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Shaking Things Up
This past March 11th our church building was filled to capacity on a Friday night to hear a sermon from Shawn Daniels entitled "The Unshakable Kingdom in a Shaken World." It was not an impromptu lesson in reaction to the catastrophic earthquake that hit Japan less than 24 hours earlier and which effectively rippled its way even to the shores of our country. The message had been planned and advertised for that night weeks in advance.I do not make that observation to suggest that God sent this calamity to serve as a timely sermon illustration for our gospel meeting. While some who purport to have the divine gift of prophecy might retroactively claim that they had predicted this event, such would be merely the revisionist machinations of self-important false prophets seeking relevance for their misguided ministries. No, the seismic event was not timely, but the message preached to us on March 11th was.
Paul wrote, "The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). As we watch video clips of tsunamis swallowing in a moment all the things we work for years to obtain (businesses, houses, cars, etc.), surely we appreciate the relevance of Jesus' admonition, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt. 6:19-20).
Security is not ultimately found in anything physical. In nature there are things against which we are unable to protect ourselves. When even terra firma shakes and cracks so as to move the oceans, we are graciously reminded that our bodies are but dust and our life-spans are vaporous. This realization drives some to party, "for tomorrow we die," while others are driven to their knees to worship their Creator and their only hope of salvation. While the godless wring their anxious hands over the future of this globe, the God-fearing fold their hands in prayer, committing their souls to the only One who offers something truly unshakable.
As you read this article in the relative calm and comfort of your home, consider how fragile and unstable everything is in this world. A mere belch of negativity from nature or nations can send stock markets worldwide into tailspins. The excesses fostered by a prosperity that only gives God a nominal place on its coinage but attempts to remove His national influence could easily be our fall. Economic carelessness fueled by selfish materialism mixed with moral degradation is a recipe for disaster.
As the late Paul Harvey frequently observed, "Self-government without self-discipline will not work." History is littered with the ruins of fallen people who forgot that God is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). We would all be wise to be more diligent in our pursuit of righteousness rather than our pursuit of things that perish with using.
Lest for some arrogant reason we think that it won't happen to us (U.S.), God has preserved in His word the condemnation of "His chosen people," the nation of Israel. In seeking to be like the nations around them, they suffered the fate of those nations. In rejecting the Messiah, their house was left desolate (Matt. 23:38). For nearly two millennia the ruins of their physical temple have testified to the truth that nations which reject God will be judged. If God did not spare Israel, He will not spare us unless we repent. No, the recent earthquake does not mean that the Japanese are worse sinners than we are, but it does remind us that, unless we repent, we will all likewise perish (cf. Luke 13:1-5).
From The Flood (Genesis 6-9) to the destruction of Jerusalem (Rev. 11:2), we have been amply warned that "the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). "Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?" (2 Peter 3:10-11).
"See that you do not refuse Him who speaks … from heaven" (Heb. 12:25). Jesus Christ is mankind's salvation and only hope. He offers citizenship in a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-29) because it is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). His is a church against which not even the gates of death can prevail (Matt. 16:18). The kingdoms of earth pass away one by one, but the kingdom of heaven remains!
— via Think on These Things, Vol. 42, #2 (April – June, 2011)
