WEBVTT 00:00:01.960 --> 00:00:05.400 This is your daily reminder. God has not run 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.199 out of mercy, not for you, not today. Welcome 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:12.220 to the New Mercies Podcast. Welcome back, February 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:15.900 the 25th. We are in Hebrews chapter 12 today 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.660 in our reading plan as a church body and here 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:20.420 on the podcast. I want to give you a little... 00:00:20.649 --> 00:00:24.010 insight into what has happened. This is going 00:00:24.010 --> 00:00:26.649 to be a great episode. I am very excited about 00:00:26.649 --> 00:00:28.809 what Hebrews chapter 12 is going to teach us 00:00:28.809 --> 00:00:30.550 today. The reason I know it's going to be great 00:00:30.550 --> 00:00:32.130 is because I've already done this once before. 00:00:32.450 --> 00:00:36.710 I tried my best to record, so I do this a little 00:00:36.710 --> 00:00:38.450 bit in advance, right? A couple of days in advance, 00:00:38.509 --> 00:00:41.990 I will try to prepare and plan and record, and 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:45.009 then hopefully I can schedule it on the days 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:48.590 that the reading plan follows. Well, I recorded 00:00:48.590 --> 00:00:50.210 this one a couple of days ago, and honestly, 00:00:50.390 --> 00:00:52.250 as I was listening to it again and I was reading 00:00:52.250 --> 00:00:54.369 it again and flowing through it again, it just 00:00:54.369 --> 00:00:57.009 didn't hit right. So I thought, I'm going to 00:00:57.009 --> 00:01:00.090 redo it. So I scrapped it, deleted it, and now 00:01:00.090 --> 00:01:02.869 I'm redoing it. So Hebrews chapter 12 with fresh 00:01:02.869 --> 00:01:05.129 eyes today. I hope and pray you read the entire 00:01:05.129 --> 00:01:08.329 chapter. I want to read a few verses just so 00:01:08.329 --> 00:01:10.590 that you know the book of Hebrews, great book 00:01:10.590 --> 00:01:14.930 in the Bible, the author we do not know. It does 00:01:14.930 --> 00:01:17.170 not explicitly say who wrote the book of Hebrews. 00:01:17.269 --> 00:01:20.049 We do know it was a believer in the first century 00:01:20.049 --> 00:01:23.930 trying to help the Jewish people or the Hebrew 00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:27.489 people understand Jesus is better. He's the better 00:01:27.489 --> 00:01:30.590 way. The Old Testament sacrifices, Jesus is better. 00:01:30.709 --> 00:01:33.189 The Old Testament blood, Jesus is better. The 00:01:33.189 --> 00:01:35.730 Old Testament priest, Jesus is better. The Old 00:01:35.730 --> 00:01:38.909 Testament prophets, Jesus is better. It's a great, 00:01:39.049 --> 00:01:42.870 great book of the Bible. In chapter 12, it falls 00:01:42.870 --> 00:01:45.120 into these last couple of chapters of the book 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.200 of Hebrews. If you know much about it, maybe 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.379 you've been a big fan of Hebrews chapter 11. 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:53.040 It is the hall of faith, as is called quite a 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:56.019 bit, story after story of Old Testament believers 00:01:56.019 --> 00:01:59.799 and their faith and what actually saved them, 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:02.400 right? It was their faith. It was not their works. 00:02:02.420 --> 00:02:05.400 It was their faith. And we read of the stories 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:07.859 of all those faith moments. Then chapter 12 begins, 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:10.599 and it begins with, since we're surrounded by 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:12.840 this incredible cloud of witnesses, those who 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:15.590 have gone before us that put their faith in the 00:02:15.590 --> 00:02:18.530 Messiah, that through their acts of faith were 00:02:18.530 --> 00:02:21.969 reconciled to God. Those great heroes of the 00:02:21.969 --> 00:02:24.009 faith, we are surrounded. They're cheering us 00:02:24.009 --> 00:02:25.550 on. It's like we're in a stadium and they're 00:02:25.550 --> 00:02:27.710 cheering us on and saying, hey, don't let anything 00:02:27.710 --> 00:02:29.650 slow you down. Just keep going, keep going, keep 00:02:29.650 --> 00:02:33.009 going. As I look in Hebrews chapter 12 today, 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:36.150 I want to focus in on the last part of the chapter. 00:02:36.490 --> 00:02:38.770 Because I want to make sure there's some clarity. 