Morning Message Text: Hebrews 12: 25-29
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?
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.”
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.
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.”
Morning Message:
The season of Lent has a way of grounding us, if we allow it to. It is very easy for Christians to start feeling like we can live above the fray of everyday life. We must strike a balance in our lives between our human capabilities and our Godly potential. A man went to see a hand surgeon and he asked the doctor: “Doctor, will I be able to play the piano after the procedure?” Doctor: “Yes, you can.” Patient: “Wonderful! I never could before!” For a joke about healing, I know that one is pretty lame. There is no way that this man could play the piano after his procedure unless he had the ability to do it before. That’s how healing works — restoring your abilities to what they once were.
One of the extraordinary aspects of our true relationship with Jesus, is that he heals us so that we can do what we were never able to do before. Jesus heals you of the congenital curse of sin. Before your healing relationship with Jesus, you were in bondage to sin and separated from your Creator. Jesus, the Divine Physician, brought healing to you through wood, nails, and his own blood. As a result of this healing relationship with Jesus, you can now do what was never possible before: live as one set free from sin, full of hope and a new creation in Christ Jesus. You are fully cured of sin and capable of so much more now that you have been healed. The possibilities are endless. You can do all things through Jesus Christ your Lord. With faith and in God’s will you could play the piano. Peter had faith and he walked on water, when he looked down and his faith turned to fear he started to sink.
It is easy to hear the story of Peter and be critical of his lack of faith. I mean come on, if Jesus allowed me to walk on water that would give me so much confidence that I would never lose faith and sink. How quickly we forget all of the trials that God has brought us through. Unless we stay close to God and practice our faith, we react exactly like Peter. We look at the world around us, fear sets in, and our faith dissipates. In our scripture in Hebrews today the author is reminding us about a time in Israel’s history when the people stood at the base of Mount Sinai and God’s voice shook the earth, when his people refused to heed the law. The people were not sure what God would do next. Isn’t the not knowing the worst? Researchers have discovered a connection between uncertainty and stress. Researchers asked test subjects to play a game while being monitored for stress. As part of the game, the participants were told that they might receive a small electrical shock — the likelihood ranging from 0% to 100% at different times in the game. They found that a 50% chance of shock caused the most stress for test subjects. It was the dreaded “maybe,” “perhaps” or “we’ll see” that was most stressful.
Listen, as followers of Jesus there are unshakable promises that you can count on. We need to hear what Paul is saying to us in Philippians. “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” The spiritual maturity those believers had attained came through obedience to God’s principles, disciplines, and commands. They were not to let anyone change their approach to the Christian life. Our world today teaches us individualism. Be yourself. Be who you are. Express your feelings and your opinions freely and be what you want to be. Not all of that is bad, but it has brought us to a society that has no boundaries and with generations of people with no moral compass because they refuse to follow good examples. This is where we find people who will argue things like: Why should there be only one way to God, that doesn’t seem fair?
The phrase, “following my example,” translates from the Greek to mimic. We should mimic Paul and other Christian people who are mimicking Jesus.
In both of our readings today there is a warning. Paul is in tears because many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. They worship earthly things, their goals in life are to obtain every earthly, worldly pleasure, and their destiny is destruction. Once again God will shake the heavens and the earth and everything will be destroyed except for his unshakable promises made to his children.
Our healing Savior Jesus makes promises that cannot be shaken. Jesus has healed the hurt of sin and mended your broken relationship with God. Through faith in Jesus, you are alive in Jesus. Your future is not a toss-up or a roll of the dice. Jesus has claimed you as his friend, and you have 100% certainty that your future is in his hands. When the uncertainty of life brings stress, remember what Jesus has said to you: “I have called you friends” (John 15: 15). Jesus, your promises are not left to chance. Amen.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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