Don’t Refuse The One Who Speaks

Don’t Refuse the One Who Speaks  Hebrews 12:25-29

• If I asked you today, “Would you like to hear God speak to you?” I think just about every one of us would say yes.
• We’d all like to know what he wants us to do, believe, what to expect and how we should live. 
• Hebrews started with Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 
• God didn’t send another prophet. He sent his own Son
• God has spoken. God is speaking. The question isn’t whether He’s speaking. The question is whether we’re listening. Because When God speaks, he expects a response.  Don’t refuse him
• He speaks to shape what we believe, who we trust, how we live, and how we worship Him.
• The book begins with God speaking through His Son. It ends by asking one question: 
• What are you going to do with what He said? Don’t Refuse him who speaks. 

• Listen to the one who speaks YOUR EARS

• • READ v 25 This statement connects back to the previous part of Hebrews 12 when he’s connecting Sinai and Zion. Hebrews juxtaposes Moses at Sinai and the reader of Hebrews coming to the new Jerusalem of the Church of the living God
  • through Moses, people were unable to escape God’s wrath, but now, God has spoken directly to the Hebrews. At Sinai God spoke through Moses. Now He has spoken finally through His Son.
  • Sinai represented terror, distance, the Mosaic Covenant, and judgment.
  •  Zion represents the heavenly Jerusalem, Christ the Mediator, the New Covenant, access to God, joyful worship, and the sprinkled blood of Jesus.

• If judgment fell upon those who rejected God’s earthly revelation, how much greater accountability exists for those who reject God’s revelation through Christ from heaven

• • It interesting that the writer says “Him who speaks” not “who spoke”. God is actively speaking
  • Christianity isn’t what God once said. It’s His final and living revelation in His Son.
  • Jesus said in Mark 4:9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
  • This is repeated many times in the Gospels and over and over to the 7 churches in Revelation

• You have ears. Listen. Listen to the words of Jesus. Listen to the word of God

• • Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live;
  • Many people want a vibrant relationship with God, but they don’t actually listen to Him.///

• There actually may be reasons that you can’t hear God’s voice

• 1 You’re actually not a follower of Jesus. You might tell yourself you are, buy you might not be
• John 10:27 – My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
• 2 you never respond to the words of Jesus. You like to listen to them an read them but you ignore them- Matthew 7:24 – Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them…
• 3 you don’t listen carefully to what God says-  Luke 8:18 – Therefore take heed how you hear…
• 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
• Diligence begins with listening. Use your ears. God speaks and has spoken. You can hear him
• To hear God speak you must take an active role in listening. Don’t refuse him who speaks. 
• I’ve had people ask me after church questions that I answered twenty minutes earlier

• Trust the one who speaks YOUR HEART

• • READ V 26-27 Hebrews goes back to Sinai, where God was on the mountain and the whole earth shook. it quotes Haggai 2:6 Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.
  • Sinai wasn’t the final shaking. God says another shaking is still coming. “yet once more”
  • The Haggai quote was to discouraged Jews back from exile. They didn’t know if God was still going to move in the new temple like he did in the old temple. 
  • And here’s the significance- God assured them- Don’t jump to conclusions- I’m not done yet
  • He assured those in Haggai and now in Hebrews- I have a much bigger plan- big shaking coming
  • Hebrews takes that Old Testament promise and applies it to Christ and His Kingdom. 
  • Christ has already inaugurated His Kingdom through His first coming, but one day He will return and there will be one final cosmic shaking of everything temporary.
  • God doesn’t shake things to destroy your faith. He shakes things to reveal where your faith actually is.
  • God’s ways are that throughout history, he removes temporary things so eternal things Shine
  • Just as God has removed the Old Covenant System, one day he will remove this world and establish his eternal kingdom. 
  • Everything we make as humans is temporary. Governments. Economies. Buildings. Wealth. 
  • And all of those things you put your trust and hope in, when they are shaken, you shake as well

• Because you have put too much trust in them. They are the foundations your life is built on. 

• • Can I be vulnerable for a min? There’s been times when things are sideways in the church that emotionally overwhelms me to the point of gut and sleep problems. Division, disobedience, destruction. Why? Its my lifes work. I want it to succeed. I want to continue pastoring. 
  • Eventually, after I get my heart right and bow my knee before the Lord, He asks me one simple question: “Matt-what are you trusting?”///
  • And Hebrews gives me the answer. Trust what cannot be shaken. Christ. 
  • His priesthood. His sacrifice. His covenant. His promises. His Kingdom. The only foundation. 

• I’m not called to trust the church. I’m called to trust Christ.

• 1 Cor 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
• Matthew 7:24-25. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them… I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock…
• Things are going to be shaken in your life. Plans. Careers. Finances. Relationships. Ministries.
• Sometimes He shakes them because we’ve started trusting them more than Him.
• Sometimes that’s exactly why. Other times we simply live in a fallen world. Either way, God uses the shaking to deepen our trust in Him. God can use every shaking to solidify our foundation
• Psalm 46:1-2 – God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed…
• Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding…
• And yes, sometimes we pray “Lord stop the shaking” but Sometimes God says “I’m going to continue to shake it because I love you and I don’t want you to build on something temporary”
• Trust the One who speaks and shakes. Don’t refuse him.  If He’s the One doing the shaking, then He’s also the One preserving what matters most. His unshakable kingdom
• Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.
• When everything around you feels unstable, remember this: God isn’t losing control. He’s revealing what was actually worth holding onto all along.

