A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken: Finding Certainty in Uncertain Times – Part 3

Review

• Last week, we talked about what to do when the unthinkable happens.
• Common examples are a death, a job loss, a divorce, or a person we trust suddenly turning on us.
• These are all things we can encounter in a world that is subject to .
• Thankfully, in a world that can be so easily shaken, we can be rooted in a kingdom that is .
• The Hebrew writer’s commentary on this gives us our theme passage:
• • Hebrews 12:27-28
• This passage addresses the tension many of us feel between our circumstances and .
• And for people in who subscribe to theology—as we do—this can be a hard pill to swallow.
• Part of the purpose of this series is to discuss the simultaneity of two key theological positions:

1. A belief that God’s promises encompass the blessings of , which include, but are not exclusive to physical health, protection and provision.
2. Accepting that life will bring unexpected loss or unwelcomed that will not always lend itself to easy or convenient answers or explanations.

What is Your Foundation?

• God’s is linked to what is : God Himself.
• are linked to what is shakeable: creation.
• Think about it. In an earthquake, do you cling to things that shake or things that are difficult to ?
• Earthquakes expose .
• Is your house built on the ?
• is that rock.
• • Matthew 7:24-27
• Some people erroneously think that building a on the rock means that they will not encounter trouble.
• On the contrary, storms come to .
• God’s is not that you will be storm-free, but that you will be shake-free if you build on the rock.

Faith that Stands the Test of Time

• The reality is that even those of us with the strongest faith will sometimes encounter contradictions between our physical reality and spiritual convictions.
• But this is not a sign that God’s promises are not true, even if we do not see them come to pass:
• • Hebrews 11:32-40
• Sometimes our faith is linked to something far beyond us—potentially beyond our .
• Sometimes the understanding we seek about we don’t receive will only come later in life or perhaps in the life to come.

Christian Suffering

• Some of life’s challenges are to the Christian life and documented in Scripture as suffering, persecution, tribulations, trials, and tests.
• • Romans 8:16-17
• Claiming Christ’s also means claiming His suffering.
• A true follower of Christ knows that it is a to suffer with Christ.
• • Luke 6:22-23
• Righteousness and suffering are paired together just as righteousness and are paired together.
• • Psalm 34:19
• The reality is that both suffering and prosperity are part of the life.
• Some people only have a of suffering.
• Some people only have a theology of .
• In the end, we want to approach life the way the Apostle Paul did:
• • Philippians 4:11-13
• Our relationship with is what keeps us steady regardless of the circumstances.
• This is why we must continue to pursue “a living, loving, growing relationship with Jesus” (A.R. Bernard)

Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2020