00:02:39.009 --> 00:02:41.330 But also, this week we're really focusing and 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:46.069 anchoring everything into Haggai chapter 2. Well, 00:02:46.069 --> 00:02:50.949 Haggai 2 is quoted in Hebrews 12. Kind of an 00:02:50.949 --> 00:02:53.569 important thing to know. Now, as I said before, 00:02:53.969 --> 00:02:56.050 sometimes the Bible is really difficult to read 00:02:56.050 --> 00:02:58.210 and understand because the Old Testament prophets 00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:00.169 may have been speaking of something that... That 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:03.469 would happen very quickly in their day. Also 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:06.189 something that could happen far away. I know 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:08.430 that tomorrow's reading, we're going to be in 00:03:08.430 --> 00:03:12.169 Isaiah chapter 40, which again has some prophetic 00:03:12.169 --> 00:03:14.050 undertones. There's some things that happen right 00:03:14.050 --> 00:03:16.270 away. There's some things that happen much later. 00:03:16.370 --> 00:03:19.110 Some things that Jesus would come the first time. 00:03:19.129 --> 00:03:21.430 Jesus would come the second time. A lot of pieces 00:03:21.430 --> 00:03:23.689 that it's hard to understand because the timeline 00:03:23.689 --> 00:03:26.750 doesn't exactly line up as it is written. There's 00:03:26.750 --> 00:03:29.210 pieces that are future, pieces that are past. 00:03:29.389 --> 00:03:31.949 pieces that are present, all of those elements. 00:03:32.289 --> 00:03:34.750 So I want to encourage you today in Hebrews chapter 00:03:34.750 --> 00:03:37.349 12, I'm not asking you to go and dig up every 00:03:37.349 --> 00:03:39.610 single timeline moment and when this has happened 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:41.969 and when this is going to and when it has, all 00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:43.530 those things. What I want us to understand today 00:03:43.530 --> 00:03:46.289 is that God speaks, He reveals to us, Himself 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:48.770 gives us new mercies every day. So I want to 00:03:48.770 --> 00:03:50.669 look at a mercy that I believe He's given me 00:03:50.669 --> 00:03:53.449 today, and I'm thankful for it. It's found... 00:03:54.189 --> 00:03:56.849 In the last half, again, of Hebrews chapter 12, 00:03:56.969 --> 00:04:00.169 verses 18 and following. Now, from verses 18 00:04:00.169 --> 00:04:04.669 to 21, what you'll see is it's referring to the 00:04:04.669 --> 00:04:07.250 Old Testament, specifically in the book of Exodus. 00:04:07.650 --> 00:04:11.509 Over in chapter 19 of the book of Exodus, you'll 00:04:11.509 --> 00:04:14.229 see a moment where God is speaking to the people, 00:04:14.270 --> 00:04:17.730 talking about the mountain is a holy place because 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:20.189 God's presence is dwelling on the mountain. And 00:04:20.189 --> 00:04:26.909 he says in there, if anybody, if an animal, That 00:04:26.909 --> 00:04:32.170 is not a threat that is haphazard. That's saying 00:04:32.170 --> 00:04:34.829 God's holiness doesn't need to be messed with. 00:04:35.009 --> 00:04:40.290 We are not a holy people on our own. We only 00:04:40.290 --> 00:04:43.629 are holy because God would make us holy through 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:47.360 the blood of his son. As you read that passage 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:49.120 of Scripture today, I hope and pray you read 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:51.500 all of Hebrews 12. Great chapter. Again, read 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:53.800 the whole thing in context. I want to help explain 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:56.740 this little piece right here from verses 18 down 00:04:56.740 --> 00:04:58.899 through the end. It talks about, in these first 00:04:58.899 --> 00:05:02.439 couple verses, the moment in the time when Moses, 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.060 and he's getting the law, and he's getting the 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:08.879 understanding and God's speaking, explaining 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.160 what holiness really is. And so he does that 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.910 from verses 18 down through verse 21. And then 00:05:15.910 --> 00:05:18.730 he continues on. He changes. There's a little 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:22.810 bit of a tone shift that we see from verses 21 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:25.750 into 22. So I want to read some of these verses 00:05:25.750 --> 00:05:27.550 today. I want to explain a little bit of that 00:05:27.550 --> 00:05:29.750 before I read it. Now I'm going to read a little 00:05:29.750 --> 00:05:31.589 chunk of Scripture. Bear with me. Here we go. 00:05:32.009 --> 00:05:34.970 Beginning at verse 18 of Hebrews 12. For you 00:05:34.970 --> 00:05:38.870 have not come to what may be touched. A blazing 00:05:38.870 --> 00:05:42.490 fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:45.670 the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words 00:05:45.670 --> 00:05:48.829 made the hearers beg that no further messages 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:53.050 spoken to them. For they could not endure the 00:05:53.050 --> 