Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13. While you're turning there, I
want to publicly thank Brother Neal for taking the services. That was a very, very short notice. And I appreciate him taking those
services. Hebrews 13.1. I'd like to deal
with the first six verses, but before we do, let's ask our Lord
to bless Him. Our Father, we thank You for
this time to be able to come together. Lord, I ask You, bless
Your Word. Lord, help us to hear. Teach us. Oh Holy Spirit, blow
upon the garden of the Lord. Blow north wind and south wind. Oh, that the spices may come
forth. Lord, I pray tonight that you'd
be magnified. Help us. For Christ's sake we
pray. Amen. We're starting the 13th chapter,
the last chapter of the book of Hebrews. We've gone through
the doctrinal history of the proclamation
of the gospel, set forth in the Old Testament. The apostle Paul,
I believe, the writer, writing to the Hebrews, teaching them,
showing them, what was shadowed in the law. It was a picture
whose fulfillment was found in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And now in this thirteenth chapter, the apostle is going to give
under the inspiration of God's Spirit, some divine instruction. Instruction for believers. Instruction
for believers to live by. I heard Brother Henry Mahan say
one time that a lady asked him a question, and she said, Natural. I'm talking about from
a new birth. Does a believer possess naturally,
now, from that new heart, the ability to know the things of
God, the things of their walk, of their conversation? Or do
they have to be taught? Brother Henry said the answer
was yes on both of them. There's a new heart and it knows. It's taught by that impartation
of that new nature. There's a new heart there. But
it needs to be taught also from God's Word. And that's what the
Apostle Paul is doing. in this last chapter. And I'd
like to deal with the first six verses. And as we stop and realize,
we need to be taught. I need to be taught. Taught of God. Taught by His
Word. Taught by His Spirit. The Lord
Jesus Christ said in John 14, verse 21, "...he that hath my
commandments." Commandments written in his mind considers them, but he said,
"...he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them." From the heart,
watches over them. guards them, not to let them
slip. Careful, careful, careful. He that hath my commandments
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth
me shall be loved of my Father. You know, obviously from that
statement, it's possible to have the Word of God in your head.
and have no heart for it. No desire, no love for it. Understand it. Understand it
here. And have no love for it. I gave
you this example. It was the best one I could come
up with at the moment. I told my daughter when she asked
me about the difference in heart and a head knowledge of the gospel.
I said, I understand the concept of communism. I understand that. Give everything to the government
and the government gives everything equally to everybody as the government
sees fit. That's communism. I'm not a communist. I understand it. I have no heart
for it. He that hath my commandments
and keepeth them, my love for them, he it is, that's the one
that loves me. Those that hear His Word and
has a heart to obey, to know Him, to love Him, to
be found in Him. I want to know Him. I want to know Him. I want to
follow after Him. I want to. I would dare say a day goes by
that I truly am not made to remember, if not this particular Scripture,
but one like this, He that cometh to me. He that comes and comes
and comes. He that cometh unto me. I want to come to the Lord. I
want to fellowship with Him. I need to hear His Word. I need to be taught. Well, tonight
we've got some commandments. Divine inspirations set forth
through the pen, through the hand of a writer, but moved upon
by the Spirit of God to teach God's people. God speaks through
preachers. That's how God talks. Paul the Apostle said, now, then
we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you. Now, you talk about a miracle
of God's grace that God would speak The Lord said, My sheep hear
My voice. Now, I know this. He speaks through
His Word, blessed by His Spirit, through the mouth of a preacher.
