Worship God Acceptably

Hebrews 12:14-29

Key verse 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...

Thus far the author of the Hebrews has systematically explained that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. On the back of the Downey UBF church bulletin there is a statement of faith. The key point of this statement is that we believe that we are saved by trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is in fact what the author of the Hebrews has elaborated on so far, that is, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Communists have a set belief system called the "Communist Manifesto." Likewise we Christians have our own belief system. In a way the book of the Hebrews can be called the “Christian Manifesto" addressed to Jewish believers [whereas the book of Romans can be described as “the Christian Manifesto” addressed to the Gentile believers]. 

In the last Sunday worship message, which was based on Chapter 12:1-13, Shepherd Charles said, "You are a runner." That is correct. All of us who believe in Jesus are runners, running not the kind of races worldly people do, such as a rat race, but the spiritual race, the race heading for God's kingdom, running not according to our own might alone but according to the divine help that comes through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In the passage for today the author reaches a grand conclusion of his Manifesto by exhorting us to worship God acceptably. Practically, then, what does it mean to worship God acceptably? 

I. Worship in our practical life.

In verses 14-17 the author encourages us to worship God acceptably in our practical life, not just at a church on special days, such as Sundays. Of course, we worship God on Sundays at places like our Downey Bible Center. But a church fellowship is not the only venue where the worship must take place. Sundays are not the only days on which we worship the Lord our God. We must worship God 24/7. We worship God in all different places. We worship God in the arena of life, such as at work, school, home, etc. And we must worship God acceptably in our public and private relationships with others as well as in our private and personal relationship with God the Father.

Look at v. 14. "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." On Sundays I worship the Lord at the church. But at home I must worship the Lord by doing my best to get along with my wife, my children, and my grandchildren. On Sundays I can come to the church and preach the message of peace, making many smiles. But I cannot be belligerent with others at home or at school. I cannot, and should not, live as a peace-maker at a church but a trouble-maker at other places. 

"Make every effort to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." What does it mean to be "holy"? Well, that is a good question. But I believe that we can avoid a lot of confusion about the meaning of the word "holiness" when we remember that the only person who can be described as "holy" is God himself. God alone is holy. No one other than God should be called "Your Holiness." The Bible says, "Be holy, because I am holy" (1Pe 1:16). So the call to be holy means to be holy "as God is holy." In what respect then is God holy? The word "holy" has the meaning of "set apart" or "different from." In what respect is God different? In what sense is God set apart? Only in one aspect, that is, God alone is not dependent upon anyone. He alone is the provider. Everything else is dependent upon him. And he is independent in the sense that he alone is self-sufficient. So he does not have to beg anyone for anything. As they are, all the rest are deficient. They can be made "sufficient" only when God makes them sufficient. So man can become sufficient only through being "God-sufficient." As much as God lives in and through each person, he or she can become God-sufficient. So in and through God the Father residing in and through that person, he or she can live a life that is fully satisfied. Then he can live a life that is holy. Reaching this status is more easily said than done. On many occasions I expect that at home my wife Rebekah cook something delicious for me. Plus as I grow old my appetite gets more sophisticatedly picky. Add to this the fact that Isaac was a gourmet lover. But the problem is that my wife doesn't always cook what I want. On many occasions she even does not know what I like. She knows exactly what my children like. So at home I feel dissatisfied. So what do I do? Keep begging her to cook this or that and cook in this way or that way for me? No. I have found a solution. Instead of begging, I decided to take care of myself. Each time she is not inclined to cook what I want, I cook for myself. Plus I ask her, "Honey, what do you like to eat? I would like to treat you at any restaurant you want." 

 

Look at verses 15-17. "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears." In the Bible we can find a lot of people who neglected their relationship with the Lord in their day to day life and through that they eventually and effectively shut themselves out of God’s kingdom. The people of the days of Noah are one example. The people living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah [remember Lot’s wife!] are another. And the example of Esau is still another. 

As we know, Esau was lucky enough to be born into a believing family. His father was Isaac and his mother was Rebekah. Having grown up under believing parents he could have learned to walk in the Lord in worship and grown up to be a mature man of God. But the account of Esau as recorded in the Bible (Genesis 25) indicates that since he neglected his relationship with the Lord in his practical life he ended up forfeiting all the blessings of God. Speaking of his spiritual neglect, Genesis 25:27 reads, "The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents." Apparently, while Jacob was spending time with his parents, especially his mother, listening to Bible stories such as Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the story of Noah, or the story of his grandfather Abraham, what was Esau doing?  Being a man of the open country, he must have spent lots of time outdoors trying to hunt wild game. Of course, these things are not necessarily bad. But if you immerse yourself too much in physical activities that do not nurture one’s spirit, sooner or later your spirit and soul will starve to death, so that you end up living as a man of flesh alone. Then you operate only on the level of animals, such as a dog or a reptile. Indeed, Esau’s reckless disregard for his relationship with the Lord resulted in the animal instincts within him gaining a firm grip on him, so that, dictated by his youthful passion, he went out and got involved in sexually immoral relationships. Eventually, he ended up marrying unbelieving women, such as Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael (Genesis 26:34; 28:9).

