The Shakings of God #sermon #dumcMY #fb

Pastor Chew Weng Chee18/12/2011

Heb 12:25-29  See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?  (26)  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."  (27)  The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-- that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.  (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,  (29)  for our "God is a consuming fire."

The word ‘warn’ was used on 2 occasions (v25) – on the earth and from the heaven.

There are 4 things about alarm:

1. To detect an abnormal event
2. The measure the severity of the problem/
3. Guides the user to diagnose the problem
4. Allows sufficient time to correct the situation

What kind of alarm did God provide to us? Is it an alarm clock that wakes us up from our slumber or an alarm bell to warn us of danger? Both.

God is going to shake 7 things, and all at the same time.

1 and 2 - Earth and Heavens

To wake us up and to warn us about the impending danger. As recently as the last 5 years, things have changed – natural disasters mount, global environment talks flounder, earthquake in Christchurch, Fukushima nuclear disaster, flood in Thailand. God is – according to Pastor Chew – speaking to us with a megaphone and yet we don’t care, still being busy with our life. Are we listening?

Pastor Chew showed this graph and noticed its resemblance to

We read the news from CNN, Al Jazeera with jaundiced lenses. We go about our own business.
After Christchurch and Fukushima, both on the Andreas Fault, the next big earthquake is expected in San Francisco. Read this for more info.

Isa 24:1-2  See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants--  (2)  it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.

We need to look behind (beyond?) the tangible and visible and to discern what God is telling us.

Isa 24:4-5  The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish.  (5)  The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.

We have violated God’s laws for the earth. The forests are being cut down at reckless speed.

Isa 24:7  The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.

3. Created Things

v27. Anything created by man can and will be shaken.

There is nothing wrong working hard for money but we need a proper perspective of wealth. Everything we have we received from God. We don’t own anything. Anything we have is a blessing from God. We are but stewards.

God give us many things, mind, etc. If they become more important than God, they become our idols. Tim Keller in his book Counterfeit God defined idols as “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”
Pastor Chew believed Jonah died and rose again. He referred to Mt 12:40. (I don’t think that scripture supports that claim.) Jonah’s ‘final words’ are about idols.

Jon 2:8  Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

4. Financial System

It is more obvious today. Don’t think the crisis in Europe won’t affect us in Malaysia. The riot in London is a glimpse of lawlessness.

PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) may fall. Italy is the 3rd largest economic body in Europe. Read The PIIGS Won’t Fly.

5. Spiritual forces of the heavenly realms

Today, over a period of more than a hundred years since the circles of John Ruskin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Friedrich Nietzsche popularized the satanic Age of Aquarius, Western European civilization has undergone an experience which parallels in essential features the process of degeneration of Europe leading into the fourteenth century's New Dark Age. The spread of explicit Satanism, through aid of agencies such as Adorno's Frankfurt School, and its dogma of "the authoritarian personality," has now entered a phase of large scale mass organizing.
~ Lyndon J. LaRouche: The Throry of the Satanist Personality.

Pastor Chew mentioned Woodstock. “Do you remember Woodstock?” (I know about Woodstock. I cannot remember Woodstock because it’s before my time.) The age of relativism is here. People don’t want absolute truth.

The bad news is the rise of such trends.

The good news? From Ralph Winter, the Centre for World Missions, Pasadena, Lausanne Task Force in Evangelism.

1. No of evangelical Christians is growing 3.5 times faster than the population of the world
2. Worldwide Islam’s growth is 3.2% annually. Worldwide faith in Jesus Christ is 6.9% annually.
3. As much as 20% of Indonesia’s population is now Christian.
4. 1897: 3% Africans considered themselves Christians, today 50%

6. Israel

Pastor Chew mentioned 2 books - The Elijah Legacy by David Davis, The Coming Israel Awakening by James W. Goll. He believes what happens in Israel are signs of things to come.

Rabbis pray at the Western Wall that the Davidic throne is restored. King David is the benchmark which all kings are measured. These are the prayers of the Revisionist Zionist (like Benjamin Netanyahu.)

Is the war of God and Magog the Armegeddon? Kevin Conner (?) in his seminar on Ezekiel listed 7 reasons why it is not.

7. The Church

1Pe 4:17  For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Pastor Chew thought 2012 will be very difficult. He suggested 3 things:

Only 2 things last forever, the Word of God and the souls of man. Don’t be foolish to go after temporal things. Invest our life and time on the eternal things.
Our response:

1. Invert our mindset. Think.
2. Invest your time and resources in things that matter. Some parties and social functions we don’t have to go. Spend time in church and things of God. We cannot live life they way we did 10 years ago.
3. Involve ourselves “hands-on”. Don’t be detached. Don’t distant ourselves from the church. There is something we can do. Engage. Don’t disengage.