Sermons

This morning we’re continuing on in our Advent series…this morning we lit the third of five candles as we work our way around the various candles of the Advent wreath.

You may have noticed that this candle is a different color from the other three… there are three purple candles around the outside of the wreath and one pink candle…the third pink candle symbolizes joy.

Pink is the liturgical color for joy…the third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete  Sunday and celebrates the joy of Christ’s coming to earth.

Since at least 750 AD…about the time the Church first started celebrating Advent … Benedictine monks began Mass on the third Sunday of Advent by chanting in Latin the command from Phil. 4:4…gaudete in Domino semper…Rejoice in the Lord always …emphasizing the joy of the coming of the Lord.

It is meant to remind us of the ‘already, but not yet’ …because Advent is about expectations.

When the Old Testament saints waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah that occurred when God came to earth in the form of a human on that first Christmas day…that is the already part.

The ‘not yet’ part is the time we’re living in now…we stand between the first and second advent…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…that’s the not yet part.

It’s appropriate at Christmas time that we sing “Joy to the World” …a song written by Isaac Watts in 1719.

What is interesting about this song is that it was not written as a Christmas carol …in its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas…it wasn’t even written to be a song.

Watts often wrote paraphrases of the Psalms …commentaries…and “Joy to the World” was inspired by his study of Psalm 98…what’s interesting about this Christmas song is the only stanza that is even related to Christmas in the whole song is in the first one that announces ”the Lord is come” …other than that there is no mention of …Mary or Joseph…the angels…or the Shepherds…the manger…the Wise Men … yet, it is one of our most beloved Christmas carols because it really captures the essence of Christmas, which is joy.

Joy appears in the opening pages of the New Testament…joy begins even before the birth of Jesus when God tells Zechariah…John the Baptist’s father…that:  

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness [Luke 1:13].

When Jesus was born an angel appeared to the shepherds and declared, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people [Luke 2:10]. 

After His resurrection and before His ascension back into heaven the disciples:

worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy [Luke 24:52].

So…even before Jesus’ birth and throughout His ministry, joy was clearly evident.

But just like with the other two Advent themes…hope…and peace…there is a conflict with joy.  

With respect to ‘hope’ …some use the word hope as a way of expressing wishful thinking…that’s worldly hope…having a desire for a certain thing to happen but having no control over whether or not it will actually happen… worldly hope is a desire for something to happen.

Whereas Biblical hope is not just a desire for something to happen…it expects it to happen…Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen.

With respect to peace…worldly peace is thought of as the absence of conflict,  but Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict…it’s taking action to restore a broken situation…in Jesus’ coming to earth and His subsequent death God took the action to restore the broken fellowship between Himself and man.

since we have been justified through faith, we have Peace with God… [Romans 5:1]

So, all three Advent themes…hope…peace…and joy are all closely related …this morning we’re talking about the ‘joy’ portion of the Advent season.

BUT…Just like with worldly hope and worldly peace…there’s a difference between Godly joy and worldly happiness.  

One of the obvious differences between happiness and joy is that worldly happiness tends to be externally based on things that are superficial.

Other people…places…thoughts…or events…here’s what researchers have found that affects happiness:

…how much money you have

…what kind of job you have

…what kind of car you drive

…what kind of house you live in

…what kind of friends you have

…people in larger cities are less happy than people in smaller towns.

…education seems to have an effect on happiness

Researchers found that education contributes to happiness, believing people who obtain more education will have more leisure time than less educated people and therefore are happier.

BUT…just with all those things that contribute to happiness…it’s obvious  happiness is temporary…it is an outward expression that is dependent on external factors…it can be present for weeks and gone in an instant…when

…you don’t have money

…you don’t have a job

…you become homeless

…you lose your car

…your friends

…your loved ones forsake you

…when things get rough

When the source of the happiness is gone the search begins for a new source…a new thrill…a new desire…happiness is gone because happiness is dependent upon external things…that’s why the Bible doesn’t talk much about happiness.

Happiness focuses on what is happening at the time…for many, happiness is nothing more than a temporary interruption to boredom.

And even though we can experience happiness during difficult times…the Bible speaks about something that is often confused with happiness…joy.

The kind of JOY the Bible talks about goes much deeper than mere happiness… Godly joy doesn’t depend on what’s happening…joy is an inner sense of well-being despite the circumstances you’re experiencing.

Today we are living in a world where people are searching for joy in their lives …so the question is: How can I find joy?

You can have joy even in difficult situations…everything doesn’t have to be right in your life for you to experience joy.

Here’s the joy God’s peace produces…He doesn’t eliminate them…He gives you the ability to endure them because it pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you.

The benefit of joy is that you can rise above the trials and tribulations of life and still find reasons to have joy in your life…whereas happiness can vanish during difficult times.

The joy God gives is an inner peace knowing you’re in God’s will even during difficult times…because you know He is aware of every situation in your life.

In fact, Scripture says to consider it all joy when you encounter difficult situations because at times it just might be God who is putting you in those situations.

Why would God do that? Why would He put you in a situation that discourages us and hinders our joy?

I recently read a secular article that attempted to explain why difficult situations keep happening to you that rob you of your joy…a couple of the explanations are actually Biblical.

The first explanation is; you’ve been unlucky.

The second explanation is: you’re making the same mistakes again and again.

The third explanation is: you aren’t learning your lesson.

The fourth explanation is: they aren’t bad situations, you just overlook the good. https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/10822/bad-things-keep-happening/

The first line of “Joy to the World” sums it up…there is one reason and only one, that we can find JOY in this world…we have joy because The Lord has come!

The kind of JOY the Bible describes can’t be found in possessions or entertainment or even in looking deeply into your inner self…it doesn’t depend on good circumstances.

(Romans 15:13) We cannot will ourselves to experience joy. It comes from God alone.

(Galatians 5:22) Like peace…joy is a fruit of the Spirit).  The more time we spend with God the more joy we experience…joy only comes from God.

(John 16:22) No one can take God’s joy from us. Given by God, no one has the ability to rob us of our joy. No matter the circumstances no one can take this away.

One of the things people love about Christmas is that it truly is a joyful season… all season long we celebrate with music…lights…decorations…getting together with family and friends…sharing Christmas dinner with each other … watching Hallmark Christmas movies…going to the church’s Christmas eve service…not to mention the exchanging of gifts…it is a joyful time of the year.

But…you can’t help feeling at times that the world hijacks the true joy of the season that is Christmas because when it comes right down to it the real joy at Christmas doesn’t come from the lights…the decorations…the music…or presents…but from the meaning of Christmas.

At the heart of Christmas is the astoundingly good news that Jesus was born as The Savior of this world…from the beginning to end the Christmas story is punctuated with outbursts of joy.

They all center around the birth of Christ…you can’t get away from it…you can’t get around it…you can’t spell Christmas without Christ…and you can’t enter into the true joy of the season without Jesus.

Joy is not produced by humans…we can all feel happiness, but true joy can only be experienced when we are connected to God and His Holy Spirit…joy is a special emotion only produced when we are connected to the Holy Spirit… actually, it is one of the “fruits”, or outward signs produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

A group of atheists bought a billboard in Times Square and asked the provocative question: Who needs Christ at Christmas?

They answered their own question with a one-word answer—nobody…and for countless Americans, including some who call themselves ‘Christians’, that is the answer.

Christmas can now be about anything you want it to be…it can be about family …friends…presents…parties…shopping…Santa Claus…hot chocolate, anything you want it to be.

Let me urge you this Christmas to take another look at Christmas…look at it again with fresh eyes….look past the commercialization…listening to the message of hope… peace…and joy…then you will know what Christmas is all about.

For the Christian, Christmas is a joyous time of the year knowing that we are His children and that one day Heaven will be our home.

That is a gift and promise we can all look forward to…this year look at Christmas in a new way…this year invite Jesus into your heart…the joy and peace you receive will last all year.

During the four Sundays prior to Christmas many churches will celebrate Advent …a season of expectation…by lighting five candles.

The first four Advent candles are lit one candle a week on the four Sundays prior to Christmas…with the last one…the center candle…being lit during our Christmas Eve service.

Today is the second Sunday of the Advent season. Advent stands between the already but not yet…it’s about expectations…when the Old Testament saints waited expectantly for the coming of the Messiah that occurred when God came to earth in the form of a human on that first Christmas day.

But our focus should not be limited to just the celebration of the birth of Christ… because Advent also means “coming” …that is the ‘not yet’ part …the time we are living in now…an equally important time when we are waiting expectantly on the second coming of the Lord…because He is coming back.

Each advent candle has a special meaning behind it and presents an opportunity for us to think about the Christmas season.

The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope…it is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The second candle, also purple, is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem…the second week of advent takes us from thinking about hope to a related idea – peace.

One of the prophecies about Jesus calls him “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7) which is a hallmark of the Christmas story…when the angels appeared to the shepherds they proclaimed, “Peace on earth,” in Luke 2:14.

What Does Peace Really Mean?

“Peace on earth” …a phrase you hear everywhere around Christmas time…but it’s so elusive…even in our own lives we struggle to find peace with ourselves…for peace in our relationships with others…and especially in finding peace with God.

The Bible has a lot to say about peace…various forms of the word peace are found over 400 times in the Bible…Jesus talked about peace on several occasions.

…During the Sermon on the Mount, He taught that peacemakers are blessed and will be called God’s sons (Matthew 5:9).

…He warned His disciples that He had not come to bring peace to the world, that in fact, He would divide people (Matthew 10:34-36).

…At the Last Supper He comforted His disciples by saying, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you” (John 14:27).

Peace is one of those words that people use a lot but they don’t always explain it very well and understand it even less.

It’s like the word ‘hope’ which symbolized the first Advent candle we lit last Sunday.

Some use the word hope as a way of expressing wishful thinking…that’s worldly hope…having a desire for a certain thing to happen but having no control over whether or not it will actually happen…it’s a desire for something to happen.

Whereas Biblical hope is not just a desire for something to happen…it expects it to happen …Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something will happen.

Like ‘hope’ depending on which religion or philosophy people follow, their definitions of peace may be different as well…even among Christians the words of the angels:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to

those on whom his favor rests [Luke 2;14]

conjures up different ideas of what peace is depending on who you talk to, it’s important as Christians to understand how the Bible describes peace.

Something I’ve mentioned before and am going to mention it again because it has eternal implications.

Although this good news delivered by the angels is open to ALL who believe on the Lord Jesus nowhere in Scripture is it taught that peace on earth is for all men.

Some translate Luke 2;14 as ‘Good will toward men’ implying a universal application… BUT…in the Greek the angels’ pronouncement is restricted specifically to “those on whom God’s favor rests,” that is the most correct translation of Luke 2:14.

Peace with God and the favor of God is not directed at all people…only those that trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God are identified in this verse and are described as “those on whom his favor rests.”

To have peace in the world everything must line up…the circumstances must align…everyone must be in agreement…only then can peace be had.

Worldly peace is much like worldly hope…there’s not a whole lot of substance in either…worldly peace is the absence of conflict…something not likely to happen …and worldly hope is a way of expressing wishful thinking.

 BUT…Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict or a state of rest…it’s taking action to restore a broken situation…it’s more than a state of inner tranquility; it’s a state of wholeness and completeness.

How Does Jesus Bring Peace?

There are different types of peace…the peace Jesus is referring to is the peace that is reserved for “those on whom God’s favor rests,” He gives us peace in three ways.

Peace within Ourselves

FIRST…is inner peace…that begins when God removes your fears and worries and replaces it with His peace…inner peace hinges on your trust in God.

In [John 14:27] Jesus defines the importance of having Godly inner peace…He tells the disciples:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to

you as the world gives. [John 14:27]

See…again a clear contrast between Godly peace and worldly peace…my peace I give you…(not) as the world gives…to get the true meaning of this verse you need to go back to the beginning of chapter 13.

Knowing the events that were about to happen…His arrest…His trial…His crucifixion…and His death…Jesus realized His disciples would be on the verge of falling apart.

He wanted them to have not only assurance…but peace and comfort as well… He understood that it was about to get rough for them and he wanted them to not be worried or troubled.

God’s peace pushes through all the disturbing circumstances that life can throw at you…it doesn’t eliminate them…it gives you the ability to endure them…giving you an inner confidence that God is aware of every situation in your life.

True peace comes when the God of peace takes over our lives.

Having God in control of your life makes Him the source of your strength to alter matters within your control and to accept matters which you have no control over.

God’s peace is a state of tranquility or quietness that transcends circumstances… it’s the calm assurance that what God is doing is best…there’s no mistakes …no errors…or miscalculation with God.

Jesus is our peace within…peace comes from knowing that He is in control causing all things to always work together for His good despite the ugly circumstances and situations that are occurring…to those who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Peace with Others

SECOND…we have peace with others…peace with others begins as we understand that God has called us to be peacemakers.

Peacemakers reconcile people with God and with each other.

…is there someone in your life today that you need to extend an invitation of apology to?

…is there a fractured family relationship you need to smooth over?

…is there a silence that needs to be broken that has stood as a barrier between you and someone else for far too long?

