First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I'm Henry Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, and Spirit-led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast and remember, there's power at the Park.

Come on, let's clap those hands together. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 12 is where we turn our spotlight and peel our eyes down to verse number 28 and find these words recorded. The 28th verse of Hebrews chapter 12: "Since we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakable." Amen. You can go to your seat. That's all I need. We'll get to the rest in the next service.

Since we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakable, unshakable faith in uncertain times. We're living in uncertain times, times where systems wobble, institutions falter, and what once felt stable now feels fragile. Economies shift overnight. Health can change with one diagnosis. Leadership can disappoint. Relationships can fracture. Even churches are navigating unfamiliar terrain.

Yet the writer of Hebrews speaks not to people who are comfortable but to believers who are tired, pressured, and tempted to go back. These were Christians standing at a crossroads, wondering if faith was still worth holding onto when everything around them felt like it was shaky. And right into the moment, the Spirit declares a word of assurance: "Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken."

Not "might" receive, not "hope" to receive, but "are" receiving. This text reminds us that while everything around us may be uncertain, what God gives us is unshakable. That's the theme that we ride on throughout this year, from the stretch to the unshakable. And we realize that whatever the status, whatever the place, God can meet us.

One, you need to know unshakable faith is received, not achieved. So many of us would think about how I will get to that place. "Since we are receiving a kingdom." The language here is critical. The kingdom is not something we build; it is something we receive. You don't earn it by being perfect. You don't qualify for it by your resume. You don't achieve it through hustle or spiritual performance. Unshakable faith is not the reward for strong people; it is the gift given to trusting people.

This is especially important in a culture that tells us to work harder, prove yourself, and earn your worth. But faith says rest in what God has already done. Stand on what God has already secured. If you had to achieve it, you could lose it. But if you receive it, God sustains it. In this sermon, you've got to understand that unshakable faith produces gratitude. The next says, "Let us be thankful." Notice the order. Gratitude doesn't come after things improve; it comes because of what God has already guaranteed.

Gratitude is not denial of reality; it is defiance of despair. Regardless of what goes on around me, I put my trust in God. When your faith is unshakable, you may not like what you see. You may not understand what God is doing. But you still find a reason to say thank you. Somebody woke up this morning with a thank you. Thank you for another day's journey. Thank you that I could wake up clothed and in my right mind. Like the deacon would pray, thank God that my bed was not my cooling board and that the blood is running warm.

Why? Because gratitude anchors you when circumstances try to destabilize you. They try to break you down. They try to make you weak at your knees. They try to give you the gut punch. Gratitude says even if everything else moves, God is still steady. In this sermon, unshakable faith shapes how we serve God. Through verse 28A highlights gratitude, the flow of the text makes clear that gratitude leads to transformed service.

When faith is unshakable, we don't serve out of fear. We don't serve out of obligation. We don't serve trying to earn God's approval. We serve because we already belong to an unshakable kingdom. Unshakable faith produces steady worship in unstable times. Unshakable faith produces faithful service when others walk away. Unshakable faith produces integrity when compromise seems easier.

If the kingdom can't be shaken, neither can my commitment. And I'm understanding that reality. We need to realize what God has placed in your hands cannot be shaken. What God has spoken over your life cannot be revoked. What God is building in you cannot be destroyed. You may feel the shaking, but you are standing on something solid.

So we're going to lift up our heads this morning and into this year. Our prayer is that God is going to strengthen our faith regardless of our circumstances. And we're going to thank God in advance. I may be living in uncertain times, but I believe in and I serve an unshakable God. I'm grateful that we can come and we can gather and we can lean and we can depend on God.

We are living in uncertain times. Times what once felt solid now is unstable. Jobs are uncertain. Health feels fragile. Politics are volatile. There are all kinds of things going on, from a murder being done in Minneapolis and then someone getting on the TV and trying to redefine what all of us could see. How could you say a person is going to run you over when the car is in reverse?

That's again, that's the reality. Churches are looking again, coming out of pandemic. How do we operate? How do we function? How do we reach this society in which we have to minister to today? When so many persons talk about the church in a negative sense, here it is. We have to be that shining light no matter where we are. Let your light shine. That's why the songwriter said, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine."

For many of us, uncertainty isn't anything that is new. It's inherited. Our ancestors worshipped God in uncertainty. They dealt with Jim and Jane Crow. They dealt with all kinds of things that were negative and prejudiced and racist. They prayed through uncertainty. They picked cotton by day but worshipped by night. They did not allow anybody to take away the joy that only the Lord could give to them. They built their families and churches. Thanks be to God that we can reflect upon HBCUs that started in church basements and movements that prayer meetings would take place.

Before Dr. King would hit the street, he would hit his knees. Before they hit the streets, they were spending time in prayer. That's why I salute you, Delegate Harrison. Before we move into a legislative session, that's why we've got to anchor our faith. The believers addressed in Hebrews were in a similar space. They were persecuted. They were pressured. They were tempted to abandon their faith.

