Jentezen Franklin - How To Be Unshakable - Part 2
If you have your Bibles open them with me to the book of Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 is where I wanna go this morning. Let's go down to verse 27 of Hebrews 12. "Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear". I'm so thankful today that what He's saying in the first verse is everything that's manmade and temporary, it's being shaken. We're living in that time. We don't know what the next seven months are going to bring. I feel an uneasiness just a little bit. What is coming? Got wars all over the world. We've got things happening internally. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. But we have received the kingdom.
Now, if you haven't you can shout on that part, but if you have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and my family is in that kingdom. My marriage is in that kingdom. My life is in that kingdom. And it does not mean that we're immune from trouble, and storms, and difficulties, and adversities. But whatever life brings I have received a kingdom, a structure, a foundation, that cannot be shaken. I wanna preach today on how to be unshakable. Because you see, the foundation that we build our life on matters. That's why in Matthew 7 it talks about, there are only two foundations that people build their homes and their lives on. He talks about building your home on the rock. And He said, "And when the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house, it didn't fall, for it was founded, it was structured on the rock. But to every one of these sayings of mine who hears it and they don't do them, they're like a fool who builds their house on sand and the rain descended, the floods came".
Notice they go through the same thing. We're not immune. We don't get out of jail free, get out of pain free, get out of suffering free card because we're Christians. We're gonna all go through it in life. But the only difference between the two is what they're building their lives on. One is sand and one is the rock. And it said that the one on sand fell and it was a great fall. The other one stood through the extreme storm. And the amazing thing about storm shelters, extreme storm shelters, is when they are giving the way that they have to be constructed, they're told not to use air nail guns. I thought that was interesting that when you're building a hurricane shelter, a shelter that must absolutely guarantee that it's gonna be there, it'll be there through terrible storms and hell-force winds, there's nothing wrong with an air nail gun, a nail gun. There's nothing wrong with it. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and it's up quick.
I think it's a brilliant invention. And that's good if you want if you want something for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. It might last 50 years with a nail gun. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. But if you're gonna build something that's gonna endure the most extreme worst storms, you gotta go not with the new modern tools that run on batteries, but you gotta get the old hammer and nail out. It's pretty amazing. The old method is the one that you wanna trust when the storm comes. When all hell is breaking loose. I don't need to know that my whole life is built on just a pop, pop, pop, of a little bit of religion. But I need that old hammer, and that nail, and that cross. I need something that will outlast the storm. The hammer and nail, sometimes you miss and it's bloody, and it's hurtful, and it's painful, and you're suffering, and you're going through long days and long nights and it's just exhausting. But when God doesn't give you the quick pop, pop, nail gun answer, know that He's building a structure in your family for generations.
This isn't a quick throw up garage. This is a generational blessing. And every time you open up this book you're using the hammer and the nail. And every time you come to church, it's not just to pop, pop, but this is what we do. This is who we are. This is what family is supposed to do, is bring your family and worship. You are building an eternal house. I'm simply trying to preach to you today that the structure really matters. The foundation matters. How much music, filthy music can you listen to before it affects the structure of who you are? How much filthy pornography can you look at? I tell you that fear, I fear, that's the fear of the Lord. We need the fear of the Lord back in the church. We need to understand that anybody can fall. But unto Him who is able to keep us from falling, if we stay connected to the skeleton, which is Jesus, the flesh may fail but it'll always get back up because the structure and foundation is solid.
God put Adam to sleep and He reached in his side, opened up his side and pulled a rib out. You know why He put Adam to sleep? 'Cause God didn't want his opinion on how to make his bride. "And I think the church ought to be, and I believe the church ought to, I believe that", God is not asking your opinion about His bride. He's a carpenter and He said, "I'mma do it with a hammer and a nail, and I don't care if you like it or not. You either gon' repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Spirit, and get into my word, and love me, and forgive, and walk in forgiveness, and holiness, and separation, and live for me or not. I don't care, but you're not gon' get, your opinion is not gon' change this guy with the hammer and the nail building the church and creating the bride". And He forms Eve out of the structure of Adam, and He brings her to him. And then, Adam wakes up and He says, "You're bone of my bone. You're flesh of my flesh". Power comes from that structure.
Did you know that the Bible said in Leviticus that, "The life of the flesh is in the blood"? And life comes from blood, and blood comes from your bones. Bone marrow is what produces blood. And so, if you play around with the structure of the bones, you're gonna get in trouble. The bone structure can choke off the blood supply. Don't play with the bone structure. When we put rainbow flags out in front of our church we're playing with the structure of the church that Jesus built. And that's choking off the blood. The bone is what produces the blood. Love everybody. Accept everybody. You're welcome here, but I'm not gonna change the message. The structure, the foundation is repent and be baptized, and be born again. "And the old things pass away and behold, all things become new".
I could be an adulterer, but I've been born again. I could be a liar, but I've been born again. Same thing for any other lifestyle. Do you know there's a story in the Old Testament where they didn't handle the bones of the king right, and God send a famine? Because when you start changing the structure of a house and a nation and a home that God has built, it won't last. Jacob strutted into Bethel and wrestled with God. He walked in, Jacob, and wrestled with God. And God said, "I'mma change you, boy, but I'mma change you structurally first". And He pulled his hip out of joint. Read it. "He wrestled and the angel pulled his hip out of joint". And God said, "Now, that I've changed the structure of who you are, you can walk out now, Israel. I'm changing your name from Jacob to Israel, and you're gonna walk away with a limp, and you not gonna walk the same way you used to walk because I've changed you structurally. You are not the same person inwardly that you used to be".