As believers we should put aside our differences (Galatians 3:28),  because we belong to the same family.

BUT…being a godly peacemaker doesn’t end there…peacemakers are called to be Christ’s ambassadors.

Christmas is not just about hope for us as believers… it’s about reaching the entire world with the hope of the Gospel by urging others to know about the peace of Christ through repentance and by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Peace with God

THIRD…is the peace that comes from our assurance of salvation.

What a terrible …horrible way to go through life not knowing what awaits you after death…fortunately the Bible does tell us what awaits us after death.  

We must recognize that human beings in our natural state are enemies of God… we are born with a disposition to please ourselves and be our own god…so in our rebellious sinful state we cannot have peace with God no matter how hard we try.

In an effort to obtain peace with God…all religions other than true Christianity have one thing in common…they try to achieve peace with God by doing things: by following rules…by taking communion…by baptism…by church membership.

As a result, they never have the calm assurance of salvation because they’re always working towards something they can never attain…somehow believing this is pleasing to God.

God’s peace rests on those whom God’s favor rests…it is only then that we can have peace with God because Peace with God means:

…our sins have been paid for…[1Peter 3:18 / John 1:12; 3:16]

…that we are no longer enemies of God [Rom 5:10]

…that God sees us as righteous (Col. 2:14; Rom. 3:22)

…that we are His beloved children (1 John 3:2)

…that we no longer need to fear death (Rom 6:5 / Phil. 3:20)

But there’s also a warning associated with the peace of God…attitudes that can destroy God’s peace in our lives.

…When we equate God’s peace with the assumption that God will give us whatever we want…we set up a conflict between our wants and God’s desire for our lives.

…When we insist on being in control of our lives, we set up a conflict between us and God by sabotaging God’s will for our lives.  

…When we choose to worry rather than live by faith, we cannot live in peace… worry is the enemy of peace…God invites us to cast our care on Him.

…When we chose to be at peace with the world…live by its standards…we will never be at peace with a world that is not at peace with God.

If you want to begin experiencing more peace this Christmas season and into next year…there is only one way…it was God who took the initiative in pursuing that peace by sending His Son to earth.

Peace with God is through Jesus…being at peace with God comes by grace alone …through faith alone…in Christ alone…by coming into a relationship with Jesus.

When we develop a lifestyle of making Jesus the Lord of lives then the peace of God becomes a permanent part of our character because peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit…since God’s Spirit lives in you then His peace should dwell in you as well.

Churches all over the country will soon be making plans to recreate one of the most meaningful times of the year…the birth of Jesus…and with the Christmas season comes the Christian celebration of Advent.

Advent season stands between the already but not yet…the already was about waiting…when the Old Testament saints waited during the long period of time that preceded Jesus’ first coming…the time from Genesis to Matthew.

In 1744 Charles Wesley…John’s brother…a unique combination…John did the preaching and Charles did the music…Charles’ Christmas carol “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” centered around Israel’s long wait for their Messiah.

But also is the not yet…a time of waiting for us today on the second coming of Jesus…one sentence sums up Advent …it’s the time for the celebration of Jesus’ birth as well as His second coming.

We don’t have many details about the beginning of Advent…the actual celebration of Advent started around the 8th century…but the concept was discussed as early as 380 AD at the Council of Saragossa…here’s what’s strange about this council…this council made a formal declaration…almost 400 years after Jesus’s birth, that God became flesh in the form of Jesus.

The Advent Wreath is a recent invention to the celebration…originally it had 28 candles…24 small red candles and four larger white ones…a German Pastor devised the wreath to satisfy the children at a mission school who would ask every day…’Is it Christmas yet?’

They would light a new red candle each day…to help the children count the days until Christmas as well as a white candle on Sundays.

Eventually the red candles were discarded in favor of a wreath with just the four white candles and a fifth candle in the center…the four candles are lit on each successive Sunday of Advent while the center candle is lit on Christmas Eve.

There are various interpretation of the candles but the most common scheme is the first candle represents hope…it is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ…it represents the hope in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The second candle represents peace…the third joy…and the fourth love…with the fifth center candle representing Christ.

The dates of Advent change every year…it begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day (known as Advent Sunday) and always ends on Christmas Eve.

Today is the first Sunday of the Advent season…this advent season I will be sharing a series of short messages exploring the various themes represented by the five candles on the Advent Wreath.

But our focus should not be limited to just the celebration of the birth of Christ …because Advent also means “coming” so, it is equally important that we focus on the second coming of the Lord as well…because He is coming back.

The story of the coming of Jesus doesn’t begin in the New Testament and it doesn’t end with a baby in a manger.

The entire Bible anticipates and tells of the great Messianic King who has come to bring hope to a dark and dying world.

For Pastors there’s always pressure to create a Christmas sermon series that is unique…fresh…and creative…but really…how many people don’t know what Christmas is about?

With respect to Advent…that pressure is only heightened by preaching something that the Bible never mentions…and for some there are questions as to why the church is even observing something that isn’t found in the Bible.

This morning we’re looking at how hope in Christ relates to Advent…to Christmas …and to our lives today.

Christians often confuse the word hope for wishful thinking…if we hope something will happen, we have no control over whether or not it will take place. 

So, the most basic question of all is: What is hope? not just Webster’s definition, but the Biblical definition…we have to know what we are talking about before we can get very far into the truth about Biblical hope.

Ordinarily, when we use the word hope, we are expressing uncertainty rather than certainty…it’s a desire for something good to happen in the future.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible explains what Biblical hope is, Rom. 8:

²⁴ For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope:  for what a man sees why does he yet hope for?

²⁵ But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Advent is the season of hope…waiting in hopeful expectation for the coming of the Messiah.

Hope is one of the three classic virtues of Christianity…faith…hope…and love are foundational in that they draw us to God and to each other. 

In last week’s message I mentioned that Psalm 103 was a prayer by David in which he talks to his own soul and reminds himself to “bless the Lord” and “forget not all his benefits.”

Like David sometimes we just need to give ourselves a good talking-to with respect to what should be our hope in the future.

In fact…it has been said that the best sermon you can preach to yourself may be only three words: Hope in God!

Hope is like a reservoir of emotional strength.

—If I am down, I look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to raise me up…without hope we only sink into self-pity.

—If I experience a setback in my planning — I get sick, or things don’t go the way I would have liked…I look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to keep going and not give up.

—If I face a temptation to be dishonest…to steal…to lie…or to be unfaithful in my Christian walk…I look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to hold fast to the way of righteousness.

That’s what differentiates ordinary hope from Biblical hope…Biblical hope is not just a desire for something good to happen in the future…it expects it to happen …Biblical hope is the confident expectation that something good will happen in the future.

Much of the Old Testament was centered on hope….in the Old Testament hope had to do with waiting for…looking for…and desiring something.

The hope to be delivered from their enemies (Psalm 25) …the hope to recover from illness (Isa 38:10-20) the hope that God would provide land…peace…and prosperity.

But there was also the promise of hope in something other than this world… especially for those who died…God made known his plan to bring his Kingdom to earth…to give them hope…and to raise the dead.

The anticipation of Advent is felt throughout the Scriptures…you can find whispers of the Christmas story from Genesis to Revelation…the very first mention of Christmas in the Bible shows up in the first three chapters of Genesis:

Genesis 3:15

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.  

God’s response to Adam and Eve’s sin isn’t only judgment; it’s Advent…God’s promise of a future Savior who will come and destroy the serpent which will be God’s means of reconciliation between Himself and man.

Moses had a Christmas story…in his final sermon to Israel before his death he informs them of God’s Advent promise that included a coming prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:18

I will raise up for them a prophet like you…I will put my words in His mouth, and he will tell them everything I command Him.

God’s people waited for the Advent of this new prophet year after year and generation after generation…then…When the time came to completion, God sent his Son [Gal. 4:4] …when Jesus came, they cried in relief, we have found the one Moses wrote about…(John 1:45) …He arrived on Christmas morning.

The Christmas story is full of examples of people who put their hope in and who waited patiently for Christ and were not disappointed.

Mary…was told by the angel that she would give birth to the Savior…when the baby was born she held the Savior of the world in her arms…Mary’s hope in Christ was not disappointed.

Simeon…a man who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord appear in the temple at the precise moment Joseph and Mary were bringing Jesus into the temple…he too put his hope in Christ and was not disappointed.

Anna…was a prophetess…Scripture says she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage…a strange way of saying she and her husband lived together seven years after they were married. [Luke 2:36]

She’s 84 and a widow…still putting her hope in God… Anna has an encounter with Jesus…strangely…Luke completely skips over their meeting and discusses only her response to seeing Jesus. 

She gives thanks to God and speaks about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem…she was not disappointed.  

BUT…least we forget…Advent is not just about those who waited for Christ’s first coming…it is also about us who wait for His second coming when He will banish all evil…He will make all things right…He will restore the earth…we will see Him face to face…and all our hopes will be fulfilled.

The Christmas season is a wonderful time of the year for many reasons…but one of the most important reasons is the hope that Christ brings to a lost world.

At times we’re like Isaiah who prayed that God would come down and reveal Himself…‘ that you would tear open the heavens and come down [64:1] he prayed this because he says ‘I live among people who do not know you [6:5].  

What a tragedy to know people who don’t know the Lord…if God would only come down and reveal Himself people would believe…NO they wouldn’t… but…maybe…and hopeful during this time of year people will realize that Christmas is more than just a celebration…it is the coming of God to earth.

As we enter this season of Advent here’s the question…here’s what Isaiah was praying to happen…here is a trustworthy saying…Jesus came into the world to save sinners [1 Tim. 3:15] …that means He came to save you and to save me.

What are you doing during the time of in between?…the time God allows us to let go of everything that stands in our way of receiving God’s gift to us, the gift of Jesus.

In just a few short days we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving…it’s a shame that we have only one day a year set aside to give thanks to God as a nation. 

Just looking at the stores this past week it’s easy to notice that even that one day may be in jeopardy…seems Thanksgiving has all but been overlooked by Christmas…but it is refreshing to know that America did stop long enough on its way to Christmas to celebrate Halloween.

Did you know that it was estimated that U.S. consumers were projected to spend over 10 billion dollars on Halloween this year…then rush right into the commercialization of Christmas?

Problem is Thanksgiving has become nothing more than an American tradition …know what a tradition is? …something we’ve been doing for so long we can’t remember why we’re doing it.

That’s the danger…we’ve been doing Thanksgiving for so long we have forgotten what Thanksgiving is all about.

…If any nation ought to be thankful to God and grateful for His goodness, it ought to be America.

…if any people in America ought to be thankful to God and grateful for His goodness, it ought to be Christians.

…if any group of Christians ought to be thankful to God and grateful for His goodness, it ought to be the Christians in this fellowship. We ought to have an attitude of gratitude…take time to thank God for what He’s done in our lives.

It seems that there is one particular book in the Bible that focuses more on God’s blessing than any other…it’s the book of Psalms…do you know that the word translated ”Psalms” comes from the Hebrew word ”Hallelujah” which means ”praise the Lord.”

So… when somebody says ”Hallelujah”… what they’re saying is  ”Praise the Lord!” …and by the way… this word ”hallelujah” cuts across the language barrier. It translates the same in every language!

A psalm is a song intended to be sung with musical instruments…they are essentially a divinely inspired songbook that was used by the Israelites in corporate worship.

For example, Psalms 113 – 118 are known as the “praise” psalms…psalms sung by the Jewish people in their annual festivals and especially as part of the Passover meal observances.

Then there are the psalms that are prayers of praise to God…there are no requests …no petitions or pleas…no asking God to do something or for something…it is pure praise to God.

There are many instances throughout God’s Word where we are given the command to ‘rejoice in Him!’, ‘praise Him!’, and to be ‘thankful in all things!’

Some have referred to these psalms as The Soul Music of Thanksgiving … psalms of praise to God that begins deep within the soul. That’s why they have been referred to as Soul Music.

This kind of Soul Music has nothing to do with the color of your skin…it has everything to do with the condition of your soul.

This kind of Soul Music comes from the saved soul …the saved soul that’s been saved by the blood of the Lamb.

Once you have a saved soul… you can sing the Soul Music of Thanksgiving every day even during those times of difficulty.

Some of you may be familiar with the bestseller by Ken Blanchard…The One Minute Manager, where he recommends that leaders develop the practice of the ‘one-minute praise.’

The idea is when you find an employee doing something right you give them a one-minute praising right on the spot…because waiting takes away the impact… tell them right then.

Just expanding that a little…the idea of praising people right on the spot could revolutionize your relationship with a lot of people…maybe your marriage…in general it might make you a much nicer person to be around. Just saying.

I wonder how many of us give God a ‘one-minute praising’ for all His blessings …for all He has done for us…we have no problem telling the Lord what we want Him to do for us…how often do we give a praise for what He has already done?

Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a good talking-to…that’s what Psalm 103 is all about… it’s a prayer by David in which he talks to his own soul and reminds himself to “bless the Lord” and “forget not all his benefits” …essentially a one-minute praising.