I know that. It pleased God through the foolishness
of preaching. Save them that believe. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you
in Christ's stead. Be ye reconciled to God. The
Apostle was saying, we pray, we beseech, we urge, we encourage
in Christ's stead as though Christ Himself is speaking. Miracle
of God's mercy and grace. 1 John 4, 6 says, we are of God. He that knoweth God Heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of
truth, the Spirit of error." Someone might say, well, I'm
not going to listen to any man. Well, if he's a preacher sent
from God and you don't hear him, then you won't hear from God. Tonight, ask the Lord. I pray I do. Ask the Lord. Speak to your heart. Lord, speak
to my heart. Now remember, these first six
verses contain exhortations, commandments, that a believer
knows. He knows them in his heart and
needs to be taught. Needs to be instructed. Look
at verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Let brotherly love continue. Someone would say, I don't need
to be taught that. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. We all need to be taught that. Let brotherly love abide. Stay. endure. What a blessed responsibility
is placed upon us. Here is the Spirit of God speaking
through a creature and telling God's people, let brotherly love
continue. Because of the proneness for
it not to. We're frail creatures. Dust. Dust. With that old nature still in
us. That old selfish, self-centered,
self-righteous nature of sin. That's why Paul said, O wretched
man that I am, I see in me that is in my flesh. It was no good
thing. I need to be taught to let brotherly
love continue. We're taught to love our enemies. But this right here is the relationship
between spiritual family. I need to be told. For every
one of you, let brotherly love continue. Abide in it. The apostle had
encouraged the brethren, persevere in the faith. You think we need
to be taught that? Yes, we do. Yes, we do. I need to hear that. Faith cometh
by hearing. hearing by the Word of God, I
need to be told again to let brotherly love continue. Work
on it. Continue in the grace of God.
Run with patience the race that's set before us. And the evidence
that Almighty God has done something for me is that I hear that Word
And I say in my heart, I desire that brotherly love continue. It's a wonderful thing when brethren
dwell together in peace and unity and harmony. I thank God for
this assembly. I'm serious as I can be. I thank God for your love. Love
for me and love for each other. Praying for one another. Our
Lord said in John 13.35, By this shall all men know that you are
my disciples, if you have love one for another. You know those
you love, you will pray for them. You will bear their burdens.
You will forgive them. Encourage them. Exhort them. You will be a brother or sister
to them. Why? Because you love them. We're
of the same family. We're family. You're my family. I love you. I appreciate you. Love one another. This is my commandment that you
love one another as I've loved you. Love for the brethren is
the clearest proof of union with Christ. Love for
the brethren. This world has no heart for God's
people because it has no heart for God. But I'm going to tell
you something. I find the greatest joy in being
around you. Just talking with you. And hearing
you tell me about your frailties and your slips and your disappointments
in yourself, you know, I'm thinking, I know exactly what you're talking
about. That's just how I feel. That's how I go through this
day. That's how I suffer. If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he's a liar. He doesn't love God, hate his
brother, For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he has not seen?" It's an impossibility
to love God truly, to love God, to love the Lord God, set forth
in these Scriptures, and hate the brethren. You can't do that. He's a liar. No! If he says, I love God, and
he hates his brother, he's a liar. His love for us is the source
of our love. This is why we love each other,
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, and you
think just like I think. You feel like I feel. And our
love for Him and for His people is the effect of His love for
us. How can we love God and not love
that which God has created? Created one in righteousness,
made Him a new creature, birthed Him from above. Same family. Same body. This hand right here, I love
that hand. That's my hand. But you ought
to love that one too. And I love this foot. It's mine. It's my body. That's me. And we're together. We're the body of Christ. We're
brethren. Let brotherly love continue. Be cautious of its continuance. You detect something that seems
to hinder brotherly love, Nip it in the bud. Nip it in
the bud. Secondly, be not forgetful to entertain
strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Be not forgetful, that is, don't
neglect, don't neglect to entertain Strangers, that entertain strangers
right there, when you look up that word right there, it's hospitable. Don't neglect hospitality. For thereby some have entertained
angels unawares. Hospitality, for Christ's sake,
is an evidence of our love for Christ, and back to verse 1,
for the brethren. Now, when it says strangers,
it doesn't mean people that we're totally unaware of, that we have
no knowledge of who they are. But keeping in the context, going
back to verse 1, let brotherly love continue I know, first of
all, strangers that are spoken of here are strangers who are
believers. Strangers not to us, but strangers
to this world. Hebrews 11. It says, these all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off
and were persuaded of them, embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Strangers. And it may be a stranger, not
only the strangers to this world, it may be a stranger to me, But
it's somebody that you know. They're not a stranger to you,
maybe a stranger to me, but a stranger that is a brother. A brethren. And in letting that brotherly
love continue. I know I heard Brother Henry
say one time, talking about homes, houses. He said, I've got homes
and houses all over this world. He said, there's brethren all
over this world. He said, they'll just open their
homes to me. He said, I'll stay there. He
said, I may have never met them personally, but maybe somebody
that I've heard of, somebody that introduced me to somebody.