"See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears." This passage indicates that when one neglects one's relationship with the Lord in his daily life, he will soon become spiritually blind and lose sight of what is truly valuable. He will chase after all that are stupid. In his stupidity, Esau sold his birthright for a single meal. We can easily understand the foolishness of the deal he made when we compare the blessings Jacob received and the blessings (which should not be called blessings but just curses) Esau received. Let us Genesis 27:28-29. This passage describes the contents of the Lord's blessings upon Jacob. Let us then read Genesis 27:39-40. The former describes the fullness of God's blessings coming down from heaven to earth (into Jacob's account), whereas the latter depicts total emptiness; Esau got nothing but shame.  

  

II. Worship at the present time.

In verses 18-24 the author introduces to us what we have in the Lord here and now, that is, full access to the glorious fellowship with God and the members of his kingdom. Look at verses 22-24. "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." Here the expression, "you have come," repeated twice, tells us that while we are here and now, in and through Jesus the Lord we have been invited to the fellowship with God the Father and all the members of God's kingdom. 

In the past, the Israelites had limited access to the fellowship with God. For example, during the Old Testament period the high priest representing the believers was allowed to come to the presence of God only once a year, and they had to bring offerings each time the high priest was allowed to go in. But in Jesus we have now come to have full access to the presence of God. Since Jesus paid the price for our sins we do not need to bring additional offerings. Last Saturday, in order celebrate the victory the Lord granted to Alex Jafari, the INS's approval of his petition for asylum from Iran to the U.S., Shepherd Abraham Michaud invited his friends (including me) to Disney Land. The admission fee per person is $91. But since Shep. Abraham works there the four of us could get in for free. Disney Land has designated this year as "the year of a million dreams fulfilled." While we were at the theme park, they kept running the commercial saying, "In the year of 2008 we celebrate more than a million dreams fulfilled." But to tell you the truth, although this land has amazing features, compared to the dreams one can get fulfilled in the Kingdom of God, the dreams Walt Disney fulfilled for himself amounts to nothing. While Walt Disney fulfilled his own dreams mainly for himself, in the kingdom of God we can get not just a million dreams, but a zillion dreams fulfilled. Each time you enter Disney Land, you need to pay a hefty fee which keeps increasing. But for access to the kingdom of God, since Jesus purchased group memberships, the tickets are available for free to anyone who believes in the Lord. And the membership we have in the Lord is a life-time membership. The membership Jesus bought for you and for me has no expiration date, for it is good for eternity. Thanks and praise be to God the Father who sent Jesus, who opened a new and a living way for us to come to the Father and all the members of his kingdom!

III. Worship through Jesus the Son of God.

In view of what God has done for us, what should we do? Let us read verse 25. This passage says that we should not reject Jesus. Rather, we must believe in him, accept him as the Lord and Savior, and welcome him into our life so that we can have an intimate fellowship with him. And through him have fellowship with God the Father and all the members of his kingdom. In v. 25, "he who speaks," refers to Jesus Christ, for in Hebrews 1:1-2 it is written: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 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." The expression, "refuse him who speaks," means, "refuse to let Jesus come in, so Jesus can lead us to the fellowship with God." 

In fact, in order to us to enter the joyful fellowship in the kingdom of heaven, Revelation 3:20 says that even now the Risen Jesus stands at the door saying, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Yet it is possible that you refuse Jesus so he cannot come in. Every once in a while Jehovah's Witness members knock on the door of my house. Each time they knock on the door, I ask who they are or what they want. The minute I recognize that they are Jehovah's witnesses, I just shut the door on their faces. On many occasions they are very insistent. But Jesus is different. He is a gentle person. Since Jesus respects each person's free will to either welcome him or reject him, when he is not welcome, he cannot and does not come in. 

Yet, when anyone rejects him who speaks, what will happen to him? What will he lose? Look at verses 26-29. “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.’ The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’ ” This passage tells us that rejecting Jesus means losing God's kingdom. To a carnal mind, the kingdom of God does not seem to be of any practical value. But to a spiritual man whose spiritual eyes are opened, losing God's kingdom is losing everything. Even if that person has gained everything in this world, what he has gained amounts to nothing, for according to v. 27 all created things, such as celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and stars and things on earth, such as all the moneys or businesses you set up, will be removed. What does "removed" mean? Removed means becoming extinct, nada, nil, nothing. But it is not so with the kingdom of God and all that are in it, for the kingdom of God and all that are in there alone will remain for good. 

Therefore what should we do each and every day? Again let us read verses 28 and 29. "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’ ” It has been said, “To think is the key to thank.” So thinking about what God has done in and through Jesus, especially the invitation to the glorious kingdom of God, let us give thanks to God fully and worship him with reverence and awe. Thanks and praise be to God the Father who has invited us to his glorious kingdom all through the blood sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. 

One word: Worship God acceptably

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