This morning I want to look at the opening five verses of Psalm 103

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

³ who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

⁴ who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.

⁵ who satisfies you with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Contained in these five verses are six blessings from the Lord:

[3]     He Pardons…who forgives all your iniquity

 He Heals…heals all your diseases,

[4]     He Delivers…redeems your life from destruction,

 He Crowns…you with loving kindness and tender mercies

[5]     He Satisfies…with good things

 He Restores…who renews your youth like the eagle’s

He Pardons

who forgives all your iniquity

David begins by reminding us that God forgives all our sins…not surprising that he starts off with what is the foundation for everything else…forgiveness of sins.

Our greatest problem is sin…it separates us from fellowship with God in addition to the associated guilt that accompanies sin…that is why it’s essential to know that we have the forgiveness of sins.

Note that David says that God forgives ‘all’ our iniquity…looking back over our lives, if we’re really truthful with ourselves we can honestly say some of us have really blown it big time…not to mention the times we have messed up over and over and over…you get the idea…again…and again…and again.

And just to really make you feel bad…we’ve repeatedly done the same dumb things even after promising never to do them again…I’m glad the word ‘all’ is included…because it also means God will forgive my future sins as well…but it’s conditional …you have to ask Him to forgive them.

He Heals

who heals all your diseases

Right up front there needs to be some clarification made…could even go as far as to say…lies that need to be revealed.

1. God heals all diseases…not true…I think we would be a little less than truthful if we said that was the case…we all know people who have died from diseases … people who prayed and were prayed over who still died.

2. faithful people don’t get sick…not true…again we all know people who were dedicated Christians who got sick and died.  

3. Divine healing is accomplished because of Jesus’ death on the cross…not true…I want to look at two misleading verses:

He Himself took our infirmities [upon Himself] and carried away

our diseases [Matt. 8:17]

for by His wounds you have been healed. [1 Peter 2:24]

Let me share something regarding this misplaced and the totally incorrect application of Scripture that promotes the lie that as Christians, we should be living free from sickness.

For Kenneth Copeland and others who claim that the healing referred to in these verses applies to physical healing…that Jesus’ death on the Cross offered full healing to everyone because by His stripes we have been healed …and that we should declare theses scriptures over our lives and believe them for healing… are grossly in error.

This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding and is a terrible exegesis of Scripture.  

Last week I read a senior honors thesis from a student at Liberty University in which he states; ‘People are falling short of divine health in their lives because of unbelief, sin, deception and conformity to the world’s way of thinking.’

What an outrageous explanation of the ‘why’ of health issues in the life of a Christian…again bad theology.

So what does Peter mean… in [1 Peter 2:24] …where he writes…for by His wounds you have been healed…Peter plainly says by Christ’s wounds we have been healed…but this invites the question, healed from what? …from medical illness? …from financial debt? …from sinful attitudes?

We can’t just assume that Peter was talking about physical illnesses and then apply his statement to our current ailments…there is a logical approach.

Without going into a detailed study of this verse let me say…one of the best lessons we can learn about interpreting the Bible is that the paragraph…not the individual verse…is the primary unit of thought.

This means that interpreting any verse involves first establishing the overall meaning of the paragraph that contains that verse.

In the preceding verses Peter is sharing what it means to be a follower of Jesus… discussing why Christians are to submit to human authorities…using Jesus as the example who suffered under both the Roman and Jewish authorities.

Likewise…all Christians are called on as well to endure suffering for doing what is good for the Lord’s sake…nothing about healing…it’s referring to a Christian’s conduct.

Again…refuting another lie that many believe that becoming a Christian will guarantee a life of simplicity and ease, affluence and comfort.

Verse 24 is actually a quote from Isaiah 53:5…which is a play on words…as Christians we have been healed from the penalty and power of sin by Christ’s suffering… for by His stripes we are healed…not a healing of the body but an everlasting healing of the spirit.

Jesus’ substitutionary suffering and death paid for our sins with the result that we could now be healed of our rebellious attitudes…has nothing to do with physical healing.

With regards to Matthew 8:17  He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.” is again tied to Isaiah 53 and Jesus’ healing activity during His earthly ministry.

The key is in the wording… Matthew [17] begins ‘so that’…’in order that’ …indicating the healing just mentioned—which was Peter’s mother-in-law—the healing was clearly done before the atoning work of Christ on the cross…not as a reference to any healing done today…which was done in order to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.

People ask… ‘do you believe in divine healing’ …EVERYBODY…that’s  the only kind there is…it just comes in different ways…that’s why we pray…for two reasons…ONE…Scripture tells us to…

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the

church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in

the name of the Lord. (James 5:14–15).

As a church we do this…nothing mysterious or magical about this…it’s Scriptural…at times God does administer immediate healing…why he heals the people He does is a mystery to me.

Secondly…we don’t know the means God is going to use to heal… at times He heals immediately…at other times He uses all the latest technology…newest drugs… and latest advances in medicine and surgery to heal.

It is God who provides the ability for man to design…invent…and implement these drugs…so in essence they are God administered…after doctors and nurses have done all they can do…after we have used all the latest technology…have taken the newest drugs…healing must come from the Lord.

If you took an aspirin and the headache you had is now gone…that too is from the Lord…that is why we pray for the sick…good medicine and good prayer go together.

He Delivers

who redeems your life from destruction

Part of the free gift of grace was to redeem us from the pit of destruction…he’s not referring to the eternal destruction of the body and soul in hell or to the eternal separation from God that’s reserved for the devil and his angels.

This is referring to the temporal destruction of the body after death to which the natural life is subject to…the temporal destruction of our earthly bodies due to disease….accidents …wars… or dangerous occurrences…

He Crowns

who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies

Realizing how easily people forget God, David reminds himself of the many blessings both physical and spiritual that God has given him…TWO WAYS.

FIRST…notice he doesn’t say…with loving kindness and tender justice… there’s nothing tender about justice…if we were to receive the justice we deserve from God we would all perish…but instead he adds His mercy by which sinners may be forgiven.

Goes back to what I said last week…the purpose of a church service is to praise God for who He is and what He has done…two primary things God has done and is still doing that He needs to be praised for.  

MERCY…God not treating me as I deserve to be treated.

GRACE…God treating me as I don’t deserve to be treated.

SECONDLY…the word ‘crown’ here is not referring to a crown you wear on your head…the root for the Hebrew word “crown” means to encircle for the purpose of protection or attack.

David says God crowns us with ‘lovingkindness’ …that is the unending… unchanging love God surrounds us with.

He Satisfies

Who satisfies you with good (things)

The text says He satisfies you with good (things) …that means there is nothing on earth that can satisfy us as deeply as God Himself.

To be satisfied means to be so full that you need nothing else…kinda what happens at Thanksgiving dinner when you simply cannot eat anything else.

David is speaking of a satisfaction deeper than anything the world can offer… James amplifies this idea…Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father [James 1:17] …in the original language the word ‘gift’ is used twice…this would better be translated:

Every good act of giving (1394) and every perfect gift (1434) is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.

Three quick things about this verse:

…The first word “gift” denotes the act of giving…the emphasis is on the Giver.

…the second word for “gift” is different from the previous word for “gift” …it refers to the thing given, rather than the act of giving.

…The word we translate as ‘coming down’ (2597) (katabaino) means to descend from a higher to a lower place….the present tense indicates that these good things are continually coming down.

The idea is that the gifts from God are meant for exactly what a person needs… this means by nature they are sufficient and complete (indicated by the word perfect).

Nobody should need more or less than what God has provided, because as a sovereign God He knows the perfect gift that each individual person needs…that means that each gift may look different for each person as God deems appropriate and necessary for each individual believer and their growth.

Here’s where the difficulty comes in…Psalm 103:4 says: (God) satisfies you with good things…God is the originator of only what is good…one helpful thought to remember in the midst of trials…troubles…testing…and suffering is that they are included as the good gifts that come down from the Father.

Again…there is a common misunderstanding regarding this verse…this verse leaves the impression that God promises certain material benefits…money… status…promotions…or earthly prosperity if we will only serve Him…but we fail to include those difficult times in our lives which God sees as good gifts.

We need to remember that good is something defined according to God’s perfect wisdom…not ours… everything God has created has a good purpose even if we cannot fully understand all things.

He Restores

The usage of an eagle in the psalm is very instructive…the eagle is the strongest …most fearless…and most majestic of all birds.

At about five years of age an eagle will begin going through a process known as molting…a process which takes place annually…where they lose some of their old feathers and grow a new plumage thereby gaining a new lease of life… giving the appearance of renewed youth in the eagle.

There is a great deal to be admired in the youth of a young believer…but for the seasoned believer too often the ordinary wear and tear of combating temptations results in a sinful decline that causes backsliding…the gravitational pull towards sinfulness even in the best of people…whereby we fall into spiritual depression and despair.

Therefore, we need to have that strength renewed…every Christian has need for his soul to be renewed…refreshed…reinvigorated…to restore us to our first love…thank God He can renew our youth to us spiritually when we grow old bodily… But God can renew in us all the vigor we ever had…He can bring back to us again…with all the strength we once had for service He can bring back to us again.

There is no reason why we should not continue to be young and have God renew our youth like the eagles.

In these five verses are six blessings from the Lord…helping us to realize that being a part of the family of God is the greatest blessing bestowed upon believers.

Each of us have our own list of the things for which we are thankful for…but the one thing that should drive us to our knees in humble adoration is…something that we can never do to deserve it…God’s gift of love…mercy…and grace.

Best of all, real Thanksgiving takes place when we yield our hearts to God.

A church service should be a spiritual oasis…a time where we can come together as a family celebrating our belief in ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. [Ephesians 4:5-6]

But for many the time to exit the sanctuary only means a step back into the frustrations of the world…returning to our homes with all the realities of life we left just a few hours earlier…still there…the over-due bills…the laundry that needs done…the lawn that needs mowed…going back to work with the awaiting deadlines and the uncompleted tasks.

As people exit the doors of the church some feel that the spiritual oasis is now behind them…while others are just glad to get out of church.

When it comes to the actual time spent in church the average length of a sermon varies…researchers found that the average is around 37 minutes but there are striking denominational differences…14 minutes for Catholics…25 minutes for mainline Protestants…then there’s variations of what a sermon should include.

The goal of a sermon should not be:

…to dispense information. We’re drowning in information.

…to showcase the speaker’s oratory skills. It’s not about the messenger.
…to prove to the congregation that the preacher studied all week. Who cares?

The purpose of a church service is to praise God for who He is and what He has done…and there are two primary things God has done and is still doing that He needs to be praised for.  

MERCY…God not treating me as I deserve to be treated.

GRACE…God treating me as I don’t deserve to be treated.

That’s why for some benedictions are a great enjoyment for a couple reasons:

…again…for those who are anxious to leave the benediction signals that the service will soon end and everyone’s free to go home.

…But for many the benediction is meant to impart a blessing from God on our lives.

That is why benedictions are important…after telling you how important they are…I don’t personally offer up a benediction at the end of the service…usually Richard closes the service with a prayer.

Here’s what I want you to remember when you leave the church…it’s what I shared with you through my sermon…but statistics indicate we forget 95% of what we hear after 72 hours. 

That is why we don’t include any business or reminders about upcoming events after the sermon…I want you leaving the church hopefully thinking about what I just preached on.

In verse 20-21 of Hebrews 13 the author is offering up a benedictionleaving them both a blessing and a comprehensive summary of the book of Hebrews reminding them that Jesus is:

I. The Source of Our Peace
II. The Preparation of Our Peace
III. The Purpose of Our Peace
IV. The Result of Our Peace

I want us to look at these summaries which include the whole argument of the book of Hebrews and its case for the Finality of Jesus.

Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect, in every good work, to do His will, by working in you, that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory, forever and ever, Amen.”

I. Jesus…The Source of Our Peace

The first summary is found in the first line…the expression, “God of Peace” meaning more than just the absence of hostility…the idea of peace in the Bible is wholeness…completeness…blessings…and fulfillment.

This expression is found only in the letters and in the prayers of Paul…most of Paul’s letters begin with the words ‘Grace and peace to you from God’ …in addition Paul uses that phrase in many of his writings.

…Romans 5:1, “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God” …Romans 15:33, “Now the God of peace be with you all…”

…Philippians 4:9, “and the God of peace shall be with you.”

…1 Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you totally…”

The writer of Hebrews…whoever he was…used the Greek word for “peace,” with its Hebrew roots of shalom…but there is a distinction:

—Roman peace was a peace dictated by man…for the Hebrew, shalom was the peace of God.

—For the Romans, peace was dictated by their conditions…for the Hebrew, shalom was a mutual agreement.

—For the Romans, peace was a temporary pact based on how long the peace agreement remained…for the Hebrews, shalom is a permanent agreement.

The first example of the peace of God in the Bible is the condition that existed in the Garden of Eden…Adam and Eve were at peace with God and all He created.  If any people ever experienced Godly peace in this world it was Adam and Eve.

BUT with Adam and Eve the condition of peace they enjoyed lasted only as long as they were obedient to God’s will…unfortunately for them…when they disobeyed…the shalom of God…the peace of God was lost for them.

