INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO PC- Forgot Something Video
• SLIDE #1
• It is so easy to forget about the simple things isn’t it? It is easy to get distracted to the point that we can miss some of the awesome moments of life.
• When you take time to sit back and reflect upon life, there are so many things we can be thankful for.
• Some things shine so brightly they are easy to see. On a personal note I have my awesome wife, terrific daughters and awesome grandchildren.
• I came from a great family and I live in what has been the greatest country in the world.
• There are other things we can we can be thankful for that sit more in the background. The blessings are there, but sometimes they can blend into the background.
• Today we are going to take some time together to draw one of the awesome blessings we have out of the background and shine the light on it.
• With the Thanksgiving season upon we will endeavor on a journey through a series entitled “Thankful Blessings Series.”
• Today we will begin our journey by looking at Hebrews 12:28-29 as we shine the light on the Blessing of God’s Kingdom!
• Let us begin by reading Hebrews 12:28-29 together!
• SLIDE #2
• Hebrews 12:28–29 (ESV) 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.
• Let’s begin with examining the overlooked blessing that we can be thankful for.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
We can be thankful because…
I. God’s kingdom is a stable force in an unstable world.
• We live in what seems to be somewhat unstable times. The economic outlook seems to be bleak, jobs are hard to come by, and companies are shutting down.
• We have a lot of unrest as usual in the Middle East (what else is new).
• Israel and Hamas are lobbing rockets at each other. WE could go on and on about the instability we face.
• Instability breeds insecurity in life. In the passage we are told, Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,.
• The context throughout the book of Hebrew the Hebrew writer has been trying to encourage the new Jewish background Christians not to leave their newfound faith to go back to the old Jewish ways.
• One of the points the Hebrew writer was making earlier verses in chapter 12 is that in the Old Testament the Jews were part of a kingdom that one day would be replaced, it would be in the terminology used in verse 28, shaken.
• The Old Covenant given to Moses on Mount Sinai was not going to permanent.
• The comparison is made from quoting Haggai 2:6-9 where God declared through the Prophet that since they were now out of Babylonian captivity they were to rebuild the temple.
• Zerubbabel would help reconstruct the temple, the people were told that even though it would not reach the glory and splendor of Solomon’s Temple, that nevertheless one day, God will fill the temple with great glory.
• He was speaking in veiled terms of the coming of Jesus.
• Jesus would usher in the kingdom that could not be shaken because it would be a permanent kingdom!
• In the face of the fulfillment of Haggai’s prophecy we are told we ought to be grateful. This is worded in such manner that it carries a force of a command.
• WE can and should be grateful that we are now in current possession of the Kingdom of God, a kingdom that cannot be shaken because it is permanent!
• Being a part of the everlasting Kingdom of God affords is the blessing of being under God’s supervision.
• God provides and protects.
• In an ever-changing unstable world we can be thankful for the security and comfort found in Jesus and His kingdom.
• 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, o that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
• WE can be thankful that no matter what goes on in the world around us, no matter who does what to us, we are a part of the stable force in a many times unstable world.
• Now, let’s examine our next observation.
• SLIDE #5
II. Our gratitude toward God should be reflected in our attitude.
• Alright, we are to be thankful for the awesome Kingdom of God we have in our grasp. How do we show God we are truly thankful?
• We show God we are thankful by our attitude toward Him and what He calls us to do.
• Verse 28 remind us, “and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,.
• The phrase, AND THUS” points out that because we are grateful; here is how we can express it.
• We like for people to not just say they are grateful, we like to see something that shows gratitude don’t we?
• The Hebrew writer strongly suggests that we do a couple of things in response to God blessing us with His unshakable kingdom.
• First we are told we ought to offer to God ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP. The word translated WORSHIP in many versions can also be translated SERVICE.
• IT would read we are to offer God ACCEPTABLE service.
• Now before we look at service and or worship, we must ask the question to whom is our service/worship to be acceptable to?
• Can we set the standard for what is acceptable or does our service/worship need to be acceptable to God?
• Many of us live like we define what is acceptable. WE make statements like, I CAN WORSHIP GOD OR SERVE GOD IN MY OWN WAY.
• Others will say I can worship God without being a part of a church.
• I could spend a lot of time refuting that one, but one passage for someone who feels they can offer acceptable worship to God without being a part of His church should read Ephesians 5, it shows Jesus’ special relationship.
• SLIDE #6
• Ephesians 5:27 (ESV) so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
• What we offer to God is to be ACCEPTABLE TO HIM. He determines what is acceptable.
• SLIDE #7
• Hebrews 13:15 (ESV) Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
• SLIDE #8
• Romans 12:1–2 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
• These are but a couple of things that please God. Ultimately we are called to strive to be more Christ-like.
• In the context the worship or service we offer to God is to be continual, not just one time or once per week.
• We are called to serve the Lord with deep heart-felt devotion.
• The worship is to be done according to our passage in reverence and AWE!
• Reverence is a deep rooted respect to the point that one responds. AWE is simply amazement that stirs the soul.
• If our service and worship is rooted in REVERENCE and AWE, we will be pleasing to God. WE will show Him that we are indeed grateful.
• The last observation gives us reason to stand before God in reverence and awe!
• SLIDE #9
III. Our attitude reflects our understanding that God is to be taken seriously.
• This point is not one of those touchy feely thoughts we think of during Thanksgiving.
• Look at verse 29 again, YIKES!
• SLIDE #10
• Hebrews 12:29 (ESV) for our God is a consuming fire.
• This is a quote from Deuteronomy 4:24.
• In the context of Deuteronomy 4 the Israelites were reminded that God expected and demanded devotion. Verse 24 comes right after God warns the Israelites not to make idols.
• SLIDE #11
• Deuteronomy 4:23 (ESV) 23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you.
• The chapter speaks of the very nature of God and not only is God a God of love; He also is a holy God.
• We need to operate with a healthy respect for God’s holiness to the point that we try to replicate that through the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
• IF we are ever tempted to leave God, to quit God we must remember the ultimate outcome will not be good.
• SLIDE #12
• Hebrews 2:1–4 (ESV) Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
• We do not serve God out of fear, we do respect Him.
• God’s essential character provides the reason for one to serve the Lord with reverence and awe!
CONCLUSION
• When you get up from watching the football games to gather around your table during Thanksgiving, before doing a face dive into the mashed potatoes and gravy, take time to praise God for the salvation you have in Him.
• Take the time to shine the light on the blessings you have from God!
• Have a GREAT Thanksgiving!