Matter of fact, I'm reading now the Book of Job because one of my intentions of 2026 is to read through the Bible again. I'm reading, but I started in Genesis and I've jumped over to Job. And I'm going through the dialogue between Job and his friends who come to him. And I'm trying to tell somebody you can't allow anybody to take away the joy that only God can give to you.

You've got a praise and you've got to get it out. I've got something on the inside working on the outside. Matter of fact, Jeremiah said, "I felt like sitting down and shutting up." But he said it felt like fire in my bones. I thank God that we can get up early this morning and not drag into church. But we can get up and give God praise. Thank God that the ushers and the greeters can meet us with the joy of the Lord. Thank God for the praises that are going up and the dances. Thanks be to God for all that God is doing.

I put no limit on what God can do. And into that moment, here comes a spirit-filled assurance: "Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." Thank you, God. I might bend, but I'm not going to break. I might go down, but I'm going to get back up again. You can call me what you want to call me, but I'm going to call on the name of the Lord. Because when I call on that name, I don't have to worry. I don't have to have anxiety. I don't have to take a bottle of pills. I don't have to go down to the liquor store. I can look to the hills from whence comes my help.

Everything around you might shake. My God, can't even go down to the Kennedy Center anymore and I refuse to call the name that is posted on the outside. All these things might shake. The Venezuela situation, everything that is going on. I love it. I love it. I heard the young man who's going to propose a bill in the state of Maryland. I like this one. He said anybody who worked for ICE will not be able to work for any law enforcement in the state of Maryland. I like that kind of bill.

He said I want to take all those individuals who are walking around with masks on and now you're going to come unmasked and try to work. We know where your heart is. We know what your agenda is. And that attack against the black and the brown and all of that. But I'm going to put my trust in God. That's why I come back to my first point: unshakable faith is received and not achieved. This kingdom is something we build; it is something we receive.

Whatever God you're going to pour into my life, I receive it with the joy of the Lord. I receive it. That truth matters deeply to people, for a people who were forced historically to prove their worth over and over again. Look at it. Look at it. I'm looking at how quickly some of the NFL brothers are getting fired. I'm looking at how quickly that we can be shown the door. I'm looking at DEI and how it's affecting society where persons now have to look over their shoulder.

I'm concerned about these kinds of influences. But I'm also concerned that you allow somebody to force your agenda. Our ancestors did not achieve freedom on their own strength. God intervened. From slave quarters to brush harbors, faith was not a ladder climbed; it was a lifeline received. Thank you, God, for throwing out the lifeline. Thank you, God, for letting me know that I can put my shoulders up. I can lift up my chin and no matter what you say, you might close one door, but God can open up another door.

And I know the joy of the Lord. You didn't earn your survival. You didn't achieve your resilience. You didn't, my God, you talk about trying to get my hustle on. I'm thanking God. You can hustle all you want, but I'm thanking God you need some wind underneath your wings. I'm thankful that we have GPS. I get in my car and I put on my GPS even though I'm going to a familiar place. Because you never know, even when you're on your way to a familiar place, how something can try to interrupt and to try to intercept where you are going.

Unshakable faith is God's gift, not our grind. I thank God for the grind. But no matter what strength we have, we only have it because of the power of God. If I had to earn it, I could lose it. But since God gave it, nobody can take away. Do I have a witness up in here? Nobody can take away the blessings of your life. Nobody can take away the testimony that you have.

Matter of fact, they can doubt your knowledge of the word of God. But what they can't question about you, about how God showed up after you got the diagnosis, after the marriage or the relationship didn't work out, after the job shut down, God showed up anyhow. And somebody can come this morning with the joy of the Lord. Somebody looking at you now. How can you praise God? I know what you're going through. I know the challenges you have. But you don't know the God that I know. Because if you knew the God that I know, you would praise God with me too. Hallelujah.

Unshakable faith produces gratitude. That scripture says, "Let us be thankful." Gratitude here is not shallow optimism. It is holy resistance. Black folk have always known how to say thank you. Matter of fact, that was one of the lessons our parents taught us, that when you leave out of here, I want you to leave out of here with some good manners. If somebody does something nice to you, you need to know that everybody doesn't have to be nice to you. It's nice to say thank you.

I thank God for my wife who taught and made sure all of our children learned how to say thank you. Write a thank you note. Tell somebody you appreciate what they've done. I'm thankful that you can say thank you sometimes with the tears in your eyes. God knows your heart. Spirituals weren't sung because circumstances were good; spirituals were sung because God was still present. Do I have? He's a very present help. Over my head, I can hear music in the air.

Somebody can come today. We've come this far by faith. "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah." And then we sang this morning "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine." Gratitude is how we testify that oppression didn't break us. That's what gratitude. Graded hardship didn't steal our hope. And you might have gone through a rough week, but I still look to the hills from whence comes my help. Because I know my help comes from the Lord.

