Last week you might remember how our writer contrasted the two covenants; that which was found at Sinai at the giving of the law and the new covenant represented by the heavenly Zion which is found in Christ alone.

The old covenant was associated with a mountain that cannot be touched and was the place God manifested Himself in an awesome display of His holiness and justice, as seen in the blazing fire on the mountain, together with the darkness and the gloom and the whirlwind.

It was a sight that struck fear in the hearts of the Israelites for they knew they could not stand before God and they even begged that no further word be spoken to them. But our writer went on to say that this is not the mountain we've come to which only raises the sin issue, but we've come to Mount Zion where sin is vanquished through the shed blood of Christ.

It is in this setting that we see the celebration in heaven of all the heavenly host around the throne. This is what we have to look forward to, if we are in Christ by faith alone. Judgment and condemnation are the only things we have to look forward to if we've come to Mount Sinai thinking we can somehow approach the mountain of God's throne with our good works to attain salvation.

In our text this morning our writer once again reminds us that to neglect Mount Zion, the New covenant found in Christ, in favor of Mount Sinai, which is the law, is to refuse Him who has spoken clearly between the two covenants and what they produce.

HEB 12:25 "See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?"

"See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks" is a negative way of stating a positive. In other words listen to Him. Pay heed to what He says. This is reminiscent of what we find in DEU 18:18 "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account."

And of course we know that the One sent was none other than the Son of God incarnate, Jesus Christ who is the Word become flesh to whom we must listen. In fact, this is exactly what the Father said of Him in MAT 17:5 "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

Keep in mind that the Jewish Christians being addressed were tempted on many sides to go back to Mount Sinai and to reject this new religion as it was perceived by unbelievers. Mount Sinai, for all its inability to save from the penalty of sin, was still a comfortable place for the Jew.

They had their laws and their traditions and their priesthood and they were content to be considered the chosen people sitting beneath this mountain which was ablaze with judgment and condemnation. They had become so familiar with Mount Sinai that over time their spiritual senses were dulled and the Mountain lost its sting.

They didn't see it for what it was, they saw it as the only approach to God and turned a good thing, that is, the law being a tutor to lead to the Messiah, into the very means of being reconciled to God.

The law was never meant to save anyone. It was meant to help us see our utter need for a Savior as we look at this mountain of judgment and condemnation and in despair we cry out for mercy and compassion from our God.

This is what Paul clearly teaches in GAL 2:16 "know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

On one occasion, in the city of Pisidian Antioch, Paul was visiting a Synagogue and after given an opportunity to speak about the Scripture which had just been read he stood up and expounded on that passage and added this: ACT 13:38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses."

And yet, still, many of the Jews of Paul's day preferred Mount Sinai. Though it smoked and quaked, as long as they were in it's shadow they felt safe and secure as long as they didn't approach it. What a way to live. Being able to see God's presence at a distance, but never being able to personally fellowship with God who wants to call us children as we call Him Father.

But that can only happen if we call on the Son, Jesus Christ, by faith, to bring us into the presence of the Father through His shed blood and resurrection as He has torn the veil in two and made access through the heavenly tabernacle.

And so what we have before us is what the Jews of Christ's day had before them. Two choices: Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Shall we refuse to listen to God as He explains these two? That's the question our writer raises in HEB 12:25 "See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?"

Who is it that warns from earth? The same one who warns from heaven. The warning from earth was when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with God's law. God's warning was, do not turn away from Me, put your faith in Me.

In fact, God continued to warn them on earth through His prophets. God allowed men to take His message of warning as well as hope. But most would not listen and they were held accountable for their rejection of that message.

But if they were held accountable for the message given to them on earth, through the law and the prophets, how much more culpable would they be if God Himself came down from Heaven with such a warning? Can anyone escape that? Of course not! And this is the point of verse 25. But this isn't the first time our writer brings this issue up. In fact, this entire letter begins with this premise.

HEB 1:1 "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe."

In the past God spoke and yet the people did not listen. HEB 3:7 "So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.'
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"

And so again, our writer makes the point to his readers in verse 25 ... "If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?"

If any of these Hebrew Christians were the least bit tempted to turn back to the Old Covenant, our writer warns them that if you disobey Him who came from heaven then you will find yourself in the same position as those who disobeyed in the desert.