• Be thankful to the one who speaks ATTITUDE of Gratitude

• • 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, 

• Our altitude in Christ is connected to our attitude towards Christ and our life. 

• • The NKJV says ‘let us have grace.’ Many translations say ‘let us be thankful.’
  •  The idea is that those who have received grace become grateful people. (we say grace)
  • Many Christians are some of the least thankful people that you’ll meet. We’ve Americanized our Gospel into a self-centered existence where our Christian walk is an exercise in meism
  • We’ve become consumers instead of worshipers. We evaluate church by what we get instead of what glory God receives. The whole of the experience is filtered through “what about me”
  • The Church, and you exist for one purpose To give God glory. Your life is to give your life to him. 
  • We’re not just saved from sin; we’re saved for God. Saved to know Him. Saved to worship Him.
  • Romans describes the person who falls into reprobate sin- 
  • Romans 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

• Many peoples hearts become darkened because they lose a sense of thankfulness

• • We’re thankful that we’re alive, that we’ve been saved by grace, that God has provided for us, and above all that we’re receiving an unshakable kingdom.
  • Loss of thankfulness is forgetfulness. You forget who God is, and what a relationship with him brings. Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits.
  • The writer of Hebrews has spent chapter on chapter describing the access we have to God

• And he drives it home with “since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken”///

• • We miss that and forget that often. We lose sight of the blessings of the unshakable kingdom

• When we forget the kingdom, we start living as though this world is all there is.

• Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
• Peace grows where gratitude grows. More gratitude more peace. 
• 1 thankful people require less Thankful people require less to be satisfied. Kingdom is enough
• 2. Thankful people complain less Thankful people treat people differently than entitled people
• 3 Thankful people serve more We you are full of Christ, you are able to love and serve others
• You see it often. People Blessed with relationships they take for granted. 
• You are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Jesus came, preached the kingdom and the real reality of receiving this kingdom is a foundational truth to anchor you in your life. 
• Pray- Daily- Lord, your kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
• We’ve become so comfortable with this world that we’ve forgotten we’re citizens of another one. You refuse the King who wants to rule you in his kingdom. 
• The end of this verse and this chapter give us the reason to possess this ‘grace” 

• Fear the one who speaks LIFE

• • by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
  • We are to serve God with reverence and Godly fear. The God of Sinai is the God of A Street
  • He is an all consuming fire./// That describes who God is. He is infinitely holy. He purifies what belongs to Him and judges everything opposed to Him.
  •  His holiness has not diminished because He has drawn near. If anything, our accountability has increased because of the privilege we’ve been given.

• What is serving God acceptably with reverence and godly fear? 

• • It’s a stark living reality of the God of Sinai being the center of your daily life and how you live
  • Matt 10:34-38 READ Jesus gives a standard for discipleship and followership and its clear
  • Your whole life should be consumed with the things of God. All of it. None of it belongs to you
  • Romans 12:1 Present your bodies a living sacrifice.
  • So then how should we live? How do we serve him with reverence and Godly fear
  • 1 daily consecrate your life to him. Tell him and you that you have been bought with a price
  • 2 spend more time in your life worshipping him for his goodness to you and your blessings
  • 3 and this is a real focus of mine– come to church to worship and receive the word
  • Psalm 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling
  • Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God
  • We are here to worship the king of kings and Lord of Lords. Worship him with reverence
  • We are here to have him speak to us by his word. Remove distractions and listen to the HS

• A holy and reverent Church service sets you up for a holy and reverent week. 

• God speaks in the service. Prepare your heart. Arrive on time. Settle kids and then WORSHIP
• Years ago I was in a church service where they had a remote control blimp floating around the room dropping some sort of ticket for some prize. I remember thinking, “Have we forgotten who we’ve gathered to worship?”
• Our God is a consuming fire! Have some reverence! I was able to speak with a Secret Service agent this week in DC. Regardless of what you think of Trump, he’s still the President. I was asking him about him- He refused to talk about him personally. He’s on the detail. 
• You know what else? He only speaks when spoken to. Yes he’s a fellow American. Yes he’s the one protecting him- might say Trump needs him more than he needs him, but Respect. 
• There shouldn’t be more respect for a govt office than there is for a Holy God. 
• Isaiah 66:2…On this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
• Romans 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: 
• God is severe. But God is infinitely Good as well. Worship him as Such and watch him move
• SO God will Speak. Listen when he does. Trust when he does. Be thankful when he does and worship when he does. He’s worthy of it. We’re receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken
• One day, everything you’ve ever seen will be shaken. Every kingdom. Every economy. Every nation. Every possession. Every accomplishment.
• Only one kingdom will remain. And Hebrews says we’re receiving it right now.
• don’t refuse Him who speaks. Listen to Him. Trust Him. Thank Him. Worship Him.
• Because our God is a consuming fire.