Gratitude doesn't ignore pain; it refuses to let pain have the last word. I don't thank God because everything is right. I thank God because he's faithful. Faithful to his word. God said it, it's already settled. I didn't preach last night, that's why I've got all this energy this morning. I just came in, I baptized and I went home. I baptized and I went home. So I've got to unload this morning. I've got more to unload than I would have been able to unload had I been here last night. So don't blame me.

The third thing you need to understand: unshakable faith shapes how we serve God. Faith that can't be shaken changes how we serve. The Black Church—and I have no problem talking about the Black Church. I heard a person yesterday, "I don't like to talk about the black..." No, no. There is a Black Church and there's a Black Church because of circumstances. Circumstances developed a Black Church. And I thank God that I'm going to be black.

Come on, somebody. I like gravy on the end of a sermon. I like the folk putting me in E-flat. I like folk shouting in church. I like folk waving their hand. I like folk being able to run around and give God the glory. I've got no problem being who I am. That's what we understand. Black Church was built without bank loans, without protection, without public approval. But it was built on faithful service. Ushers showed up when there was no heat in the building. Choir sang with no instruments.

Matter of fact, my father's first church, we didn't have a regular musician. Matter of fact, we only had a musician to come in on special occasions. And when that musician came in, she didn't even read music. She played by ear. And then she would come in and she'd say, "Y'all start and I'll find you." But you have to understand that we weren't singing anywhere on the sheet. And she was trying to find us. But I'm thanking God that where she couldn't find us, the Spirit could find us.

Because what we did have, we had those wooden floors. That's why when we built this church, we wanted to put a little wood in here. Because I remember sitting in my pew on Sunday morning and we would get a nice beat with our feet. Do I have a witness in here? I'm thankful. Preachers preached when their lives were threatened. Thanks be to God. Murder and all these other things were threatened upon them. Why? Because when you know the kingdom is unshakable, your service becomes steady.

I can come in here this morning not with a shaky gospel, but I can come in this morning with a secure gospel. We don't serve God out of fear; we serve God out of gratitude and conviction. When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done for me, my soul's got to cry out, "Hallelujah!"

If the kingdom can't be shaken, my commitment won't be either. I'm going to be committed to God regardless of circumstances. We have too many folk who are circumstantial about their faith. "Oh, I'm going to church because it's a nice day. I'm going to church because I'm feeling pretty good." But sometimes you've got to make it here when it hasn't been a nice day. It's been a rough week. You're going through something right now. But I'm still going to make it into God's house. Because when things get tight, I can look to the hills from whence comes my help. Won't he do it? He is a great God. He is the greatest of all. He is the one who can make a difference in our lives. Say yes!

You're not going to shake my commitment. Church, I've got to leave you with this. Our people have endured slavery, segregation, struggle. But yet faith carried us through every season and that same faith is still holding us today. You may feel the shaking. Hallelujah. But you are not standing on sand. You are standing on a kingdom that cannot be moved. Lift up your head. Steady your heart and thank God right now. We may live in uncertain times, but I thank God that we serve an unshakable God.

Do you love him this morning? Do you? I love the Lord. He heard my cry. Thank you, God, for sending your son down through forty-and-two generations. Thank you, God, for making a way out of no way. Thank you, God, for opening doors that no man can open. Shut doors behind. Thank you, God, for being the wind underneath my wings. Do I have a witness in here? I love the Lord. I love the Lord. I love the Lord. He heard my cry, pitied my every groan. I believe I'll run on a little while longer. See! See! See! What the end's going to be.

He put clapping in my hands, Calvin. He put running in my feet. I've got the joy of the Lord and I've got to praise him. I've got to praise him. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same. Can't nobody! Can't nobody! No, no, no! No, no, no! No, no, no! Can't nobody! I'm going to praise him. I don't need a rock crying out for me. I can cry out for myself. And if you're in the wrong row, just get on up right now. Step over here. I've got to praise him. I've got to praise him. I love the Lord. He heard my cry. And I will bless the Lord at all times. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, I will! I will! Every day with Jesus, sweeter than the day before.

Do you love him? Doctor in a sick room. Lawyer in a courtroom. I love him. Mother for the motherless. Father for the fatherless. I love him. Sister if you need it. Brother if you need it. I love him. Do you love him? Do you love him? I want to show some sign. I can wave my hand. I can lift up my hand. If you can't do that, wiggle your toes. Wiggle back and forth. If you can't do that, do a little shift. If you can't do that, I've got to praise him. Just groan it out. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: You've been listening to the radio broadcast of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. If you want to receive a CD or DVD of what you have just heard, please call 301-773-6655 or visit us on the World Wide Web at fbhp.org. And remember, there's power at the Park.