As I've said before this is not teaching that true believers can lose their salvation. It is simply trying to get the attention of those saints in a way, where it shakes them out of their complacency. For those who would not be shaken by the voice from heaven, then it would reveal that they could not hear and they would prove themselves not to be true believers in the first place.

Jesus made it clear in JOH 10:27 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one."

What our writer is doing is helping these Jewish believers begin to appreciate who Christ is and the salvation He's given them. How all of us need this. The way we begin to appreciate this salvation is to see where it's found as well as where it's not found.

It's not found at Sinai. Praise God we don't have to earn His favor by keeping the law. All of us would be in deep trouble. It is found at the heavenly Zion, the city of our Great God, who came into this world to keep the law perfectly on our behalf and then pay our penalty of death which we owe to God.

But people must listen and not neglect so great a salvation. HEB 2:2 "For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,
3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him."

When God spoke with Israel on Mount Sinai He shook them to the core as they trembled at His perfect justice and holiness. But when Jesus Christ Himself came He shook the world in a way that changed everything, both in this world and in heaven.

HEB 12:26 "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." (Haggai 2:6)

The last part of this verse is taken from the prophet Haggai. It reads in HAG 2:6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty."

Haggai was speaking of the Messiah who would come and fill the house of God with glory. The earthly Temple was a glorious thing in Israel. But it was nothing compared to the Glorious Temple who would come and dwell among men. Remember when Jesus was going through Jerusalem and taking note of the temple?

JOH 2:18 "Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"
21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Haggai's prophecy was fulfilled. The temple in all its glory tabernacled among men. This is what John records for us in JOH 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the Only Begotten who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

When God gave the law at Mount Sinai He shook the earth. Nothing like this had taken place since Noah. But God was changing everything as His plan for the Messiah was now given unto the Jews to fulfill His promise of bringing the Messiah through the nation of Israel. This Covenant was one which spoke of a better covenant to come.

But when Jesus Christ came into this world He shook not only the earth, but earth and heaven. Why? Because He was taking away the old covenant and bringing in the New. If you don't think this didn't shake things up then I would encourage you to read the gospel accounts where we find the Jews hating Jesus. He shook up their little world.

But He shook up heaven as well because this eternal covenant came from Mount Zion, the heavenly city, and was now about to be fulfilled. On the day our Lord Jesus was born all of heaven rejoiced.

LUK 2:6 "While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

All of heaven rejoiced. The Old covenant was about to be taken out of the way to make room for a better everlasting covenant found in the Lord of glory who came into this world to give us life eternal.

But notice what our writer says in the next verse of our text. He then expounds on the verse found in Hag.2:6 and makes a special note. We read in HEB 12:27 "The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain."

Some have taken this verse and concluded that what our writer is talking about here is the cataclysmic end of the world where God takes this created order and destroys it with fire and creates new heavens and a new earth.

And it is quite true that God will in fact do this very thing. But here in our text we must be careful not to take anything out of context and we must stay with the thought our writer has been dealing with.

What has he been dealing with? He's been dealing with contrasting Judaism with Christianity and showing how Christianity is infinitely better than the old covenant. With that in mind let's look at verse 27.

HEB 12:27 "The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain."

Notice he keys in on the phrase "once more". Now keep in mind where he's referring to. He's referring to a prophecy given by Haggai in HAG 2:6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty."

When Haggai wrote this it was after the Babylonian captivity. All of Israel was about as low as one could get. They thought God had completely abandoned them. Many had been able to return to Jerusalem, but they came back to a destroyed city. The glory of Jerusalem was gone. The temple was destroyed.

Haggai was given a word by the Lord to rebuild the temple. He was told to encourage the people. He wrote in HAG 2:4 "But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty.
5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'"

What immediately follows is what our writer of Hebrews quotes: HAG 2:6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty."

These Jews were not going to find their comfort with a final consummation where the Lord would destroy the earth and rebuild it. That's not what Haggai was saying, nor what those Jews understood. They understood Haggai as saying that the glory of the Temple would be restored.

But what many had missed was that our Lord was not ultimately talking about an earthly temple, as we saw earlier, but a heavenly one with a glory that would far exceed that of Solomon's. So what does this mean in our text? HEB 12:27 "The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain."