It’s God’s desire for every person in this room to have the same shalom of God that Adam and Eve enjoyed…Scripture tells us it is possible:

…having been justified by faith, we have peace with God

 through our Lord Jesus Christ [Rom. 5:1]

BUT…because of the Church’s position the past 50 years peace with God has taken on an unbiblical meaning…because of the false idea that just anyone can experience and enjoy peace with God…everybody…they can’t. It’s conditional.

The hope that includes any and all persons go to heaven has softened God’s mandate regarding salvation.

We even see it in some Bible translations…Bible translators often times slant their translations to agree with their political…theological…or personal agenda with regards to their understanding of Scripture.

As a result, sometimes we are left with a less than accurate or complete meaning of certain passages…EXAMPLE…we have all heard the Christmas story and the angels’ words to the shepherds on that first Christmas; (KJV) / (Luke 2:14)

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That verse is one I’ve heard since I was in grade school and I’m sure it’s what most of us have heard throughout our entire lives…buy a Christmas card and it’s usually printed somewhere on it…this verse is from the King James translation …what has this to do with Jesus as the source of our peace?  

The word translated as ‘good will toward men’ can be written in a number of ways…one letter difference changes the entire meaning of that phrase.

There is a text-critical issue. Does the original text of Luke 2:14 read εὐδοκίας (“of good pleasure,” genitive case) or εὐδοκία (“good will,” nominative case)? A look at the oldest and most reliable manuscripts makes clear that all three major codices—Sinaiticus (א), Alexandrinus (A), and Vaticanus (B)—point to εὐδοκίας as the original wording. But in both the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, later translators erased the final sigma to change the harder genitive to the easier nominative reading which subsequently picked up in the King James version issuing the translation, “on earth peace, good will toward men.”

In later translations, including the King James Version, they omitted the final letter (ς) on the word we translate ‘with whom He is pleased’ …the absence of that one letter changes the meaning from:

The genitive case (εὐδοκίας) indicating only those with whom God is pleased

The nominative case (εὐδοκία) indicating good will toward all people…as translated in the King James…that is, humanity at large.

The removal of that single letter (ς) results in a less than accurate meaning of the text…the addition of the (s) makes the meaning more restrictive…the genitive case in Greek shows possession.

Most experts in Greek agree that the whole clause should be translated, “Peace on earth among men of His good pleasure” …this implies that God was bringing peace specifically to certain ones…not to everyone as the KJV and other translations imply.

The angels told the shepherds in the field, “Glory to the Most High God and peace on earth among those He favors!” indicating there’s a condition…I keep telling you with regards to the promises of God they’re conditional… peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased (Luke 2:14) …because God is not pleased with all humans…in our natural state we are enemies of God.

Men are in a state of hostility with God and with each other…the carnal mind is enmity against God…so…with whom is God pleased? …how does one become the recipient of God’s good pleasure?

 God’s pleasure and peace rest only upon those who receive His Son by faith because His peace only with ‘men in whom He is pleased.’ …in short: by putting their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

See the importance of knowing what the Bible actually says…that caution should be applied to any translation…not that they’re flagrantly wrong but sometimes they’re shaded to a particular translator’s interpretation.

For the Christian…Peace with God means:

…our sins have been paid for…[1Peter 3:18 / John 1:12; 3:16]

…that we are no longer enemies of God [Rom 5:10]

…that God sees us as righteous (Col. 2:14; Rom. 3:22)

…that we are His beloved children (1 John 3:2).

…that we no longer need to fear death (Rom 6:5 / Phil. 3:20)

II. The Preparation of Our Peace

The second summary describes God’s work of preparing our peace.

It is through the power of God…“having brought out from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep”.

There is no greater act in all of creation than the resurrection of Jesus…no one has ever come back from the dead to tell us whether there was life after death.

HOLD IT…what about near-death-experiences…do people die and then come back…is their story reliable?

The nature of near-death-experiences (NDEs) is largely unknown but recent evidence suggests the possibility that NDEs may refer to actual “perceived,” and stored experiences…BUT…for the majority who have not personally experienced an NDE, we should be cautious about labelling NDEs as “unreal.” 

So…I’ll clarify my statement by saying…no magician…no other religious leader…no philosopher…no leader of state…no one anywhere in the universe at any time has ever come back to life after being dead for 36 hours.

Here is the capstone of the Christian faith…this is God’s proof to all who wonder if Christianity is the only true way to God and heaven…the same power that brought Jesus out of the grave after 36 hours is the same power that is available to us.

The preparation of our peace was included in God’s original plan from eternity past… it has never been upset or overthrown…it is the blood of Jesus [20] that makes it an “everlasting” and “eternal” covenant.

Christ’s death is the guarantee that God will never turn away from doing good to us…since His covenant is eternal, we have no need to fret or worry…the means and the plans of God are unchangeable.

God is not about to revise or reconstruct His plans due to what some think…or believe…He has remained on course and on the same plan since He devised it before creation in eternity past.

It is the very covenant God made with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden [Genesis 3:15] …It is the one He made with Abraham [Genesis 12:2-3] …it’s the same one He made with David [2 Samuel 7] …and the one He renewed in the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34…the means and the plan are sure.

III. The Purpose of Our Peace

What is the purpose of God’s peace? Christmas cards and Miss America contestants talk about “peace on earth.”

By this they mean peace among men…the end of war…violence and bloodshed. By this they mean the end to conflict among nations but this is not what the angels meant by peace.

This is not what our text means by peace…this view of “peace” is too limiting… this is how man views peace…this kind of “peace” is pathetic.

Luke writes in the book of Acts the purpose of our peace: [John 20:19]

          19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

Peace is the calm assurance that what God is doing is best…there’s no mistakes …no errors…or miscalculation with God…peace comes from knowing that He is in control causing all things to work together for good…always for His good,   sometimes for yours…to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Peace is God’s way of signaling to you that you can rest in Him…that you can trust Him…you’ll be able to see Him at work in your life…here’s how… He’ll make you able to do what you think you cannot do.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

On their own…there is no way those frail…timid apostles could have even remotely preached about a risen Savior…who for many…was nothing more than a criminal.

The Bible records the events of people who did what they thought they could not do…for all who think they cannot do what is needed to minister in the Church …He is able to bring our abilities into accord with His plan so we can do what we thought we were unable to do.

Notice what He does…when we are determined to do the will of God…doing what pleases Him…God equips you with everything you need to do His will. 

So how does God teach us…equip us?…it’s not through osmosis…it’s not by giving you an automatic understanding of the Bible…here are some of the ways God teaches Christians:

…God teaches us through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us

…He speaks directly to each person through the Bible

…He will use your background

…your level of education

…your current and past occupations

…all of your life experiences—good or bad

…He will surround you with people who are unfamiliar to you to teach you lessons that you couldn’t learn any other way

…He’ll possibly send you to school

…God uses a variety of ways to teach you.

Here’s the problem…many times it’s us…some say…“I have never been able to perform in a way that I would say is “well-pleasing” to God” …that’s because in our own strength we muscle our way through things to get it done…and because we are weak…and feeble…without Christ we are unable on our own to do anything spiritually good.

This is one of the most encouraging texts I know…a prayer that God would prepare and equip all believers who need encouragement in fulfilling the purpose for which you were created…that He’ll equip you in every good thing to do His will.

God has given to every Christian a gift that He will hold us accountable for…in order to accomplish that we need to be strengthened with spiritual strength.

We must never hope “to please God” by anything done in our own strength.

In [21] is the answer… He will “work in us”. That is where the power comes from so we can accomplish every good work… it happens “through Jesus.” …Jesus does not do mediocre work…when we submit to His leading everything is “well-pleasing” in the eyes of God!

Verse 21 is translated different ways in different versions but fundamentally the point of the author’s prayer is that God will equip the church with every good thing that they need to do His will…. and God will supply all of this through His Son.

IV. The Result of Our Peace

People ought not to go to church to hear the sentiments or the ideas of a man, but to hear the word of God.

The benediction is a blessing for us…but only to the degree that it enables us to take our eyes off ourselves and to place them on the one who saves us…this concluding prayer and benediction is a reminder of what has been promised us.

ONE…that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is available for those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior.

SECONDLY…that we might know who is the source of our peace…it’s not in the tangible things of the world…true peace comes when the God of peace takes over our lives…therefore, let us fix our eyes on the God of peace, for only He is able to meet us at the level of our deepest needs.

^{13: 9} Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. ¹⁵ Through Him…let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Chapter 13 of Hebrews is made up almost entirely of exhortations to  perform various Christian duties…something you hear…what is expected of Christians…where is it outlined, how Christians are to conduct themselves.  

…13:1 Show Hospitality to Strangers

…13:2 sympathy for Christians in prison

…13:3 fidelity in the marriage relation

…13:4 being content…nothing to do with the love of money

…13:5-6 submission to those in authority

…13:7-8 stability in the doctrines of religion

…13:9-15 superiority of the new Covenant

…13:16 obedience to those entrusted with office

After identifying these exhortations he adds a warning: do not be misled by diverse and strange teachings…keep these exhortations…don’t let anyone  re-define or add a new meaning to them…as Christians we should have fixed points of belief…like the Apostle’s Creed…that is the standard for our beliefs.

The concern is not to yield to every opinion that comes along…abandoning what they have previously believed…or…hanging on to an opinion merely because we’ve always believed that way…or it’s an old opinion so it must be valid.

The exhortation is that Christians who believe in doctrinal truths as scriptural should not abandon those truths because of new information.

There is never a shortage of various and strange doctrines in the church that are masked by the idea that we’re more progressive now than those in the early church were…we need to be more flexible and accommodating because God would want it that way.

But really only a little more than one generation had passed before the church began to be inundated with false teachers who started perverting the truth.

It was causing serious trouble for those early Christians…they were being warned not to listen to those who were trying to steer them away from the true doctrines of God.

They were uninspired people who would have them believe new truths in regard to what the Apostles had been teaching them…in essence adding new “rules” by adding refinements to the Bible based off of faulty interpretations.

Be cautious of rules that do not originate with God…were never taught by God…nor can be found in the word of God…but are the result of human traditions and ideas.

Wherefore the author of Hebrews exhorts them not to be drawn in by their seemingly sound doctrines…examples of actual church beliefs that on the surface appear biblically sound until you look closer at what they’re suggesting.  

We believe that the pattern of the New Testament church was to observe the Lord’s Supper each week. (Acts 20:7)

That each believer should give a generous gift of their income to God…We believe that the tithe (one-tenth) is the standard by which Christians determine if they are giving generously. (Malachi 3:10; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

With respect to giving…tithing in regard to money is not even mentioned in the New Testament…the only place tithing is mentioned in the entire N.T. is in the book of Matthew where Jesus is using it as a way to condemn the religious leaders for the hypocrisy of their lifestyle…following every law to the letter, but neglecting the more important matters of mercy and faithfulness…has nothing to do with giving.

I’ve already read it to you…here’s what Scripture says about giving:

¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others,

There’s no mention of money…tithing…nothing about 10% of your income… it’s doing good and sharing with others…when you give money to the church it’s not the amount…it’s the idea that you’re sharing and doing good for others.

Then there’s the Church that believes God continues to reveal truths through members they claim are prophets…changing what the Bible says regarding certain issues…this begs the question… “If my understanding of belief ‘x’ has changed, how do I know that belief ‘y’ won’t change sometime in the future as well?”

In the ever-changing cultural trends of today the church needs to proclaim the eternal relevance and applicability of the Word of God…people may believe or disbelieve the Bible…but no one has the authority to change it…it is fixed…the Word of God was settled forever in heaven. This is profoundly essential.

In reference to our friends the Mormons…God wrote a Book—just one Book— in it He was able to say everything He wanted to say…He didn’t need to write a second book…no such thing as this in addition to that.

Private, subjective interpretations of the Bible effectively deny the sufficiency of God’s inspired Word… it presumes that there is more we need to know than what God has placed in Scripture…in the end, this anti-intellectual search for truth leads to chaos…disappointment…despair…and apostasy.

Notice that just before he warns us regarding being carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, he writes about something we talked about last week … ‘Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.’

There’s a logical train of thought here…after he makes the statement regarding Jesus’ sustaining character…he instructs them to not be carried away by strange teachings…then immediately goes into a discussion regarding food.

What’s that all about?…Probably referring to the Judaizers and their teaching.

Know who these guys were…they were bad news…Judaizers were a group of Jewish Christians who insisted that Christians should follow the Mosaic Law regarding ceremonial observances and traditions…and that Gentile converts to Christianity must first be circumcised…these guys were a disruption.

The eating of foods was a big deal in the early church for two reasons:

1) the issue for these Christians is should I eat meat that has been offered as a sacrifice to foreign gods…you go to a friend’s house and just before you eat he tells you ‘you’re eating meat I had sacrificed to a foreign god.’

Here’s what Paul told them…it’s not food that brings us near to God…we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do [1 Cor. 8:8] …it’s not an issue because idols don’t exist…BUT…if it’s going to offend another Christian who sees you eating it…then don’t eat it.