That's old fashioned repentance right there. God can change how you walk from now on. Somebody shout over that. I mean, they told you counseling couldn't change you. Nobody could change you. A program can't change you. I'm not against any of those. They can help you stay on the straight and narrow. But you have to have a structural change at some point, and the blood, and the cross, and the nails, and the hammer of Calvary are the only things that can change you. Let me close with this. In 2 Kings, the Bible said that the Israelites were coming from a battle when one of the soldiers had been killed. And they were being chased by the enemy, and so, they took the corpse and threw it in a cave. And it was the cave where Elisha's bones were lying.
And when the dead soldier of a new generation touched the old bones of the old prophet, touched the old foundation, touched the old structure, notice this, any time the structure is there resurrection power is looking for an opportunity. Resurrection is always attracted to structure, which means if the enemy attacks you and your family, as long as you hold on to the word, and hold on to the cross, and hold on to the name, the power of the Holy Spirit, I can't promise you that it won't look like it's dead, but I can tell you that what draws resurrection power it's always drawn. Yeah, it's bad, the new generation but if they'll touch the old structure, the old hammer and nail, It's not pop, pop, pop. It's hammer and nail, the cross. And when they had the Passover lamb there was a command, and Jesus fulfilled this prophesy. He said, "When you eat that lamb make sure when you cook it, and when you prepare it, that you do not break one of its bones".
No bones on that lamb was to be broken. Isn't it amazing that when they took Jesus to Calvary and hung Him on the cross, He had a thief on one side and a thief on the other side. And the soldiers, in order to speed the crucifixion process up, would break the knees of the person they were crucifying. And the Bible said the soldiers went to break the knees of the thief on one side and they broke his knees. And they went to the other thief and broke his knees, would cause the blood to go faster and cause the person to die. Notice this, on one side, one represented Adam. Broke the knees, Adam fell. The other side represented Lucifer. How do you know it represented Lucifer? Because He said that old thief cursed Jesus, and said, "If you are the Son of God," that's the same words Satan used in the wilderness when Jesus was fasting 40 days and 40 nights.
So, one represents the fall of Adam to sin, one represents the fall of Lucifer from heaven. And they go to break the knees of Jesus, the Passover lamb, and the Bible said that they stuck a spear in His side, watch this, a spear in His side, blood and water gushed out in His side just like Adam. Just like Adam, Eve is gonna come out of his side. Blood and water, born again. He's gon' get Him a bride out of Adam's side. He's gonna get Him a bride out of Jesus' bleeding side. We are the body of Christ. We are the blood. We are the bride of Christ. But the powerful thing is when they went to break the knees of Jesus they said, "There's no need to break His knees. He's already dead". Why? Because the...why couldn't they break his knees? Because the structure couldn't be messed with.
And anytime the structure remains it doesn't matter how bad the situation gets, if you stay on that firm foundation, resurrection is always attracted to an unbroken foundation. And on the third day, He came up out of the grave. Out of the tomb. I'm preaching to families. I'm preaching to people. Hell wants to destroy your family and your marriage, and we've been there. I can truly say sometimes you feel like all you got left is a skeleton. But if the structure stands, get ready for resurrection 'cause God's not finished with you and your family. Momma, quit worrying. Quit being afraid. Quit worrying. If you built that foundation under your children, I tell you today, "I will build my church," the man with the hammer and the nail said, "and the gates of hell will not prevail". It's a guarantee. Wow.
Stand to your feet all over, at every campus. No one moving, please. Reverently, just stand there for a moment. Can I challenge you this morning? I feel this in my soul. At every campus to get out of your seat and come down with your family as much as you can and stand together, and reaffirm the foundation and the structure. The Bible said in Romans, "Nothing can separate us from the love of God". Come on, bring it to Jesus. Bring it to Him this morning. Now, all over this room lift your hands up toward heaven and I want you to pray for a moment. I want you just to say, "God, we give you our homes. We give you our family. We give you our nation. We give you, O God, our church. We give it to you. We build it on and reaffirm the foundation. I'm not building on sand. I'm building on the rock. So, we come back to you today". Some of you, like Samson, have been playing with things. Come back to the firm foundation, to the structure. Let's worship all over this room. Let's worship Him. Let's praise Him. Give Him your family.
Every head bowed, every eye closed, every campus. If you don't know that you know you're saved, if you've wandered far, if you're lost, if you've lost the structure, if you've somehow, you've allowed that rock solid foundation to be destroyed in your life, you can come to Him this morning. He's got a hammer, a nail, and a cross. And He'll wash you, and He'll cleanse you, and He'll forgive you. "Pastor, you're preaching to me, today. I need that firm, unshakable foundation under my life. I need to surrender my life to Him".
If that's you, boldly lift your hand right where you're standing. I'm gonna pray for you. Right where you are, hands are up all over the room in every campus, in the prison. Hallelujah. He loves you. He loves your family. He loves your home. Just keep that hand high unashamed. Just raise it high and unashamed. Now, look around you, and if you see someone with their hand raised, gently lay your hand on their shoulder. There are hundreds, it looks like across this congregation. And I'm sure that there are many, many, many out there. Take time to lay your hand on them as an act of support. Say, "I stand with you..." Pray this prayer out loud everybody at every campus say, "Jesus..." Those of you online, say:
Jesus, I surrender my life to you today. I thank you for that cross, for that hammer, for those nails. And, Lord, I receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. I know the winds will come, I know the adversities will come, but I receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We will stand. We will overcome. We will stand firm on God's promise. I am forgiven. I am born again.