00:05:56.199 order that was given. Even if a beast touches 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:59.160 the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:02.819 terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:06.579 in fear. So those are verses 18, 19, and 20 and 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.959 21. And in those texts, it's saying there was 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.500 a moment where even the people hearing what God 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.500 was saying, the law that was given, the requirement 00:06:16.500 --> 00:06:20.170 for holiness is not reachable on our end. We 00:06:20.170 --> 00:06:22.129 can't get there on our own. Even the people hearing 00:06:22.129 --> 00:06:24.949 it were shouting, please, no more. We can't take 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:28.189 anymore. We're so far away from this holiness. 00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:31.850 We can't get there. That's what he means. That's 00:06:31.850 --> 00:06:33.970 what's being said. If we were to understand what 00:06:33.970 --> 00:06:36.990 true holiness is and realize how far away we 00:06:36.990 --> 00:06:39.339 are. I think we would have a better perspective 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:42.839 as to how much we need to lean into the Lord, 00:06:42.939 --> 00:06:45.019 right? That's what we need to be doing. So that's 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:47.879 happened. Then he says in verse 22, the tone 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.259 shifts. Listen to what he says. He says in verse 00:06:50.259 --> 00:06:54.509 22. But you have come to Mount Zion and the city 00:06:54.509 --> 00:06:57.649 of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 00:06:57.649 --> 00:07:01.670 to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and 00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:04.230 to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled 00:07:04.230 --> 00:07:06.790 in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and 00:07:06.790 --> 00:07:09.110 to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 00:07:09.350 --> 00:07:12.310 and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, 00:07:12.470 --> 00:07:15.939 and to the sprinkled blood. that speaks a better 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:18.699 word than the blood of Abel. Here's what he's 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:22.199 saying. It's to us now. We have come to this 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:24.819 new place, and it's unlike any city on earth. 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:28.000 This is the Zion. This is the city of God, the 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.699 heavenly Jerusalem, and we're made perfect. How? 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:35.360 By the blood of Jesus. That's how we're made 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:39.139 holy. By Jesus' blood, a better blood than Abel 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:43.600 even shed. It's the best blood that is ever out 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:45.620 there for us. It's the only blood that makes 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:49.839 us holy. And now we are called to that. So what 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.819 happens next in the following verses is really 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:55.920 where I want to camp out today for this new mercy. 00:07:56.019 --> 00:07:59.980 Listen to what it says in verses... 25 and following, 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:02.660 see that you do not refuse him who is speaking 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:05.040 for if they did not escape when they refused 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:08.279 him who warned them on earth, much less will 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:10.899 we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:14.060 This is a understanding of scripture that gives 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:18.300 us a picture of authority, right? You won't listen 00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:20.920 to a little child very much, right? If a little 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.720 child comes up and gives you advice, you're not 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.019 going to say, oh, I should take this advice. 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:27.980 because they're a little child. Now, if you have 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.759 a parent and that parent shares with you something 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:32.480 to do, you're going to listen a little bit more 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.080 to that parent because they have authority. Think 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:36.980 about the different positions in the world. A 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:39.470 police officer. They have authority, right? We're 00:08:39.470 --> 00:08:41.529 going to listen to them when they say, hey, pull 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:44.070 the car over. When they say, show me your license. 