Just because we have the right to do something, does not make it right if it is going to offend…example drinking beer…know preachers who will not drink in public because of the harm it could do to a person who is struggling with alcohol…even though nothing in the Bible prohibits the drinking of beer.

The general rule for any Christian is…if it’s going to offend another Christian who sees you doing it…then don’t do it.

2) the mentioning of foods is probably in reference to returning to Mosaic ceremonies and laws that have been abolished…the mention of food is just an example…let me share with you how this works.

Today there is confusion over the issues of law and grace and the place the Mosaic law has in the life of a New Testament believer with some churches suggesting we return to those laws.

The Old Testament priests came from the tribe of Levi…if you weren’t from the tribe of Levi you couldn’t be a priest…these human priests from the tribe of Levi offered daily sacrifices for the sins of the people and for themselves because as a man they were also sinners and must offer up sacrifices for themselves as well.

But Jesus was from the tribe of Judah…so technically He couldn’t be a priest…

So how is it that Jesus is referred to as the High Priest?

Without getting really deep in this let me simplify this…God promised that the Messianic king would be a priest forever…Jesus is the ultimate priest because He offered the perfect sacrifice—Himself…because He was sinless, He is the perfect and eternal high priest. 

He is the ultimate priest because by His death He ratified a new covenant…what that means is the priesthood of Aaron and the Mosaic law are no longer in force…Christians no longer live under the old covenant.

Here he’s warning these Roman Christians to beware of uninspired people… both Jews and Gentiles…whose teaching was detracting from the supreme sacrifice of Jesus.

Peter makes mention of these people [2 Peter 2:1-3]:

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign LORD who bought them…bringing swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their depraved conduct and refusing to acknowledge the way of truth. ³In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.

The author gives a description of the believer’s position before God…God has done away with all earthly ordinances…sacrifices…and the ceremonies of the Mosaic law…as believers in Jesus our worship is spiritually through Jesus.

So instead of a morning and evening animal sacrifice Christians are called to offer to God a continual sacrifice…how?

¹⁵ Through Jesus…let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

BUT…isn’t it interesting how the Church has reverted back to the observance of ceremonial holidays:

Advent (begins) — The season before Christmas (December 1st through December 25th). 

All Saints’ Day — Honoring all known and unknown saints within the Church.

All Soul’s Day — Remembrance of the faithful who have departed with prayer.    

Ash Wednesday — The first day of Lent, the period of 40 days before Easter.

Christmas Eve — Day before Christmas. Preparations for the Christmas Day celebrations.

Christmas Day — Celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Palm Sunday — Last Sunday of Lent. It begins the Holy Week and commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

Maundy Thursday — Commemorates the Last Supper and falls on the Thursday before Easter.   

Good Friday — Marks the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is the Friday before Easter. 

Holy Saturday — Day before Easter. Time is spent anticipating the resurrection of Jesus.

Easter — Most important of the Christian festivals celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.

St. Stephen’s Day — Celebration of the first Christian martyr.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity — Celebrates the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul. Prayers to find unity in all things.

In addition…at the Council of Trent (1545–63), the Roman Catholic Church formally fixed seven sacraments…could be entitled…things to do…as signs of Jesus’ presence in our lives and a means of receiving his Grace.

I’d say the church has expanded the simple concept of …continually offering to God a sacrifice of praise…by the institution of these holidays.

But verse [15] is the KEY…through Him let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise…TWO THINGS:

1) the words—let us continually—is a good translation…this verse is saying if you want to offer a sacrifice to God…offer one of praise…in the Greek it is in the present tense meaning something done daily…not just on Sunday.

2) He says—through him—a reminder that all things are from Him…through Him…and to Him.

An easy to prepare Sunday School lesson…or a personal Bible study… look up the over 30 verses that deal with how everything in life is ‘through Him.’

Jn 1:3 [NIV reads “through Him”], Jn 1:7, John 1:10, Jn 3:17, Jn 14:6, Acts 2:22, 3:16, Acts 7:25, Acts 10:43, Acts 13:38, 39, Ro 5:9 [note], Ro 8:37 [note], Ro 11:36 [note]; 1Co 8:6, Ep 2:18 [note], Php 4:13 [note], Col 1:20 [note], Col 2:15 [note], Col 3:17 [note], Heb 7:25 [note], Heb 13:15 [note], 1Pe 1:21[note], 1John 4:9

For more study…the N.T. uses the parallel phrase through Jesus (or similar phrases – “through Whom”, “through our Lord”,

John 1:17, Acts 10:36, Ro 1:4, 5– note; Ro 1:8–note, Ro 2:16–note, Ro 5:1–note; Ro 5:2–note Ro 5:11–note, Ro 5:21–note, Ro 7:25–note, Ro 16:27–note, 1Cor 15:57, 2Cor 1:5, 3:4, 5:18, Gal 1:1, Eph 1:5–note, Php 1:11–note, 1Th 5:9–note; Titus 3:6–note, He 1:2–note; He 2:10–note, Heb 13:21–note, 1Pe 2:5–note, 1Pe 4:11–note, Jude 1:25)

If you are a believer in Christ, you are God’s priest…the sacrifice that you are to continually offer is—the fruit of your lips—our lips are to bring forth pleasing spiritually “fragrant” fruit…or they will bring “foul-smelling” unwholesome “fruit” [Ep 4:29]…what kind of fruit did your lips produce this week?

But…he’s not just suggesting praising God in what we say…the fruit of lips that openly profess his name…ties everything together…lip service must be accompanied by life service…our praise and sacrifice ought to be done out of gratitude…obedience…worship…and by doing good for others.

The fruit God seeks in human beings is expressed in righteous and loving acts as outlined in this last chapter of Hebrews…acts that bring peace and harmony to each other and to society…summed up in verse 16.

¹⁶ …for with such sacrifices God is pleased

Praise that pleases God is the fruit of our lips…not just our thoughts…worship which truly pleases God doesn’t center on rituals…or doing things…genuine worship is authenticated not in words but on a relationship with and through Jesus…that is God pleasing worship.

^{13: 6} So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Last week we looked at the statement just before this…a statement that the author takes from the Old Testament and applies it to the situation the Jewish Christians were facing in Rome.

I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you

It’s important to remember who this verse is being directed to…the true meaning of this verse is found in how those Christians were being persecuted for their faith…being thrown out by their families…being cut off from all provisions and protection…having their property seized…these Christians had very little or nothing.

The author is reassuring them that despite all these difficulties God was actively aware of their situation promising to never leave them nor forsake them.

Now the application for us…I preached on this last week and I’m going to touch on it again this week…something I preach on continuously…contained in this statement is a Biblical truth that far too many Christians overlook…going through their entire Christian life without the assurance and the promise of what having Jesus as their Lord and Savior means.

This is an essential truth for Christians today…we are saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we cannot lose what we have been given.

It’s important to know just how powerful this verse is with respect to knowing that we are eternally secure in Christ…to know how powerful this verse is with respect to God’s promise of eternal security.

In the Greek the author uses the strongest negative statement possible…twice he uses two words οὐ μή. When combined they are the strongest way to express something is not going to happen…no…not never.

English translations don’t bring out the emphatic rendering of this verse…in the Greek the author uses a double negative twice to add emphasis to his point… here’s what it says in the Greek:

Never not (οὐ μή) will I leave you nor never not (οὐ μή) will I forsake you.

It is with that thought in mind that he next jubilantly quotes from Psalm 118:

So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?”

Again an Old Testament quote…Psalm 118 is the last of the “praise” psalms (Psalms 113—118) …these psalms were sung by the Jewish people in their annual festivals and especially as part of the Passover meal observances.

The language and theme of Psalm 118 is linked to Israel’s release after 400 years of captivity in Egypt…it was recited in remembrance of God’s great love and deliverance in freeing them from the bondage of their cruel enemies.

The application was for those Roman Christians who were in similar fashion being persecuted for their faith…to reassure them the writer wanted them to know that despite all these difficulties God was actively aware of their situation …promising to never leave them nor forsake them.

It is this reassurance that provided those people the ability to undergo torture and martyrdom knowing that despite their situation…they took comfort in knowing that …the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?”

But here’s the issue…whether it’s a hurricane that wipes out hundreds of lives… or COVID that kills thousands…or the fact that

Every day, 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-01/report-open-doors-christians-persecuted.html

In Nigeria in the first 200 days of 2021—17 Christians were murdered every day

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248547/report-17-christians-killed-every-day-in-nigeria-in-first-half-of-2021

The question is essentially the same…why is this happening?

It is called the “problem of suffering,” …it’s a question that theologians have grappled with for thousands of years…whether its “natural” suffering (from illnesses or natural disasters) or suffering that is the result of “moral evil” (suffering from the actions of individuals) the question is the same…where is God in all of this?

I can stand up here and tell you that in all these instances… the Lord is my helper …that’s an encouraging statement…but it doesn’t really do anything for anybody…if you’re one of those people who are experiencing the tragedies I just mentioned…that doesn’t do much good.

The confusion for believers and unbelievers is summarized in what is called the “inconsistent triad:” ….God is all powerful, therefore God can prevent suffering. But God does not prevent suffering therefore, God is not all powerful.

For the Christian being led away to be killed or for the believer who is suffering the immediate question is…can you believe in a God where the mystery of suffering is unanswerable…why is this happening to me?

As a Pastor I can give you the ‘Bible answer.’

…that storms are divine wake up calls…or

…trials are a test like when your patience is being tested by an annoying person

…or the always common misconception that suffering is a punishment for sin …or the heartwarming statement that “Everything happens for a reason.”

For many…suffering is an embarrassment to the Christian faith…God should have healed you…here’s something we need to grasp as Christians…Jesus’ promise of… I will never leave you nor never forsake you is not a promise that everything will turn out for your good…Romans 8:28 is grossly misinterpreted.

Here’s the hard reality…the Bible may begin and end with happiness…but the meat of the story is ugly…nowhere are Christians promised that God will not allow us to suffer…that’s why Romans 8:38, not 28, should be our guiding verse because even in those times when you lose the battle…and there will be times you lose the battle…nothing shall separate us from the love of God.  

The promise of the LORD is my helper, is still valid today…it has a wide range of meanings…everything from God giving Eve to Adam in the Garden…to your personal safety…to helping us out of the pit of sin and misery…out of the hands of one’s enemies…to helping in our afflictions …helping us out of the dangers by Satan and temptations…up to and including the one who supports us in our task of doing the will of God.

Let me share with you the significance of…the Lord is my helper…it’s found in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel.  

In 1 Sam. 4:1 the Israelites go to battle against the Philistines …in this battle the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines.

They go to battle again thinking things are going to be different because now they bring the Ark of the Covenant with them…the belief based on previous battles was when the Ark was present it was God’s presence to  help them defeat their enemies…having the Ark present shifts the battle in favor of Israel.

So…expecting that God will deliver them from the Philistines…they go into battle…but they’re defeated again…this time losing 30,000 soldiers in addition to having the Ark stolen…a really bad day for Israel.

Samuel reminds them there’s more to expecting God’s help than just having the Ark present…it’s like the idea that if I go to church on occasion God’s going to help me in my daily struggles.

Samuel tells the people the problem is your lifestyle…the Ark…going to church or nothing else is going to help you if you continue to live a lifestyle of disobedience…you need to get right with God…remove the foreign gods from yourselves and return to the Lord and serve Him alone.

When the people removed the foreign gods and returned to serving the Lord then God delivered them and gave them victory over the Philistines.

So what’s the significance…it’s significant for two reasons and they are both applicable to us today.

The Lord is my helper is an eternal promise…with conditions…if nothing else I want you to know that most everything having to do with God’s dealings in our lives is conditional…Samuel told the people to remove the idols from their lives, that was the condition…remove things that separated them from God’s presence.

This is reminiscent of what the prophet told King Asa after the Israelites defeated a million-man Ethiopian army…

The Lord is with you when you are with Him…but if you forsake Him He will forsake you [2 Chron. 15:2-3]

As Christians we have to come to the realization that God’s involvement in our lives is dependent on how we conduct ourselves…the Israelites defeated the Philistines and the Ethiopians only when they removed those things from their lives that kept them separated from God.

You cannot expect God to be active in your life when you’re living a lifestyle that is in disobedience to God’s commandments.

Secondly…the Bible records many instances when people were encouraged to remember what the Lord had done for them in the past…gratitude.

This is a repeated theme in the Old Testament…after the Israelites crossed the Jordan river on dry land Joshua told them to stack up stones…calling them stones of remembrance to remind them of what God had done for them… gratitude.

After the Israelites defeated the Philistines, Samuel took a stone and called it Ebenezer…translated means–stone of help…the Lord has helped us…[1 Sam. 7:12]

So what’s the importance of that…it is as important today as when Joshua and when Samuel did it thousands of years ago…it shows gratitude.   

It’s called having an Ebenezer moment…we’ve all had them…times when you knew that God had specifically intervened in your life and helped you…for a Christian there is no such thing as luck…being fortunate…right place right time.

Samuel said I can’t let this time of God’s help go by without remembering what God has done for us…gratitude…thinking back in your life can you recount the times God has been active in your life…providing for you when you needed it the most?…making it an Ebenezer moment…the Lord has helped me.

Here’s why that’s important…because ingratitude is a sin…but…when we take time to thank God for what he has done it stirs up our faith and enables us to face the challenges of life with renewed trust in God…who:

Never not will I leave you nor never not will I forsake you…

So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper,

Here’s what this means for us today:

1. He is all-sufficient. 

God is “El Shaddai,” meaning the God Who Is More Than Enough…a song made famous by Amy Grant…God is the All-Sufficient One.

God reveals Himself by many names throughout the Scriptures to express an aspect of His character that is vital for us to know…He is the all self-sufficient One.

Nothing is necessary to God…He needs no food to nourish Him…He needs no water to sustain Him…He needs no air to breathe…He has no need of clothes… needs no house to live in…He needs no friends…He needs no heat…no light… God needs nothing…He certainly doesn’t need you or me…but…because of His love for those who show their love for Him by how they live…He is the All-Sufficient One.

2. He is ever-available. 

God is our ever-present Helper…easily-accessible…readily-available…and persistently-willing to help…who cares enough to share his unlimited resources with us…He is always near, nearer to us than we are to ourselves.

3. He is ever-gracious.

To be gracious means ‘to favor’ … to show kindnesses…to be compassionate … God is gracious all the time…even when we are disobedient…even when we don’t acknowledge Him or worship Him…it is His character to be gracious.

His willingness to help doesn’t diminish…man varies in his moods…today he’s kind…tomorrow he’s cold and harsh…but God is ever merciful, ever disposed to help and bless His creatures.

It is by God’s grace that we have eternal life…God had so much compassion on humanity that He sent His only Son to die for the disobedience of all mankind …extending His mercy to every person who has ever lived even up until the final moment of their earthly lives…wanting none to perish because He created us to live in eternity with Him.

4. He is ever-present.  

We worship a God who has no limits…here’s the problem with knowing that… at times I’m afraid to acknowledge the nearness of God…I’m afraid of what I’ll hear…I’m afraid of what uncomfortable truths I’ll have to face about who I am …to encounter God’s presence means to be made more and more like Him.

So to ignore the reality of His presence and live a lifestyle separated from God is to miss out on really knowing God…missing the opportunity to join Him in the plans He has for you.

We were created for this kind of relationship with God…to live in His presence, experience His goodness…and enjoy Him all the days of our lives.

To further amplify those statements, he makes a declaration in [8] that confirms the steadfastness of God:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever

We are living in a world that is constantly changing…in a turbulent and fast-changing world that goes from one crisis to the next where nothing seems permanent… the idea of anything being constantly the same without changing is unrealistic …however…this statement of faith has been a source of strength and encouragement of Christians for centuries.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever [Isiah 40:8]

The word of our God will stand forever…so, who or what is the word of God?

First…it’s God’s Word as revealed in Scripture.

Secondly…John 1:1 says Jesus is the word of God:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

Four times John uses the word ‘was’…here’s the importance… ‘was’ is an imperfect tense verb…describing continuous action in the past…unlike in the English where ‘was’ is something that happened at some time in the past… without regard for beginning or end.

The repeated uses of the word ‘was’ here is indicating Jesus’s continuing existence with God from the beginning…by saying ‘God was the Word’ implies Jesus has always existed with God.

Peluso Paraphrase of John 1:1…In the beginning CONTINUALLY WAS the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) CONTINUALLY WAS with God, and the Word (Jesus) CONTINUALLY WAS God.

Share with you the importance of the words…“…the Word was God” …this simple statement destroys the theology of the Jehovah Witnesses…the Mormons …the Christian Science…and makes liars out of every religious sect or cult in the world.

In the Greek it speaks of continuous action in the past…the imperfect tense…it reinforces the eternal preexistence of Jesus…it denotes the existence with the Father…His equality with Him…BUT…at the same time…having a personal existence distinct from God…being inseparable from Him…BUT…associated with Him eternally…But…being a distinct Person from Him.

A key theme in the book of Hebrews is the idea that God…nor His plans ever change…that’s why the author quotes Old Testament Scripture to reinforce the unchangeableness of God.

Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever…the words “yesterday and today” are an Old Testament expression to denote continuity (Exodus 5:14; 2 Samuel 15:20).

Jesus isn’t one way in the past and another way in the present…or that He’ll be something else in the future…whoever He was in the past is exactly who He is in the present and will continue to be in the future.

Jesus is the same YESTERDAY because He was active in creation.

Jesus is the same TODAY offering salvation to everyone who asks.  

Jesus is the same FOREVER reigning in glory at the right hand of the Father.

Jesus is just as faithful now as He has ever been…the same for all eternity …He has not changed, and He will never change…right now, today, you can claim and trust this unchanging Jesus as part of your life…Jesus is the One “Who is… who was…and who is to come…that is why:

we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?”

For the past couple of weeks, we have been looking at a series of practical exhortations from the 13^th chapter of the book of Hebrews.

Here in [5] the writer makes a prohibitive statement on the grounds that it violates God’s enduring care for those who are His.

13  ⁵ Let be without covetousness your manner of life, and be content with what you have, for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The first part of that verse is the literal Greek translation…‘Let be without covetousness your manner of life’ which has been strangely translated a number of different ways:   

New International Version
Keep your lives free from the love of money

Berean Literal Bible
Let your manner of life be without covetousness

King James Bible
Let your conversation be without covetousness

New American Standard
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money

I don’t know about you…but that’s too many different meanings for one verse…in these various translations of Hebrews 13:5 you have everything from

…warning you about the love of money

…telling you what manner your life should be

…suggesting what your conversation should be

…suggesting what your character should be

Why so many different renderings of one verse…how can I get a valid understanding of what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach me?

Again…you’re in the 21^st century trying to understand something written 2000 years ago in a language you don’t understand…to a people you can’t identify with…and trying to apply it to a modern-day audience.

First of all, the Greek word translated as manner…τρόπος (tropos)…means exactly that…a ‘way of life’ in the sense of one’s conduct or character…that’s why the wording….Let your manner of life is a good translation.  

The King James translation says ‘let your conversation’…in old English ‘conversation’ was referring to a person’s way of life, character, or behavior… knowing that, the rendering…Let your conversation is also a good translation.

Now to what some would identify as the primary point the author is making regarding… covetousness…there are three Greek words that all have practically the same meaning when referring to covetousness but with slightly different variances in their meaning.

One word, (πλεονεξία 4124) means lusting for a greater number of temporal things that goes beyond what God determines is eternally best…beyond His preferred will…there’s just some things in life you don’t need.

The second word (φιλαργυρία 5365) refers to what we are commonly used to hearing when talking about money… ‘For the love of money is a root of all evil’ [1 Tim. 6:10] referring strictly to the love of money…that’s not what the word used in [5] is directly referring to.

That’s why the NIV and the NASB are less than accurate translations of this verse because the word used for covetousness has nothing to do with money.

The word used in [5] (ἀφιλάργυρος 866) is not referring to the desire for financial gain or the love of money…that’s not the intent…the wording ‘love of money’ is not even in that verse…it’s focusing more on greed and the desire for ‘things.’

In our Western culture it’s easy for us to make the connection between money and materialism…the reality is they are two separate entities…with respect to materialism, studies have shown the kinds of problems materialism causes.

Marriage dissatisfaction occurs because those who value possessions are less likely to value their marriage…are likely to be less satisfied in their relationship …the result is that materialism becomes an unbalanced priority in their life.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180213183611.htm

Before we go farther, we should address the question…is it wrong to better our ourselves…our circumstances by working hard to achieve a better lifestyle?

This verse would seem to suggest that working to provide you and your family with life’s conveniences is really masked by the desire to accumulate stuff.

The opposite question could be asked…Should we be unconcerned about material things and our finances…just drifting through life without any ambition to improve ourselves…living from hand to mouth so as not to appear to be hoarding?

As with many Biblical principles there’s a balance that must be maintained by holding seemingly opposite truths.

On the one hand, the Bible warns us about the dangers of wealth (Prov. 11:4, 28; 30:8-9) …Jesus shocked the disciples when He said, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:23).

But on the other hand, the Bible encourages us as Christians to work…the Bible condemns laziness and calls us to work to provide for our family needs:

if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for

those of his household, he has denied the faith and is

worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8)

In addition is something that society needs to take a firmer stance on:

If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat (2 Thess. 3:10).

Need to make the distinction between someone not willing to work…as the verse implies…and someone unable to work…two different situations.  

Which brings up the debate regarding those who are unwilling to work because they can earn more on unemployment than being at work…or…working for $9 an hour is not meeting my financial needs so I’ll stay home.

We can go into all the social aspects of that and I’m not…but…Scripture is more than clear that society…and the church…do have an obligation to assist those who are unable to work…but as I have said before, I will not allow people to use us because of our Christiaan obligation to help our fellow man…when our fellow man’s intention is to take advantage of us.

BUT…before we condemn people with money…this verse is not referring to people with money…the emphasis is greed…the Bible never condemns anyone for having money…because there are verses in the Bible that do refer to wealth being a blessing from God (Ps. 112:3; Prov. 10:22) for a purpose…here’s the purpose.

That you have sufficiency in all things…the sufficiency is not referring to having a surplus or having a bank roll like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett…the sufficiency is having enough of what you need to suffice in your everyday living.

SO…that you may abound to every good work [2 Cor. 9:8] …the key here is ‘abound in every good work’…we put an American interpretation on the word ‘work’ making it to mean that God’s going to make me successful in whatever we do…that is not what the word ‘work’ here means.

The word ‘work’ is not referring to doing something…it means having a material abundance so you can use it to do good…especially by giving to others.

The idea is that God provides you sufficiently to meet your everyday needs…at times God gives you more than what you need to meet your everyday needs… but doesn’t give you an abundance so you can spend it on yourself …that’s that health and wealth theology promoted by the pontificators on TV.

The true meaning of abound in every good work is when God gives you more than you need…He does so that you might be a charitable help to others…goes back to not being greedy.

So, it’s a slippery slope…there’s the tension between the desire to work hard and advance yourself so you can be financially independent…certainly a trait you want to instill in your children…get an education…get a job…become financially independent from me…work hard…be successful.

As honorable and as Christlike as that sounds that idea can mask an outcome that is independent from God’s desire for your life in TWO WAYS:

ONE…is the desire that says if you want it…you can make it happen…apply yourself by diligently working hard…and as credible as that is…that idea has bred an entire generation to seek more wealth or possessions rather than God.

The SECOND one is where the desire to acquire ‘things’ has made shambles out of Christians who are pursuing the acquisition of ‘things’ instead of appreciating what God had already given them…ingratitude.

Remember the word used in [5] (ἀφιλάργυρος 866) is not referring to the desire for financial gain but more to being free from the love of materialism…not putting the desire for materialism ahead of your family or the church.

Here’s what Scripture says about that:  

—If you’re storing up treasures on earth, rather than in heaven, you’ll lose it all (Matt. 6:19-34).

—If you live in abundance, you’re committing the sin of greed and hoarding… (James 5:1-6).

—If you’re seeking contentment in money or things, rather than in God…you will come up empty (1 Tim. 6:5-10).

—if you’re trusting in wealth rather than the Lord for present or future security, you’ll be eternally disappointed (Prov. 11:28; Jer. 17:5-6).

Pastors are no different…rather than accepting where God has placed them in their ministry…they’re more interested in larger churches…their popularity… book deals…or bank account.  

It’s been said…by someone smarter than me–G.K. Chesterton– “There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and the other is to desire less.”

Contentment is one of the unnamed cousins of the fruit of the Spirit… contentment conquers the evil lust of covetousness…the lusts of the world…the lusts of the flesh…and the pride of life.

Here’s why we should we be content with what we have…discontentment breeds murmuring against God…it demonstrates a lack of faith in God as the source of our supply.

Murmuring against God…in addition to ingratitude…are two of the major sins of Israel in Scripture…and will still arouse the anger of God today.

Again…the 13^th chapter of Hebrews is encouraging proper Christian behavior emphasizing:

— brotherly love [1]

— hospitality [2]

— support for imprisoned and abused Christians [3]

— emphasis on sexual morality [4]

— the danger of greed [5].

Contentment and greed are both attitudes that start in the mind…to cultivate contentment we must daily accept God’s sovereignty in our life…trusting Him to provide for all our needs…that’s where the second part of this verse comes in.

The second part of this verse is a verse that far too often gets misapplied… I will never leave you nor forsake you…how many times have you heard someone apply that to their particular situation?

This verse is a direct promise given to Joshua by God after the death of Moses…it was meant solely for Joshua.

It’s like [Jeremiah 29:11]

I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Again, a promise God made specifically to the nation of Israel regarding their eventual release from Babylonian captivity.

QUESTION…do these verses apply to us today…are they relevant…can I claim God’s promise of:

—I will never leave you nor forsake you…and

—I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you…plans to give you hope and a future.

QUESTION…how do I know if something from the Old Testament is relevant to me today?…if it’s repeated in the New Testament.

