Dear Christian friends:

There are various things in our lives that shake us up: loss of employment, illness - especially if its terminal, a death in the family, a divorce, financial losses, poor grades, etc. But we Christians have God's promise that we are members of a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Some things may cause slight tremors in our lives, or even major, devastating earthquakes. But our life in Christ is solid, stable, and secure, for God promises to preserve us until we join him in the new heavens and new earth which will never pass away.

I. Some things will be shaken, and shaken, so very hard that they pass away into oblivion.

A. This heaven and earth will pass away and be replaced.

1. In our text we read, "At that time (the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai) his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." (Haggai 2:6) The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things. (vv. 26-27) In Psalm 102 we read: "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

2. Are we relying on the things of this world? our good health? our property? our savings and pension? Our problem is that we tend to trust and depend on these earthly things which we can see and handle rather than in God whom we cannot see. If we do this, we are in for some tremendous shocks.

3. In history we have hints of the tentative and transitory nature of these earthly things and powers: the Roman Empire, Napoleon's Empire, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Iraq's vaunted Republican Guard. Yearly we must spend billions on national defense to guard our earthly kingdom, for even the U.S.A. is vulnerable. Kingdoms of the earth come and go, but God's kingdom stands forever.

4. We are in the world but not of this world. Our Lord pleads with us in love to keep the proper perspective and thus not be deceived by the glamour of the things of this present world.

B. Some things in our personal lives also get us "all shook up."

1. The second part of our problem is that we often permit ourselves to fall apart over the trials, afflictions and tribulations of this transitory world. Of course, the things that I mentioned in the Introduction of this sermon will cause us grief and stress, but they should not destroy us or our faith. Do we let our problems and troubles get the better of us? The student in Des Moines, Iowa last week who shot four others and himself is an extreme example of this as is the man in Killeen, Texas who massacred twenty-three others and himself in a restaurant on Oct. 16.

2. One of the challenges of our Christian faith is to endure the trials, tribulations and afflictions of life in such a way that our faith is not weakened by them, but strengthened by them. Are you in control of the adverse situation, or is the situation in control of you? Can you say,"I will not let these adversities rob me of joy and hope in Christ?

I have to tell you about an adverse event that happened to our family when I was ten years of age. It was March 10, 1933 at about 5:00 P.M. My younger brother and I were flying our kites on our small farm near Westminister, about 5 miles from Huntington Beach. I had given my kite to my brother to fly along with his while I went to get some more string which I had hidden between the bed and the back axle of an old sugar beet wagon. As I crawled under the wagon the earth began to shake. On my hands and knees I could see what looked like two feet high waves of earth. The wagon jumped and rattled. A two thousand gallon wood-stave water tank on a twenty-five foot tower fell to the earth sending water all over the yard. The chimney on our house broke off at the roof level and crashed to the ground almost hitting an older brother as he ran out of the house. I looked up to the milk house and saw my father run out and fall to the ground. I thought it was the end of the world, and prayed really earnestly running out into the open field. The quake was 6.5 on The Richter scale and lasted one minute and twenty-seven seconds! After we all got over the initial quake we had our usual supper in the house along with the after shocks. After dinner we had our family devotion as was custom. We heard that our neighbors were leaving to go to higher ground as they feared there might be a tidal wave. But my Dad and Mom said we would place ourselves into God's hands and sleep in the house as usual, which we did inspite of several after shocks which caused our beds to roll a bit. As you might imagine the display of faith and trust on the part of my father and mother helped us all remain in control of the adverse situation. We could do this because we knew that:

II. Some things will never be shaken. Our text speaks of "things that cannot be shaken." (v. 27)

A. God himself cannot be shaken.

1. God never changes; he is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb. 13:8) "I change not," says the Lord.

2. God's Word never changes. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." (Is. 40:8) Jesus, God's incarnate Word, reminds us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)

B. As God cannot be shaken, so also his kingdom cannot be shaken. Our text assures us that we "are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." (v. 28)

1. The permanence of the kingdom is assured by God's promise. Jesus himself reminds us that those who hear and believe his Word are like a house built on solid rock that will not be shaken by the storms of life." (Luke 6:46-47)

Today is the 508th birthday of Martin Luther, who was born in 1483. Actually, Luther and the other reformers merely rediscovered and affirmed the same Gospel which Christ had entrusted to the apostles and which has always been in God's eternal Word. Luther's great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God" describes both the evil forces which threaten to shake us, and the eternal security which is ours through God's grace in Christ. Luther ends that hymn with these words: "The Kingdom ours remaineth." (TLH 262 v.4)

2. The kingdom of God is present now, wherever believers in Jesus Christ gather to worship around the Word and the Sacraments. In our text we read, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." (vv. 28-29)

We worship our God with reverence and awe because he does not shake us into oblivion as we deserve, being sinners, nor does he consume us with his fire. We are thankful that he has saved us from his just and consuming wrath, and brought us into his kingdom through the grace and redemptive work of his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God, died for us on the cross, and arose from death on the third day to assure us of everlasting life in his name.

3. The kingdom will continue throughout eternity in the new heavens and earth. God promises that Christ will return with power and great glory on the Last Day and bring all believers into the new world which is unshakable, where we will "serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness."

Conclusion: When we feel "all shaken up" over the various adversities of life, we take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ is our sure foundation. As members of God's eternal kingdom, we remain secure through faith in Christ. With Martin Luther we bold say:

And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child and wife,
Let these all be gone,
They yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 262, v.4)

Amen