we consider what he has saved us from and saved us to, we should give him absolute honour and respect. One hymn writer puts it this way, ‘nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the Cross I cling’, in other words we consider our unworthiness compared to who God is as a thrice holy God, and realise that without the shed blood of Christ we would be banished from his presence, we would eventually be banished to the place prepared for those who have refused to accept his gift of life through the Lord Jesus Christ, so we come before him with hearts full of humility, gratitude and praise. We come acknowledging that we are standing in the presence of a holy God, we owe him full respect and more, because of who he is and for what he has done.
Lord:
You deserve the glory,
And the honour,
Lord, we lift our hands in worship,
As we lift your Holy name,
For You are great,
You do miracles so great,
There is no one else like You,
There is no one else like You.