Jeremiah 29:11 is not quoted in the New Testament…BUT…the God who promised it does not change…there is an application in that verse that demonstrates how God deals with people today.

Here in Hebrews 13:5 God is reapplying Deut 31:6 to us in a New Testament setting…reaffirming His promise to Jeremiah to us by restating His promise to Joshua…that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

It’s important to remember who this verse is being directed to when reading the second part of verse 5…I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The true meaning of this verse is found in how these Christians were being persecuted for their faith…being thrown out by their families…being cut off from all provisions and protection…having their property seized…these Christians had very little or nothing…they were being called to be content with what they didn’t have.

The author is reassuring them that despite all these difficulties God was actively aware of their situation promising to never leave them nor forsake them.

Now the application for us…something I preach on continuously…the security of the believer…this is an essential truth for Christians today…we are saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we cannot lose what we have been given.

That is what this verse is emphasizing…eternal security…I want you to see how powerful this verse is with respect to God’s promise of eternal security.

In the Greek the author uses the strongest negative statement possible…twice he uses two words: οὐ μή when combined are the strongest way to mean something is not going to happen…no…not never.

English translations don’t bring out the emphatic rending of this verse…here’s what it says in the Greek…Never not will I leave you nor never not will I forsake you.

BUT…it is important to remember this is not a promise to all people.

Want you to think about something…when Jesus said, “I Love You” …He was NOT indicating a universal love for all people…in the N. T. you will NOT find an instance where Jesus said to any single person… “I love you”.

As shocking as that sounds…Jesus never makes a blanket I-love-you statement about all humanity…hold on there preacher…I know my Bible and I know what [John 3:16] says that God so loved the world…and in [John 15:9] where Jesus says…As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.

You can’t claim these verses are declaring God’s love is for everybody without knowing the particulars of why Jesus made those statements.

…in John 3:16 the word is ‘Kosmos’ …the world…the universe…the love He had for His creation after the six days of creation…where God describes it all as being ‘very good’ before sin entered the world…that’s the world God loves.

…in John’s 15th chapter…Jesus speaking…He makes an analogy between Him as the vine and us as the branches…He gives a conditional warning.

This is where the confusion comes in…before His statement regarding I loved you…He says…every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away’ [15:2] It’s a condition that many people will fall short of …not bearing the fruit God expects us to produce.  

What exactly is this fruit that God is expecting us to produce? …well…could be a lot of things you say…no it’s not…it’s one thing…He doesn’t identify it directly because it has already been clearly identified in the Old Testament.

In Isaiah 5, he uses the same analogy identifying Israel as God’s vineyard …He comes looking for the fruit of “justice and righteousness” …but instead finds oppression…misery…and mistreatment…what He calls “sour grapes.”

When we link that with what we have in the New Testament, it is clear that the fruit Jesus is referring to here is Christlikeness — his character reproduced in us.

Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and branches to explain the difference between those who merely “appear” to be Christians, versus those who are truly connected to the True Vine (John 15:1).

The “branches” which don’t bear fruit…Christlikeness…are destined to be cut off…their barrenness proves they were never attached to the vine in the first place (John 15:2–6; Matthew 7:21–23).

That’s the part of that analogy Jesus is referring to by identifying those who “abide in [Him],” and in whom His Word “abides.”

The continuance of being in Christ’s love is something in our power…it’s something we can consciously decide to do…abiding in Christ is conditional on us bearing fruit…Jesus Himself says so… if you keep My commandments …that’s the condition…then…you will abide in My love [15:10].

You cannot rejoice in Jesus unless you’re doing His will…you will have no real comfort and blessedness in your life and in your religion unless it is working itself out in your life daily.

That’s why so many know nothing, or next to nothing, about the joy of feeling Jesus’ presence in their lives…because they are not in His will…or…producing Christ-like fruit.

Now…does Jesus love us…YES…He may not have said directly to many people that He loved them…but we know He did by His actions…we know He loves us because of His obedience to go to the cross for our sins…goes without saying.

Goes back to the bogus idea that says: ‘I know God loves me just the way I am’…no He doesn’t…nowhere in the Bible does it say God loves you just the way you are…with your self-centered…self-righteous attitude…He accepts you  the way you are…but He doesn’t love you the way you are.

Telling ourselves God loves us just the way we are is an excuse to not put in the effort and work necessary to overcome our weaknesses or temptations.

If Christ came to save us from the sorry state we’re in…what makes us think He wants us to stay that way…or love us if we stay that way? …does God love us? …YES, but He doesn’t want us remaining in the same condition He found us in! 

God’s love for us is a life-changing love…simply put, there should be a change in us after coming to know Christ…something we don’t stress enough especially for those who initially come to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

That’s why these series of verses are so important to us…as Christians we need to evaluate ourselves…encourage each other…goes back to [12:1] and the need to lay aside every encumbrance and sin which so easily entangles us.

The intent for us in this verse is to continue in our Christian lifestyle by being aware of the damage greed and materialism can have on us… and on those around us.

13 ⁴Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Last week we started to look at a series of practical exhortations for the church to embrace.

To the modern reader it seems to be more like a string of commands the author has just randomly pulled out of a bag.

But in reality, it’s a list of timeless Christian truths that are the endurance needed to run the race set before us…here in chapter 13 he spells out just what that endurance should look like and what form it should take.

A summary of Christian lifestyle truths found throughout the New Testament are summed up in the 13th chapter of Hebrews.

—Keep on Loving Each Other (13:1)

—Show Hospitality to Strangers (13:2)

—Remember Those Mistreated as If You Were Suffering (13:3)

—Marriage Should Be Honored (13:4)

—Keep Free from the Love of Money and Be Content (13:5-6)

—Obey Your Leaders and Submit to Them (13:17)

—Pray for Us (13:18-19)

He starts off by making three imperative statements revealing practical instructions for those living a Christian lifestyle.

Let brotherly love abide

Show hospitality to strangers

Remember those in prison

In [4]Scripture offers some very specific instructions about marriage fidelity… this verse deals specifically and powerfully on the subject of marital faithfulness and sexual purity.

A topic that over the past few years has become controversial…the institution of marriage…let me just share something with you regarding preaching.

TWO THINGS:

…Seminary 101…you never preach to ‘someone’ from the pulpit…ever heard someone say… ‘I’m not going to that church anymore, the preacher’s always preaching at me’ no he’s not…blame that on the Holy Spirit.

…Secondly…neither do you use the pulpit as an opportunity to degrade people    or to express your personal opinions…as a preacher I’m not called to give my opinion…I don’t get to say what I think…I get to say what the Bible says.

Hebrews 13:4 is emphasizing that marriage is to be held in honor…that it should be esteemed as something precious.

BUT…it is remarkable that in the entire history of the human race…almost 6000 years…how society has redefined marriage…in the history of mankind there has been a massive effort to destroy the institution of marriage.

Even in the ancient world marriage had a mixed view…many chose to refrain from marriage, believing that to choose marriage was to choose a spiritually inferior life…that being married would somehow deter you from your spiritual duties.

While some may be given the gift of celibacy [I Cor. 7:7] there is never in Scripture a call for abstaining from marriage…the gift of celibacy enabled a person to remain single so they could be devoted more to the Lord…but as in all gifts…it’s not for everyone…nor should it be imposed on anyone…the early church developed the idea that it made you more spiritual to be celibate.  

The Romans believed marriage was only beneficial for having legitimate children…for them keeping up a healthy marriage could only be maintained by embracing prostitutes and mistresses.

Our culture today is not that much different from the society of the first century …today’s no-fault divorce laws and prenuptial agreements reinforce the idea that devotion is out…redefining marriage as a means to satisfy their own sexual interests. 

Then there’s the Feminists Movement who continually condemns marriage as an enemy of gender equality…that marriage is a jail cell…a prison for women.

They see marriage where the insecure husband plays a god-like role and his wife, who naively initially submits to and worships him…but…eventually she matures…comes to her senses…finds her situation depressing…deplorable… degrading…and abandons him.

What the Feminists fail to see…and men fail to understand…is that a woman is as equally important to God as a man…clearly the Bible sets the standards for the relationship between a man and a woman.

God not only created Eve to meet Adam’s needs, but Adam was also required to meet Eve’s needs in their relationship.

No one emphasizes the importance of the man/woman relationship better than the well-known Bible scholar W. C. Fields who echoed that sentiment in the movie ‘My Little Chickadee’.

Fields quotes the verse: it’s not good for man to be alone…emphasizing the Biblical need for companionship…and May West, knowing the importance of companionship, responds, ‘it’s not too good for a woman either.’

Here’s where the rub comes in not only with Feminists but with married people in general…it’s because the fall ruined the harmony of marriage…Bible says so.

It twisted man’s leadership role into hostile domination in some men and lazy indifference in others…all the while twisting women’s willing submission to their husbands into manipulative dominance in some women and brazen insubordination in others.

Then there’s the most recent attempt to redefine marriage as a union between two individuals of the same gender…same sex marriage…attempting to make it the equivalent of a traditional marriage and portraying it as a human right issue.

Probably the biggest frustration with me with regards to the homosexual community is if you oppose that lifestyle…if you stand against it…you’re labeled as an intolerant bigot…homophobic…or viewed as anti-American.

Proclaiming God’s standards regarding marriage in no way implies the church hates homosexuals…here’s where that mind set comes from…from groups that identify themselves as ‘Christian’ like the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka who have tainted all Christians because of their inflammatory homophobic hate speech that has been denounced by every mainstream Christian domination.

Proclaiming God’s standards regarding marriage in no way implies the church hates homosexuals…it’s the lifestyle that is a perversion to God…no different than having an extra-marital affair…both are a perversion to God.

God refutes all these views

…that marriage somehow deters you from your spiritual duties.

…that marriage is only beneficial for having legitimate children

…redefining marriage as a means to satisfy people’s sexual interests. 

…that marriage is a jail cell…a prison for women.

Marriage is neither a human invention nor an evolutionary development… marriage is ordained by God…it’s the oldest institution on the planet…created as the union between one man and one woman for a lifetime.

God’s purposes for establishing marriage has not changed:

for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. [Gen 2:24 / Eph. 5:31]

My intent here is to focus on the importance of marriage with respect to it being the institution that God gave us…in fact…in 2004 then President George Bush called for a constitutional amendment to uphold marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Marriage is the formal recognition by society and the laws of society to be the most profound relationship that can exist between a man and a woman.

Social science tells us that by virtue of its function and purpose in society, marriage is an essential institution.

But with respect to the last half of verse 4…regarding fornication and adultery… let me share with you why sexual impurity… whether it’s homosexual or heterosexual, is so devastating and why scripture speaks out against it so passionately.

Let me show you how God deals with any kind of sexual impurity…[Rom. 1:24]

Therefore, God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,  

The word ‘gave up’ in the Greek means to hand over…it’s not referring to eternal abandonment…it means God left them to their own self-determination…God gives people the control of their own actions…over to their sexual impure desires resulting in the dishonoring of their bodies.

People who think only in terms of gratifying themselves are the people God has given up on or allowed them to follow through on their own sensual desires.

When God is cast off…once people have consciously put God out of mind and allowed Satan to have dominion in their thoughts and in their lives, they enter into a downward spiral.

Here’s the thing…God will allow them to carry out their desires…allowing them to go all the way to the end of the road they have deliberately chosen. 

How God deals with us on a personal level is a microcosm of how God will deal with the world collectively at the end of time.

With respect to America…as we seek to eliminate God from our minds…our lives…our schools…to eliminate the complete awareness of the consciousness of God…we see the inevitable downward trend of a society that is going deeper into the consequences of immorality.

Not holding the truth of God anymore…here’s the results…it’s scriptural:

The result is a nation filled with… unrighteousness…fornication…wickedness …covetousness…murder…strife…deceit…proud…boastful…inventors of evil …being haters of God…disobedient to parents…without understanding… without natural affections…all are the inevitable consequences of man removing God out of his life and out of society. 

WATCH how God views any kind of sexual misbehavior…whether heterosexual or homosexual.

When a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one flesh with her…when having an intimate relationship with your wife…the two shall become one… what makes having a relationship with someone other than your spouse any different? …it doesn’t…you become one with her.

Here’s what happens…not only has that person defiled the temple of the Holy Spirit living in him…but it doesn’t stop there…it gets worse…he takes the whole church with him.

In law enforcement there is no such thing as a victimless crime…somebody has to be the victim or there’s no crime…in religion there is no such thing as a sin that’s not hurting anyone…any and all sin hurts you…and it hurts the church.

That’s why Paul says…regarding the man who was sleeping with his father’s wife…Paul says I’ve already judged him…this refutes the idea that ‘I’m not supposed to judge anyone’ …Paul says…throw the man out of your church.

He doesn’t say counsel him…doesn’t say pray with him…he tells those believers to not associate with or even share a meal with him…(1 Cor. 5:9, 11) Sin in the church affects everyone.

That’s why the church cannot have known unrepentant sinners in their midst… it affects the whole church. 

