At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.”whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.”Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven.
3 sermons cite this verse
so often we can just rush into prayer without recognizing who we are approaching so often we can rush into his word without realizing who is speaking and that's why this passage is so sobering I mean earlier in Hebrews he explains that we do have access to God and we can come before his throne with confidence because of what Jesus has done and that's an amazing, amazing privilege but he here in chapter 12 is reminding us again of who is speaking when we read the Bible and who we are speaking to when we pray. And that's why it would do us well if we really focus on passages like this and remind ourselves rather than casually jumping into prayer and casually jumping into his word. He reminds us, he says, You have not come, verse 18 again, You have not come to what may be touched. we're coming before an invisible God an invisible kingdom and you get that so we interact with what we can see and touch all day long and he's saying now you've got to understand we're coming before something that you can't just go out and grab but then he uses these words think of these words he goes a blazing fire After That God. He's not just someone you can touch. You're talking about a blazing fire, darkness, gloom, and a tempest. This is the kingdom that we're a part of. He says the sound is like a trumpet. …
that is a mouthful he says do you know who you're about to talk to do you get this you're we're not i'm not about to pray right now to someone i can touch that's what he says you're you're coming for someone that you can't touch so we're talking about a blazing fire you can't touch a blazing fire He says, and yet darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg, stop talking, I can't handle this. That's who we're coming before. We're coming before innumerable angels. we're coming before a God who says, look, I'll shake the heavens, I'll shake the earth, but my kingdom will not be shaken. I'll destroy everything else, but you are a part of an unshakable kingdom, and you get to come before the judge of everyone, he says, and before Jesus Christ, and that's an honor to me, and I believe it's about to happen right now as I enter into prayer. …
"Though plunged in ills, and harassed, too, with care, ' Twere treason to your soul did you despair! When pressed by dangers and beset by foes, God will His timely succor interpose!" When your present emergencies shall be gathered up into past experience, you will look back upon them as a meet preparation for your better destiny. Every vestige of your own righteousness must be taken away in order that He may "lay your stones with fair colors, and build up your windows with agate, and your gates with carbuncles." Are not both in the promise—both the agitation and the salvation? The Lord has promised both. Mark that word promised, how it is used by Paul. "Now He has promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also Heaven." Then observe the consequence. The removing of those things that are shaken makes way for another thing, namely, that those things which cannotbe shaken may remain! Therefore it is that we who feel that everything earthly is drifting from under our feet are favored to receive a Kingdom which cannot be moved! Ought not this to reconcile our hearts to trial? Will it not make us rejoice in it, if we have only faith to believe that it will certainly turn out for our good? …