If you were to go to Haggai you would notice that Haggai mentions nothing of removing anything, only that the earth and the heavens will be shaken. What the Holy Spirit has done is to give us the meaning of this shaking here in Hebrews. It was a shaking to remove something with the idea of replacing it with something better.

Remove what? Remove those things which can be shaken - that is, created things. Well, isn't the earth a created thing, and won't that be removed when God destroys it? Of course, but our writer is continuing a theme which he has not left: the comparison between the Old and New covenants. One being removed, the other taking its place forever.

The removing of those things which were created speaks of everything associated with the giving of the law. Everything in that system is earthly. It was established at a mountain which could be touched at the giving of the law. It was given on tablets of stone. It dealt not with the heart, but with the outward performances of man. It had a priesthood which was temporary. The sacrificial system was never meant to take away sin, but to remind Israel once a year that they needed to have atonement for their sins.

In contrast, we have a Savior who came from heaven, who left His abode with the Father to come to us. His covenant of life deals with the heart of man, and instead of writing the law on tablets of stone He writes them on the heart of His people. His Priesthood was not earthly, but Divine and never ending. His sacrifice was once for all and didn't simply talk of taking away sin but actually takes it away.

One can be shaken or removed, that which is earthly and temporal, delivered on a Mountain which none could approach. The other cannot be shaken or removed, that which is eternal and effectual, taking away our sin and bringing us into a relationship as we are encouraged to approach Mount Zion, the heavenly city of our Great God, through our High Priest Jesus Christ.

This is what our writer means and in fact this is what he clearly states in the next verse. HEB 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
29 for our "God is a consuming fire." (Deut. 4:24)

You and I in Christ have received an inheritance which was delivered to us through our Lord and Savior. Jesus has shaken both heaven and earth with this glorious gift. And what our writer would have us know is that if we abide in Him by faith we cannot be shaken because our new life cannot be shaken or removed.

We are receiving this Kingdom which cannot be shaken. A.W. Pink kind of sums it up when he says, "The great design of God in the Divine incarnation was the setting up of Christ's Kingdom, but before it could be properly established there had to be a mighty shaking in order that the shadows in Judaism might give place to the Substance."

Jesus is that substance, and you and I are the partakers of that shaking which has issued in life eternal in the Kingdom of Christ. His Kingdom is in this world to the extent that we possess it by faith, but it is not of this world. Just as true, we are in this world and yet we are not citizens of this world.

If the things of this world will ultimately pass away what should be our priorities? If our citizenship is in heaven will we place roots here that go so deep that we can't let go? This is what our writer wants us to consider when he says in HEB 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
29 for our "God is a consuming fire."

We are to be thankful and in our thankfulness we should worship God in spirit and in truth as we revere Him in awe knowing that God is a consuming fire. Our lives should consider Him who is judge, but also to be thankful that our sin has already been judged in His merciful and compassionate Son. Can we be thankful for that? Yes!

But being thankful with lips only is not what our God has in mind. He has placed us in a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. We are His children to be with Him forever. But for we who are in Christ, forever in His Kingdom starts today. Our gratitude and thankfulness and worship and reverence starts today.

And the way it manifests itself is in a life surrendered totally to Him. He is the King of this Kingdom and we are His servants. He asks us to do one simple thing, which encompasses everything else: Love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. Easier said than done.

But it can be done as we come to Him and rely on His strength as His gives us the ability to do all things in Christ. Do we really appreciate this unshakable Kingdom He has given us? Do we really have thankful hearts for so great a salvation? Do we really show the world that we belong to our God who has given us life forever?

These are questions we all have to contend with. But if you know the Lord the answer must at least be, 'Lord help me to love You more, help me to appreciate You more, help me to worship You in both word and deed.' And then in faith and obedience we walk in His ways to His glory knowing that the glory that awaits us is sure and unshakable.

HEB 13:15 "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name.
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

May all that we do be this "sacrifice of praise" which goes out into a sin-filled world and shows them the light of the love of Christ in us. And may that gratitude of knowing what it is to have an eternal relationship with God through faith in Christ take us into this world and give them the same hope we have in Christ.

May we never hide it under a basket, but let it shine bright and may it burn in our hearts to give it away so the world too may know what it is to belong to an unshakable Kingdom whose King and Lord is Jesus Christ.