Throughout the book of Hebrews, the writer constantly reminds us that we are enrolled in heaven…that’s good…I shared my sermon ‘you have come to’ with the senior living folks last week to emphasize that salvation is forever.

BUT…what is notable about this verse as well as many others is how the twin themes of salvation and judgment are constantly intertwined.

In verse 12:23 He mentions that God is the Judge of all…here he again mentions God judging…this is not the side of God the church in America wants to hear about…but God’s judgment is a common theme throughout the Bible:;

God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad [Ecc.12:14] …many scriptures hammer home this warning.

There is no way to sugar coat what the author writes regarding those who practice sexual immorality… ‘God will judge’ …there’s no way to soften that… as believers we do not need to fear God’s judgment…BUT…WARNING:

Scripture is clear that if you habitually practice sexual immorality… you may not be a genuine Christian…and if you are…God will discipline you severely if you engage in sexual sin.

TWO THINGS ABOUT SIN

—FIRST…Here’s the thing about sin…any sin…God will forgive sin…but He will not remove the consequence of sin…sometimes the consequences of sin can haunt us for years to come.  

—SECONDLY…There are no degrees when it comes to sin…no one sin is more severe than the other…now it does seem that sins of rebellion are worse than sins committed in ignorance…and some sins carry a more severe consequence …mistreating orphans and widows…sexual immorality seems to kind of fit in that classification as well…BUT…the result is the same for all…death.

Let me end this on a good note…the complexity of what is said in [v 4] could be a series of sermons…encompassing the duties…responsibilities…and directives regarding the role of the husband and wife …but…here the author is teaching the critical importance of sexual purity.

Reminding us of the need for personal purity…knowing that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit…just as the physical act between a husband and his wife is a union of their two bodies becoming one, so is the spiritual union of every believer with Christ.

The warning in this verse is to remind us of the need to be aware of how we treat…and what we do with, our bodies…a warning to take heart and seek to live holy lives in thought, word, and deed, for His name’s sake.

13 ¹Let brotherly love abide. ²Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ³ Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. [Hebrews 13:1-3]

We have now reached the final chapter in the book of Hebrews…the author begins this section with a series of practical exhortations for the church to embrace.

To the modern reader itHebrews 13 seems to be more like a string of commands the author has just randomly pulled out of a bag…but:

A summary of Christian living found throughout the New Testament is summed up in the 13th chapter of Hebrews.

—Keep on Loving Each Other (13:1)

—Show Hospitality to Stranger (13:2)

—Remember Those Mistreated as If You Were Suffering (13:3)

—Marriage Should Be Honored (13:4)

—Keep Free from the Love of Money and Be Content (13:5-6)

—Obey Your Leaders and Submit to Them (13:17)

—Pray for Us (13:18-19)

BUT…as we have seen in our study…this is the 23^rd week…the author has been revealing how Jesus is better than all of His rivals and forerunners… better than Judaism…the angels…the Torah…Moses…the priests…animal sacrifices…and the covenant.

He starts off by making three imperative statements that are really timeless Christian truths that are relevant for us today with respect to living a Christian lifestyle.

Starting in chapter 13 he gives three practical ways to show love for one another.

Let brotherly love abide

Show hospitality to strangers

Remember those in prison

Revealing what is expected of those living a Christian lifestyle…But really …what does that look like…living a Christian lifestyle…how does the world know you’re a Christian…think about that…what would you tell someone who wanted to know how to live a Christian life?

We could make a list on a white board that would contain some of the most basic requirements.

Repentance from sin…acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior…reading your Bible…praying…being charitable…the list goes on…essentially following Jesus’ example is how to live a Christian life.

Remember back in chapter 12 the author encouraged us to run the race set before us with endurance [12:1-4] …well…here in chapter 13 he spells out just what that endurance should look like and what form it should take.

In the Greek as well as the English an imperative statement is a command…in  [v 1] he says… ‘let brotherly love abide…in the ancient Greek there were four words translated as love:

…Eros…is romantic or sexual love…an erotic love not appearing in the Bible.

…Agape…love which is shown by what it does…God displayed agape love when He allowed Jesus to die on the cross…He continues to display it every day in how He blesses us.

…Storge (stor-JAY) although not specifically mentioned there are examples of Storge love…it refers to family love such as the love Noah had for his wife… sons and daughters-in-law…in Genesis it’s the love Jacob had for his sons…and the strong love sisters Martha and Mary had for their brother Lazarus.

In [v.1] the author introduces the fourth type of love:

BROTHERLY LOVE

In Hebrews 13:1 the author says…Let brotherly love abide…which we transliterate as let love of the brethren continue…the word in the Greek ‘brotherly love’ is one word…Philadelphia.

Brotherly love is the command to love those within the church who are brothers and sisters in Christ…the church is a family.

I don’t need to preach that to you at The Branches church…it’s something that humbles me as a Pastor…the love that is demonstrated toward one another in our church is the example of brotherly love…people volunteering their…time…energy… effort…and money to help other members of our church.

But because we’re human…and because at times we all overrate ourselves in the area of love, brotherly Christian love is weakened when we allow our personal feelings to override our Christian character.

One thing we know from our earthly siblings is that sometimes feelings get hurt and disagreements occur …it’s no different in the family of God…we’re human.

We’re going to take things the wrong way…we’re going to say things that are taken the wrong way…and sometimes we say things that we know will be taken the wrong way…but we say them anyway…being hurtful when we say them.

We’re going to be tempted to fall into jealousy…greed……pride… impatience …intolerance …and all kinds of sins that cause division against one another.

When these unfortunate events occur, it’s our job as Christians to remedy them through the of grace Jesus affords us…along with…honest conversation… repentance…prayer…and love which are the ingredients needed to overcome our human reactions that result in hurt feelings.

How easy it is to love in theory…I can say I love everybody…BUT…what we actually believe…regardless of what we profess to believe…is validated by what we do…what we say…how we act …proving that our love for God is fake by our hatred of our brother.

anyone who says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, is a liar.  [1 John 4:20]

This is where God’s laws come into effect…Biblical laws are found mainly in the Pentateuch…the first five books of the Hebrew Bible…there are 613 laws in the Old Testament…try remembering all of those…I have trouble with the Ten Commandments.

These 613 laws dealt with three primary areas of life…moral, civil, and ceremonial…all speaking of man’s duty toward God, and man’s duty toward his fellow man.

Jesus comes realizing how cumbersome that whole thing was and summarized the entire 613 laws of the O. T. into two…loving God and loving each other! 

As Christians we need to stop offending…and being offended…and start loving our brothers and sisters in Christ!  “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).  Here’s the message… Love… even when you don’t want to!

HOSPITALITY TO STRANGERS
The second imperative is in regards to showing hospitality…there is a parallel between loving the brethren and showing hospitality…they are related.

A closer look at the context and in the Greek reveals two instructions that share similar language…in the Greek we see the similarity of these two directives:

Something not noticed in the English is both these Greek words begin with the prefix ‘phil’ (φιλο)

The prefix phílos refers to someone dearly loved…a person held dear in a close bond of personal affection…both words begin with philos.

Brotherly love (philadelphia) having affection especially to fellow believers.

Hospitality (philoxenias) (fil-on-ex-ee’-ah) refers to the love of a stranger.

He first identifies their responsibility to help those in the church…Let brotherly love abide …he then expands their desire to be the kind of people God wants them to be by focusing on those outside the church.

He relates what our attitude towards strangers should be…we are reminded to show hospitality to strangers.

Here’s the parallel principle…if we can’t love our Christian brothers and sisters, how can we love our neighbors…expand that…how can we love strangers?

He then throws in this little tidbit…some have entertained angels without knowing it [2] …so where’s this coming from?

Brings up the question…have I ever talked to an angel without knowing it? People get way too hung up on this…and the TV show “Touched by an Angel’ just adds to the misunderstanding regarding how angels work.

One of the most common beliefs is that each one of us has a guardian angel even though this is not stated in the Bible…two verses, Matt. 18:10 and Acts 12:13-15 hint of the possibility…however…we do know that at times God sends angels to intervene in our lives. 

Why would God allow us to meet an angel and not let us know it? …The answer is that meeting an angel is not that important otherwise God would make sure that we knew they were an angel.

The one we should want to talk to is God…is your desire to speak with an angel as strong as your desire to speak with God? …Prayer is more powerful and important than speaking with any angel because angels can only do what they are given permission to do from God.

God is the One who answers my prayers…angels are His servants, and they want us to give glory to their Creator – not to themselves.

While the passage does refer to angels the author is not really interested in believers having an encounter with heavenly messengers.

In the ancient world hospitality was a universal virtue and not just a Christian command…a level of care that was expected of all decent people…with regards to Christianity…it was an important expression of Christian love (James 4:13; 1 Pet. 4:9; 1 Tim. 3:2) and especially when it came to those traveling for the sake of ministry (Matt. 10:11; Acts 16:15; Titus 3:13).

In the first century inns were dangerous places…more akin to brothels than hotels that we are accustomed to today…to travel was to put yourself at great risk…roads were long and uninhabited making them prime areas for bandits to ambush a single traveler or small group.

When people traveled, they tended to depend on the kindness of normal folks when they found themselves in need in a strange place…it was not uncommon for people to welcome strangers or travelers into their home while providing them with provisions and protection.

Andrew Arterbury, Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in its Mediterranean Setting, New Testament Monographs, 8 (Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005),

Thus hospitality…friendliness shown to strangers, was one way of expressing brotherly love…but in Rome where this church was located people were reluctant to receive travelers.

In these two verses the author is exhorting his hearers that we are to love not only those within the church (Rom. 12:13; 1 Pet. 4:9) …but also to love those outside the church as well.

That concept sometimes goes unnoticed…that is why the author uses the word

Philoxenias (fil-on-ex-ee’-ah) philos referring to a friend…xenos referring to a stranger.

Scripture declares we have a responsibility to exhibit brotherly love toward those outside our church family…and as a church we have…we’ll continue to do so because Jesus expects us to and tells of the obligations to do so. 

Jesus Himself plainly describes our responsibilities as Christians: 

I was hungry…I was thirsty…I was a stranger…I needed clothes …I was sick and in prison… [Matt. 25:42:43]

Implying having the means to meet any of those necessities…we should do so.

But let me just reflect on that for a moment…we will not be taken advantage of …I will not be used…nor will I allow people to use us because of our Christian obligation to help our fellow man…when our fellow man’s intention is to take advantage of us…BUT… at the same time we need to be sensitive to people’s needs. 

BECAUSE…if you know the rest of that verse…it says…and you did nothing… emphasizing the consequences of failing to give food…drink…clothing…or whatever…revealing a lack of evidence that marks the character of a true believer.

THOSE IN PRISON
The third imperative that shows we have love for one another is to remember those in prison…need to clarify that…what the text is referring to is we should give special attention to those brothers and sisters incarcerated for their faith.

The fastest growing peoples in the world receiving Jesus as Savior right now is the church in Iran…Afghanistan isn’t far behind with communistic China right behind…as a result, Christian missionaries are suffering because of that.

Here’s the simple truth…those who hate God will hate those who are called by His name…the reason the main emphasis is on Christians who are in prisons. 

We should also add the application to not forget about those in prison because they committed a crime punishable by the government…I would suspect that probably everyone here knows of someone who has been or is currently in lockup…if you don’t, you’re fortunate.

 While prisons are certainly no picnic…BUT…in America prisoners are given 3 meals a day … laundry service…can have a TV…get workout time…libraries …and phone privileges…Elaine knows this because we have a mutual acquaintance housed at El Dorado correctional facility…we’ve even been to see him on occasion…who calls Elaine at least once…but more like twice a week.

Not so in the ancient world…in the ancient world a person in prison was completely dependent upon friends and family for clean clothes and food.

Without outside assistance you went hungry…it was for these reasons the church was commanded to visit and assist those in prison. 

That goes back to the wording to show hospitality to strangers…as important as it is to visit and assist those in prison…it’s extremely difficult…the directive here for us…is focusing on our need to visit Christians who are imprisoned because of their faith.

In America we don’t see that…as of yet…Christians suffering imprisonment for the testimony of Jesus…but it is prevalent in places around the world…last year 4,761 Christians were killed for their faith. https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/

This verse is a reminder that the church should FIRST…not forget those suffering because of their faith.

Earlier I asked…what would you tell someone who wanted to know how to live a Christian life…made mention of some of the most basic requirements…BUT the first principle of the spirit-filled life is brotherly love.

As Christians we should be continually aware to let brotherly love be the distinguishing mark of our own Christian walk.

We are to love as Christ loved us…to live as Christ lived…and to show the love of Christ to ALL our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those outside the Gospel.

We should minister to them all in love without compromising the truth of the gospel…holding fast the confession of our faith without wavering…all the while encouraging one another to love and do good deeds as we seek to maintain a life that exemplifies a Christian lifestyle.

These three imperatives,

Let brotherly love abide

Show hospitality to strangers

Remember those in prison,

define ways for us to show love for one another and is an opportunity for gospel witness.

Remembering it was Jesus who took us in as strangers…really as enemies and made us part of His family…the invitation to be a part of that family is still open today…the question is…how will we respond?