Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. And we'll pick up here where
we were last time in verse 11. And we read, For the bodies of
those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high
priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore, Jesus also,
that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered
without the gate. For here we have no continuing
city. I'm sorry. But let us go forth
therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing
city, but we seek one to come. Okay. Now we're going to look
primarily here at the 14th verse. For here we have no continuing
city, but we seek one to come. Now, our eyes are naturally just
impressed and consider things to be more real if we can see
those things. With the world, we have this
saying, seeing is believing. The Lord Jesus Christ said, if
you would believe, you should see the glory of God. God's thoughts
are not our thoughts. We think backwards. We think
we have to see something and then we'll believe it. He said,
believe it and you'll see. Consider what you would have
seen with the natural eye if you would have lived During the
time when this letter was first written this Hebrew letter The
true believers the Hebrew brethren was just a small group of people
it was a ragtag little group of folks and They were rejected
by the majority of the people In fact, they were considered
rebels by the majority of the people. And they gathered together
in whatever place they could find to worship God. Sometimes it was in homes. Sometimes it was just out and
about. It was just in whatever place
they could find. And most of the time they had
to meet secretly because They were often imprisoned, and they
were beaten, and they were oppressed heavily by religion, and by government,
and by their friends and their family who despised and rejected
God, whom they gathered together to worship. And so, this people
were, their service wasn't anything really that would impress you.
When they got together in these places, they would sing some
songs. Somebody would pray for the people. Somebody would stand up and would
read a letter that had been written by one of the apostles or they
would stand up and they would use the Old Testament Scriptures
and they would point out how that The old Scriptures pointed
to Christ and how the Messiah has now come, and they would
encourage one another with those words. It just wasn't anything
really that you would look at with the natural eye. Not the
people, not the way they worshipped, the persecution they suffered,
all of those things. You would look at it and you
would think, that just doesn't seem very appealing to me. But
then on the other hand, On the other hand, in the populated
city of Jerusalem, there was a large, white, beautiful, impressive
stone temple. There were priests there, dressed
in their robes, had the borders on their garments going in and
out. It was a populated place. It was a busy place. There were
people there who you came there to sacrifice, and if you didn't
have a sacrifice, you could buy or sell there at the temple to
get what you needed to sacrifice. All this was still going on,
even though it was abundantly clear when Christ died, the veil
that separated the holiest of holies in the temple from the
outer court, that veil split right down the middle. And it
was obvious to the priests that were there that there was no
ark in that holy place anymore. There was nothing in there anymore.
It was all a sham. It had been just a a show for
years. But soon as Christ was crucified,
it went right back to that show, right back to that worship again. And they weren't oppressed like
these people were, like the Hebrew brethren were. They weren't oppressed.
They had some leniency from the government so they could come
in and they could go through their worship. And then they
had the scriptures of old that they could take and say, look,
this is what was delivered to Moses. What we're doing here
was delivered to Moses. And we don't believe this one
who came was Christ. We think that this is the way
we should still be worshiping because this is how we've done
it for thousands of years. And so if you looked at the two,
to the natural eye, you would see that temple and those priests
and those sacrifices and everything that was going on there. And
then you look at this other group of folks And if you compared
the two, you would think, naturally speaking, you would say, I believe
I'll go with those folks in the temple. That looks a little bit
more like, that'd be more godly to me. And so the friends and
family and the community members and the religious folks were
putting pressure on these Hebrew brethren and saying, look, You
meet over there with that little bitty group of folks. Look, all
your friends are over here at the temple. The popular folks
over here at the temple. All your buddies are over here
at the temple. Why are you going over there
with that group of folks and worshiping there with them? They
don't have anything to offer you. Y'all get together and your
singing sounds terrible. We've got instruments over here. We've got instruments for worship
that are brass and shiny and appealing. Look at everything
we have. Look at what you have. You really
believe that that one who came, who called himself Christ, who
was just a man, didn't you see what humble background he came
from? He didn't come from anything
magnificent. He didn't look magnificent. Nothing
about Him looked like the Messiah that we've been looking for all
these many years. Why are you going with these
folks and worshipping this one? And so the letter throughout,
the letter has been written to the Hebrews telling us that when
it says here that He suffered without the gate, that He might
sanctify a people with His own blood, that camp and that gate
that he was kicked out of and that he willingly left and went
out of to go lay down his life in that cursed place that was
considered the cursed place. That camp was Jerusalem. This place where the beautiful
temple was and where all this magnificent, attractive worship
was going on. And the Hebrew writer has come
down to this point where he tells us Let us go forth therefore
without the camp. We have to leave Jerusalem. We
have to leave all that that's naturally attractive to the eye.
Don't succumb to the pressure that you're getting from your
friends and your family. And let's go out of this camp
and leave all of this behind. He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes. He is the fulfillment. of everything
those types and shadows pictured. He's the fulfillment of everything
the temple worship pictured. He's the fulfillment of everything
the high priest and the priest pictured. He's the fulfillment
of all of it. Now we go to Him. We have the
very substance, the very image, the very fulfillment of those
things, and now we're going to Him. And so he said, and he succumbs
to this, and he says, for we have no continuing city here. Now, we live in a country where
for generations and generations and generations, we have been
a superpower in the world. We've been a place where it's
the greatest place on earth to live is where we live in America. And so it's hard for us to think
about a city like New York City or a city like Philadelphia,
or a city like Newtown, or a city like Pennington, or Cranberry,
or Rocky Hill, or New Brunswick, or any place. We find it hard
to believe that any city like that would disappear and would
no longer exist one day. We can't hardly imagine that.