00:08:44.190 --> 00:08:46.190 You're not going to argue and complain and fight 00:08:46.190 --> 00:08:48.110 because they have authority. You're going to 00:08:48.110 --> 00:08:50.809 listen to them and obey them more than you would 00:08:50.809 --> 00:08:52.929 just some random person that says, hey, show 00:08:52.929 --> 00:08:55.470 me your driver's license, right? If a kid says, 00:08:55.610 --> 00:08:57.129 hey, show me your driver's license, you don't 00:08:57.129 --> 00:09:00.110 feel inclined to do that. But if a police officer 00:09:00.110 --> 00:09:01.870 says it, you listen a little bit differently, 00:09:01.990 --> 00:09:04.730 a little bit more intently. Imagine a king. If 00:09:04.730 --> 00:09:07.629 a king or a president or someone... political 00:09:07.629 --> 00:09:10.289 power was to tell you something, you're going 00:09:10.289 --> 00:09:13.629 to listen a little bit closer. This goes far 00:09:13.629 --> 00:09:16.610 beyond all of that. This is God Almighty who 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:19.830 is speaking from heaven. We need to listen to 00:09:19.830 --> 00:09:24.269 him. If while we were on earth in Mount Sinai, 00:09:24.269 --> 00:09:27.730 in the area where Exodus 19 took place, if you 00:09:27.730 --> 00:09:30.850 were killed for touching the mountain, how much 00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:33.409 more afraid should we be of the voice of God 00:09:33.409 --> 00:09:36.950 himself, the voice that is speaking to us? We 00:09:36.950 --> 00:09:39.690 need to pay attention. Now he goes on and he 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:51.740 says this. This phrase, yet once more, indicates 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:54.779 the removal of things that are shaken, that is, 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.620 things that have been made, in order that the 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:00.750 things that cannot be shaken remain. Therefore, 00:10:00.870 --> 00:10:03.450 let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that 00:10:03.450 --> 00:10:06.210 cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God 00:10:06.210 --> 00:10:09.409 acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for 00:10:09.409 --> 00:10:14.929 our God is a consuming fire. As I look through 00:10:14.929 --> 00:10:17.190 the Scripture, here's what I know. There are 00:10:17.190 --> 00:10:20.529 times God shakes things. There are times He brings 00:10:20.529 --> 00:10:23.389 earthquakes. I looked through the Scripture, 00:10:23.450 --> 00:10:25.809 and I saw that when the law was given way back 00:10:25.809 --> 00:10:30.250 in Exodus 19, there was an earthquake. When Jesus 00:10:30.250 --> 00:10:34.529 was crucified, there was an earthquake, Matthew 00:10:34.529 --> 00:10:38.750 27. When Jesus rose from the dead, there was 00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:43.490 an earthquake. He's going to shake it again. 00:10:43.730 --> 00:10:46.210 He's going to shake the world, also the heavens. 00:10:46.370 --> 00:10:49.789 And the only thing that will remain is what is 00:10:49.789 --> 00:10:54.480 unshakable. finally stand, and it's the things 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.720 that are eternal. We're going to hear some more 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.120 about that in our reading tomorrow in Isaiah, 00:10:59.379 --> 00:11:01.779 but I want to make sure that we understand today, 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:06.340 it's not going to be your church attendance that 00:11:06.340 --> 00:11:10.240 stands. It's not going to be your church vocabulary 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:14.659 that stands. It's not going to be your better 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:16.960 language that stands. It's not going to be your 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:20.899 works that stand. It's going to be his works 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:24.039 through you. It's going to be his word that's 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:26.799 going to stand. His word is going to prevail. 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:30.340 The things that won't be shaken are eternal things. 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:35.500 Now, I like to make sure we understand. I'm not 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.259 saying that your baptism date is not going to, 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:40.679 it doesn't matter. It does matter. It matters 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:43.019 because that is a symbol of an eternal thing. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:45.340 But that's not going to, just because you got 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:47.220 baptized, just because you went underwater or 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:49.659 got sprinkled or whatever, it's not going to, 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:52.700 that doesn't get you into glory, right? It's 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:55.159 the process of putting your trust and your faith 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.860 in Jesus and what he did on the cross. His blood 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:01.000 is better than any other blood. His is the best 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:02.600 blood. It's the only thing that makes us holy. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:05.159 We have to be holy in order to be in his presence. 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:07.759 The way we're holy is by being found under the 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.139 blood of Jesus. As I read through Hebrews, as 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:13.399 I read through our text today, I can't help but 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:15.360 think when he shakes everything, if he were to 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:19.019 shake your life right now, and everything that 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:21.480 doesn't look like him, doesn't sound like him, 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:23.679 doesn't point to him, doesn't give him glory, 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:26.899 if anything in your life is shaken and actually 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:31.350 crumbles, what is left? What is left in your 00:12:31.350 --> 00:12:34.870 life after he shakes everything? My encouragement 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:38.909 to you is to do a self -assessment. Find out, 00:12:38.909 --> 00:12:40.730 God, if you were to shake my entire life today, 00:12:40.850 --> 00:12:44.309 what remains? If you were to remove everything 00:12:44.309 --> 00:12:49.009 that doesn't connect to you, what is still standing? 00:12:49.570 --> 00:12:53.210 And my encouragement is, if you can point to 00:12:53.210 --> 00:12:57.610 things that don't stand, then go ahead and remove 00:12:57.610 --> 00:13:01.309 those things. Get rid of them. Leave only the 00:13:01.309 --> 00:13:04.389 things that honor him and glorify him in all 00:13:04.389 --> 00:13:06.889 he does. You know, this text seems a little bit 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:10.389 intense. It seems a little bit heavy that God's 00:13:10.389 --> 00:13:12.750 holiness is so powerful and so scary and so frightening. 00:13:13.250 --> 00:13:16.789 But, you know, we sometimes will look at grace 00:13:16.789 --> 00:13:19.269 and we'll say, well, we get grace for that. We 00:13:19.269 --> 00:13:22.179 get grace for that. We get grace for this area 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:24.620 of my life that I really like to spoil myself 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:28.320 here. I really like to emphasize this to my kids 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:32.000 over church or over the body of Christ or over 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:34.980 Scripture reading or whatever it may be. I enjoy 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:37.840 doing this over praising and worshiping Him. 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.740 You realize, as it says in Hebrews, that we are 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:44.340 to let us offer to Him acceptable worship. Now, 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:46.159 I would love to dive through the Scripture today 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:48.240 and tell you what acceptable worship is, but 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:50.860 that's for another day. episode. But I want to 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:53.179 encourage you today, find out what's acceptable 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:56.100 worship to God and give him that. Don't give 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.799 him unacceptable worship. Unacceptable worship 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:02.320 is stuff that you can produce. If you are honest 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:05.740 with yourself today, how are you worshiping God? 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:08.419 How are you leading your family to worship God? 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:12.919 How are you going into this relationship with 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.120 him? How are you walking with him? How is he 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.860 walking with you? If he shakes your life today, 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:21.539 what remains? My encouragement is go ahead and 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:22.759 get rid of the things that won't.