He said, I was a stranger to them. But strangers to this world? Strangers possibly to me, but
as for a good report, they're not strangers anymore. Be not forgetful. Don't neglect
hospitality. Hospitality is a requirement
of a bishop, a preacher. One that's given to hospitality. One that recognizes that this
world doesn't belong to me. This is God's. All things are His. They just loaned for just a little
while. That house of mine, that house
of yours, that doesn't belong to you. That's God's. The earth is the Lord's. and
the fullness thereof. And the sign of one that strives
after brotherly love, continuing, is he's not neglectful. To entertain
strangers, strangers and pilgrims in this world, and strangers
in the faith that Almighty God sees, saw sins. 1 Peter 4.9 says,
Hospitality. One to another. Listen to this.
Without grudging. Without grudging. Hospitality. Now you know what? I need to
be taught that. Somebody says, well, what do
you think about opening up your home to a believer? To someone who calls you and
says, I've got somebody coming through. You wouldn't happen
to have a place that they could stay, you know, would you? Based
on your word. If you called me, you called
me, you called me and said, listen, I've got a friend. It's a brother.
It's a sister. Brother and sister. Man's wife.
I've known them for years. Faithful, faithful people. And
I have no place for them tonight. Would you be able to I need to
be taught this right here. Use hospitality one to another
without rudging. The Lord teach me that. Our homes are to be havens of
hospitality to the brotherhood, to the brethren. I know many that have been in
our homes The Scripture says, Be not forgetful to entertain
strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. I
don't know. Somebody would say, have you
ever entertained an actual angel? Not that I know of. I don't think
so. Not that I know of. But I can
tell you this, I've read in Scripture where some have. I know Abraham
did. I'll tell you the ultimate angel
that was invited into a home. There was two on the road to
Emmaus. And the Lord hid Himself from them and talked to these
two disciples that were walking on the road to Damascus. And
they got to a point and the end of the day was getting there.
And He, the Lord, made it as though that He would have gone
on. They said, don't do that. Come on in here. Come on into
the house. Come on, sit down. Get you something
to eat." The Lord revealed Himself to them. Oh, what a blessing! I need to be taught that. But I can tell you for a fact
that the Scripture speaks of God's preachers as being angels. Angels. The angels. The letters
to the angels of the church, the pastors, the preachers, I've
had angels in my home. Many of you have too. Angels
according to the Lord's Word. Be not forgetful, be not neglectful
to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained
angels unaware. Here's the heart of hospitality. Let me show it right here. Matthew
25. Matthew 25, verse 38. Here's the heart. Being sympathetic,
sensitive to God's people. Matthew 25, verse 38. When saw we thee a stranger and
took thee in? or naked clothed thee? Or when
saw we thee sick, or imprisoned, or came unto thee? And the king
shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, and listen
to this, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least
of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Now you know,
I'll tell you, that right there, is a weighty consideration when
it comes to hospitality. Now, I hear again, I need to
be taught this. I think all God's people are
real hospitable. I agree with you. And we need
to be taught that too. We need to be told. We need to
hear that. He takes note. He said, Verily I say unto you,
when you have done it unto the least of one of these, my brethren,
You did it to me. Back in Hebrews 13, verse 3. Remember them that are in bonds
as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity as being
yourselves also in the body. In our part of the world, We
don't see, during this particular time frame in history, many people
being imprisoned for the sake of the gospel here in the United
States. But it's not necessarily like
that everywhere. There's people that truly are
being imprisoned, persecuted for what they believe. And I'm
not saying it won't happen. To be honest with you, if you
want me to tell you what I think, I'll tell you what I think. I
think you may see it in our lifetime in this country. I think you
may. I really do. What I see, attitudes
and disrespect for the sake of, you know, there's a general disrespect just before false
religion, just a general disrespect. But let me tell you, that general
disrespect toward false religion is just the outskirts of the
hatred of Satan and this world and this flesh against God's
people. There's the heart of it right
there. It's not false religion. Nobody is mad at false religion. No. Let me tell you who they
hate. They hate God's people because
they hate God. And I'm not saying that you will
see it, but I'm going to say you could see it. It just appears
as though. Remember them that are in bonds,
as bound with them. Physically? I mean, actually
in jail? It could be. Many have been in
prison. Paul the Apostle spoke of those
that remembered him in his bonds. But those also that are going
through trials and tribulations, in bondage, in infirmities, associate
yourself with them. Associate yourself with them.
