2003-11-28
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
Each of you is cherished by God and by me. In the course of the research that I did for this segment of True Faith on the Kingdom of Heaven, I came across some important warnings for all believers to heed in the Scriptures. It would be irresponsible of me to write about this subject without including and discussing them.
HE 12: 25-29, “Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear Him Who speaks. Those who refused to hear the One Who gave the divine message on earth did not escape. How much less shall we escape, then, if we turn away from the One Who speaks from heaven! His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, ‘I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven as well.’ The words ‘once more’ plainly show that the created things will be shaken and removed, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain. Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please Him, with reverence and fear; because our God is indeed a destroying fire.”
In verse 25, the command is inherent that we should compare the covenant given at Mt. Sinai [the Covenant of the Law] with the improved covenant sealed with Christ’s blood [the Covenant of Grace]. Remember that the Covenant of the Law allowed mankind to see what was righteous and what was not according to their Creator [RO 7: 7]. Forgiveness was granted for one year at the time of the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur [LV 16: 34]. There was never any discussion of salvation. With the Covenant of Grace instituted at the time of Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection three days later, all who believed in Him could enjoy eternal life, forgiveness of sin, and the hope of resurrection. This will bring them back to His side for eternal joy and fellowship with God. Those blessings come along with justification [being deemed righteous in God’s eyes] and the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Notice that neither circumcision under the old covenant nor baptism under the new covenant brought or brings salvation. Only faith in Christ coupled with repentance does that. This is not to underestimate the importance of circumcision to the Jews of old or baptism to today’s Body of Christ. These two rites are outward signs of the inward commitment a person has made to God’s teaching.
Now one might ask: why does God cause us to compare these two covenants in HE 12: 25? The answer is clear in this verse. To refuse to hear God’s message coming from heaven is to perish. We must not take the blessings of this message lightly. Christ, in MT 11: 20-24, spoke of the responsibility for sin being greater in unbelieving towns like Chorazin and Bethsaida than in ancient towns like Tyre and Sidon. The reason for this is that people in Chorazin and Bethsaida knew more about God’s teaching and blessings with the new covenant being available to them, than those in Tyre and Sidon who didn’t have it. When privilege is greater, responsibility is greater. As this verse says, there is no escape for those who refuse to hear God’s message.
HAG 2: 6 is a reference to the same shaking of the earth and heaven discussed in HEB 12: 26. [The Lord speaking] “Before long I will shake heaven and earth, land and sea.” This shaking could certainly be taken both physically and spiritually. It is taken physically when we refer to REV 6: 12, the sixth seal judgment which involves a huge earthquake. It should be taken spiritually as we see implied in PS 55: 22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved [shaken].” I like to think of this like a big salt shaker. Those with the Holy Spirit won’t fall through the holes in the shaker, but those who lack the Holy Spirit will fall through and be lost. This process is also discussed in 2 PET 3: 10-12, which I hope you will read. When God ends this sifting and shaking process, only that which is real will remain. True believers have a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. Because of this, we should praise God and have reverence for Him. God is a consuming fire to all who refuse to listen to Him. To His own people, He should be recognized as the most righteous, powerful, just, loving, and holy Being to be worshipped forever. We must remember that it was He Who sacrificed His only Son on the cross, so that with our enduring faith, we can look forward to joy, fellowship, and bliss with Him forever. One passage that can put our lives on the course that leads us to this wonderful Kingdom of Heaven forever is MT 6: 19-21. “Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robber break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.”
PRAYER: O Lord, it is always difficult to listen to warnings, especially ones that reach to where we have not yet acknowledged and expunged sin in our lives. However, You wouldn’t be the loving Abba for us that You are if You didn’t give us these warnings anyway. We look to You for guidance and wisdom that we need and don’t have on our own. PS 25: 4-5, “Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.” You revealed through David Your response to our willingness to acknowledge our utter need for You in PS 37: 23-24, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord hold them by the hand.” We dedicate ourselves to listening to You and look for human leaders and teachers who allow You to be in leadership in their lives. You are a God Who desires us to have a personal relationship with You, Who wants us to allow You to direct the decisions we make and actions we take. We look to You to give us the right words to say in difficult situations where our faith or that of others is being seriously challenged. You inspire certain teachers to convey Your word to us with accuracy and in a manner that allows us to receive their truths with enthusiasm for them. We pledge to look for You in our life and in the lives of others. Godly people can set an example for us that pleases You and helps make us more able to please You. Dearest Abba, You break down artificial human-contrived barriers as an example for us to do the same. In DN 7: 13-14, You made it clear that Christ alone is to be the final Judge of who is godly and who isn’t. You gave Him sole authority. When congregations place Christ in leadership and make Your word the center of everything they do, they flourish. That is Your way of letting us know when You are pleased. Those which try to alter Your word fail. We are eager for the time when the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ will come, signaling the time when we will finally fulfill the prophecy of RO 8: 29 and follow Him in resurrection. While we wait, Dearest Lord, we will be listening for Your word and incorporating it into the conduct of our lives. We confess our sins, declare You our personal Lord and Savior, and, in humility, offer You praise and thanks. Our praise and thanks are for all the blessings You shower on us and all the sweet goodness that You are. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
With my next message, we will begin a new segment called “The Coming Glory.” It will begin with some lessons from Daniel that have to do with mankind’s recognition or lack thereof of God’s universal dominion. In the meanwhile, we must look upon our Lord as a loving and benevolent Deity Who warns us against traps set in our life’s path by Satan and is eager to bless us through our partnership through life with Him. The lesson of the last five years of my life and my husband, Peter’s, will always be engraved on my heart. We went through losing most of the financial resources that we had spent a lifetime building up and almost losing our physical lives. Through all of this, the Lord taught us to wait for Him and to endure in faith. He finally granted us healing and generously provided us with wonderful friends to emotionally and spiritually support us through this difficult time. In the end, He even made it possible for us to live in a sweet little cottage near our congregation. While our financial problems still persist, we have strong faith that He will see us through our latter years on earth and prepare for us a fine place with Him in heaven [JN 14: 1-2]. This blessing is not just for Peter and I; it is for every single believer in Jesus Christ! Such love as He has for each of us is not found from anyone else on earth or in heaven.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn