363. An Unmovable Kingdom
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
We have received a kingdom that cannot be moved. This promise we have already received. It is already a part of our life. “The kingdom is within you.” John the Baptist announced the coming of the kingdom of God. Then Jesus appeared in public and announced the Kingdom of God: it is here. Jesus is the Kingdom of God. Then he invites and gathers others to join Him, and believers become the Kingdom of God. When Jesus ascended into heaven He left us the Kingdom. It is the Church of all believers in Christ on the earth.
The promise is that this kingdom cannot be moved. It cannot crumble; it cannot be shaken; it cannot fall; it cannot end. We are in the Kingdom and it is eternal; that is a guarantee. All earthly kingdoms pass away; indeed, heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. That Word is in our hearts and on our lips: Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The world and all the kingdoms of the world, the institutions of life on earth, everyone we know will die, and the hopes and dreams of human existence have the sentence of death upon them. Everything will become the eternal kingdom of God, and God will be all in all. The Good News that we have received such a kingdom. We live in it now and forever.
Because we have the kingdom ruling within us now and because we are certain that we will live and reign with Him forever we have grace. Grace is the present gift from Jesus that gives us power to live and enjoy the life of God. By that grace which gifts us the eternal kingdom we are able to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Reverence and godly fear is faith in Jesus Christ. Faith comes and expands when we hear the Gospel. Biblical, or godly, fear equals faith. We serve God in faith, because of faith, and out of faith in the true and saving God. We serve God not by doing something for Him, but we serve God because He has done it all for us. He has given us the kingdom. We serve God by serving people around us and in our world. God does not need our service, but others do. There is nothing that we can do that “serves” God; we fear Him, love Him, and worship Him, but we cannot add anything to His life. His life is already full, but there are many people around us whose life is not full. They need us; we serve them by grace. And in so doing we serve God. We have received God’s promise of a kingdom. Now we are free to serve God acceptably. We have grace to serve and bless others.