Remember them. Pray for them. Pray for them,
number one. You know, when that thief on
the cross asked the Lord, would you remember me when you enter
into your kingdom? Let me tell you what he did not
mean. When you enter into your kingdom, when you enter into
paradise, He didn't mean, you know, I remember that guy back
there. That's not what He meant. Help
me. Help me. Be aid to me. Remember me in
prayer. Again, we're of the same body.
We're brethren. 1 Corinthians 12.26 says, And
whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. One
member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. When one of
God's people suffer, when they're bound, if they're in jail or
if they're sick financially, whatever the bondage is, remember
them that are in bonds as bound with them. God's people associate
with Him. They remember Him. We talked
about Brother Donnie and Mary a while ago. Brother Kevin. Mary's dad and stuff. You pray
for them. As the Lord brings them, you
pray for them. Encourage them. Associate with
them. Four. Marriage is honorable in
all. and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers
and adulterers God will judge." Now, you say, again, doesn't
a believer know that? Yes, they do. But I'm going to
tell you something that we all need to be taught. Marriage is
to be held in honor. Honor. Turn to Genesis 2. Do you know where marriage came
from? Well, you know where it is. You've
read this before, but hear again. We need to be taught again about
marriage. Marriage was instituted in the
Garden of Eden. Genesis 2.22. Here's what God
had to say about marriage. And the rib, Genesis 2.22, which
the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought
her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone
of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman,
because she was taken out of man. And the Lord said, Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh." Almighty God instituted
marriage in the Garden of Eden. The very fiber of society is
built upon marriage, and here is the reason Marriage is the
outward picture of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ
and His bride. Now let me tell you the importance. Here again, turn to Ephesians
5. Ephesians chapter 5. Does it really matter if a man
and a woman is married? Absolutely. Absolutely. That's not even up for debate. Marriage is a picture. Ephesians
5, verse 22. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as unto the Lord. Let me ask you something.
Is it right for the bride of Christ to submit herself unto
the Lord, unto her husband? Is that right? You know it is. We submit ourselves
unto our Lord. He is our husband. Wives, this
is why the wife is to submit herself to her husband. perform a wedding. I try to explain
this. When it says, wife, submit yourself,
adapt yourself. Adapt yourself to your husband. I'll tell the wife that's getting
married, the woman and the man standing there, and I'll tell
the wife, now listen. You adapt yourself to this man. This man, because I'm going to
deal with the husband loving his wife in just a second. I
say, if this man loves you, has your best at heart, Watch over
you, protect you, provide for you. Adapt yourself to Him. Truly, I'm not talking about
this thing of men treating women with disrespect and talking down
to them and stuff like that. That's the most disrespectful. I'll tell these husbands where
it says, Husband, verse 25, love your wife. even as Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself for it. How did He love the church? He gave Himself. He gave all for her. He died for her that she might
live. And I'll tell the man that's
getting ready to get married, you put her on a pedestal, and
you treat her with respect I told him, I said, you treat
her as the queen of this house, and don't talk down to her. How
does our Lord talk to His bride? Go back and read Song of Solomon.
He tells her, He said, you've ravished me, you've stolen my
heart. I'm heartless with one of your eyes. He loved the church
and gave himself for it. Wives, adapt yourself to your
husband. Why? Why does a man and a woman
get married? It's a picture of the bride of
Christ and her relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
honored marriage by attending that marriage in Cana of Galilee. He honored it with His presence,
setting His approval upon it. God's love is evidenced where the honor of marriage is
established. If a man can fail to love his wife, to care for
her, to devote himself to her, and this is marriage. It's a
commitment. It's a commitment. Somebody said,
I'm committed. Not unless you're married. Oh,
you're not. It's a commitment. You stand
before a group of people and stand before God Almighty and
take those vows. I give myself to you. I'm going
to be faithful to you. I'm going to be your husband.
I'm going to be your wife. I'm going to love you, defend
you. If that man can fail to love
his wife and care for her and devote himself to her and defend
her, then he is saying, I don't care. I don't care about God.
I don't care about you. I don't care about his bride. Take your marriage vows seriously. Let marriage be held honorably
with great esteem. Marriage is honorable in all. And the bed undefined. No defilement in marriage. But whoremongers and adulterers,
God's going to judge. That's a serious statement, isn't
it? That's a serious statement. How serious does God Almighty
take marriage? Seriously. Whoremongers and adulterers.
Unmarried. God's going to judge. Infraction
of the honor of marriage. God's going to deal with it. And it doesn't matter what society
says is acceptable. Verses 5 and 6 in closing. Let
your conversation. Let your walk. at your walk of
life, at your manner of living, your conversation. Be without
covetousness. Be content with such things as
you have. For He has said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, The
Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me." I remember Paul is still speaking of the continuance of
brotherly love. Covetousness. The love of this
world. The love of this world. The love
of self. The love of money. evidences
the lack of brotherly love. More concerned about the things
of this world than the love of the brethren. Let your conversation be without
coveting things, mess, and stuff. at the expense of God's people. Now, let me make good on that.
1 John 3.17, But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need,
and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth
the love of God in him? My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. If there is a brother or sister,
and they're in need, I'm not talking about laziness, I'm not
talking about disrespect, I'm not talking about irresponsibility,
I'm talking about need. I'm talking about true need.
If there's one in need, And you know it. And you can help them. And you don't. Now here again,
now we all need to be taught here, don't we? I mean, we need
to be taught. You say, well I know that. I
know you know it. I know I know it. I still need
to be taught. I need to hear it. If I see one,
if I've got a brother in need, and I shut up my mouth, my heart
of compassion from him, does the love of God dwell in
me? Well, I may need that. I may need that. If I help him
now, what's that going to do for me? Let me read this Scripture
again. Verse 5, Let your conversation
be without covetousness, and be content with such things as
you have, for He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee. You think if God Almighty sends
one to cross your path with a need, and moves upon you to help them,
you think God is going to forsake you? Do you think He's going to leave
you destitute? So we may boldly, with confidence
say, the Lord is my Helper, and I'll not fear what man shall
do unto me. I'm not going to be afraid that
I'm going to do without. I need to be taught. to live
free from the love of money. Now listen, let me tell you something.
I know this in closing. Well, you've got bills. I understand
that. I know that. I mean, it's not
that we don't recognize the need that we have. You've got to have
something to eat. You've got to have something to drink. You've
got to have something to wear. You've got to have a house over
your head. But my question is this. Loving
those things at the expense of our brethren. Let brotherly love
continue. Letting those things steal my
heart. Letting those things bind me
up. Be content with what the Lord
has provided. Do you know I ate breakfast this
morning, and lunch, and supper. And I've got some clothes on
right now, and we're right here together. And the Lord has been
pleased to meet with us. I'm convinced of that. Now, what
else do you need? What else do you need? You've
got some gas in your car, and you'll get home. And if you don't,
if you break down, call somebody. They'll come help you. They'll
get you home. You think God's going to forsake
you? You think the Lord is going to forsake His people? Almighty
God is never going to leave His people to themselves. The Lord,
David said, is my shepherd. I shall not want. I'm not going to want. I'm not
going to want for food, for drink, for clothing, housing. I'm not
going to want for His presence. I'm not going to want for His
love, for His affection. I'm not going to want for His
fellowship with His people. I'm not going to want. Be content
with the things that you have. We struggle with the flesh concerning
this world's good. I know. Lord, give me a heart
to be content. Let me be content with that which
you provided for me today. Lord, help me from looking at
my brother and being insensitive to him. and wishing him well. Hope you get something to eat.
Hope you get something to wear. Hope you're able to make it.
Lord bless you. May I love others as I love myself. I'm going to do it for myself.
I'm going to do it for myself, aren't you? Sure you are. You're
going to take care of yourself. Love others that way. Be mindful. sensitive of the
brethren in bonds. Be careful, be concerned concerning
marriage and its honor. Let my conversation be that which
becometh, adorns a believer, one that loves Christ, knows
Christ, and do it for His sake. Amen.