But that's what the text tells us. We have no continuing city
here. You know, I thought it was interesting
when I was looking at this city. Pink mentioned something about
a city that Cain built. And I just began to look up the
word city. And Cain was the first person
to ever build a city. Cain was the brother of Abel. It was Adam and Eve's two sons,
Cain and Abel. Abel came to God with a sacrifice
with blood, which typified Christ. He came in a substitute. And
Cain came with fruits he'd grown of his own hands, his own labor,
what he had provided, what he had made. And God rejected Cain
and he took Abel. But when he did that, Cain got
mad and he killed Abel, killed his brother. And God cursed Cain
and told him he would be a vagabond in the earth from then on. And no fruit, no of his crops
would produce from then on. And he had a child named Enoch. And you know what the first thing
Cain did? He built him a city. And he named
that city after his son Enoch. You know what it kind of makes
me think that Cain was probably doing? He was probably trying
to build something with his own hands that would provide him
some protection from all the people around because now he
was an enemy to everybody around. And that city has a representation
of a place of safety, a place of refuge, a place where you
can find some strength and something that's abiding and something
that's strong. But the Holy Spirit tells us
here, we have no continuing city. Now, this text here in Hebrews,
look with me. There in Hebrews 5. These enemies
of righteousness, the enemies of Christ, they would put the
pressure on the Hebrew brethren and try to turn them and threaten
them and what have you. And look what we're told here.
We're told that in verse 5, let your conversation be without
covetousness and be content with such things as you have, whatever
state you're in. Why? Because this is not what
matters. Whatever's happening here around
us, whatever we have or don't have, that's not the issue. The
issue is our Lord has said, I'll never leave thee nor forsake
thee. So that we may say with confidence, the Lord's my helper.
I won't fear what man shall do unto me. We're constantly being
shown not to look at the material things, not to look at clothes
and books and visual things we can see that we think that gives
us something to hold on to and makes us solid and have something
that's going to continue. But to remember, whether we have
those things or we don't have them, if we've got Christ, if
we have Christ, we have eternal security in Him. And then the
world changes, and trends change, and everything's continually
changing with the world. But we're told to remember, verse
7, look there, Hebrews 13, it says, Remember them that have
the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God, and
follow their faith, considering the end of their conversation,
who is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. So you see, we were told, don't
look at things that are material, just be content whether you have
something or you don't, because to have Christ is what's important.
And then we're told, and don't worry about this changing world
and how it's constantly changing. If you're going to keep up, you
got to change with it. Don't worry about all that. Remember
what you've been taught. This salvation that he accomplished
doesn't change. He's the mediator. He's the high
priest. He's the savior. He's our king
priest, yesterday and today and forever. And his salvation doesn't
change. See, we're pointed from things
that are physical, material things we can see, to things that are
spiritual, to Christ. And then we're told how even
the religion of the world changes. Look at verse 9. Be not carried
about with divers in strange doctrines, For it is a good thing that the
heart be established with grace." Those are things you can't see.
The heart being established with grace. Not with meats, not with
carnal things, not with physical ceremony and things, because
they have not profited them that have been occupied therein. Paul
said bodily exercise profits little. And what he meant by
that is the external motions of religion. That doesn't profit. What profits is grace in the
heart, spiritual things. And then we're told that our
salvation, our continuing city is built by Christ. We have an
altar in heaven. Look, look at verse 10. We have
an altar whereof they have no right to eat, which served the
tabernacle, which served the temple, which served this flesh,
yet looking at the carnal things. For the bodies of those beasts
whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest
for sin are burned without the count. Wherefore Jesus also that
he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without
the gate. We looked at that last time.
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the count bearing
his reproach. See, we're being told to leave
everything that appeals to the eye, that appeals to the flesh,
that appeals to the natural senses, because we can't worship God
that way. We worship God in spirit and in truth. Salvation is a
spiritual matter. It's not a physical matter. It's
not a carnal matter. And so we're told here, we have
no continuing city, but we're seeking one to come. Now let
me show you one more place, a few more places here. Look at Psalm
49. You got that mark there? Just a few places that tell us
about what's going to happen to this world. In Psalm 49, 10. Psalm 49, verse 10. It's talking about how men will
gather up material possessions and think that it's going to
last a long time. And look what it says here. For
he seeth, verse 10, for he seeth that wise men die. Likewise the
fool and the brutish person perish nobody's Nobody's going to escape
it the wise man and even the foolish man the brutish man and
they leave their wealth to others Their inward thought is that
their houses shall continue forever and their dwelling places to
all generations. They call their lands after their
own names. That's what Cain did. He called
his city Enoch after his son. Find it. Find that city. It don't
exist anymore. And he says, nevertheless, man
being in honor abideth not. He's like the beasts that perish.
This their way. Of thinking that things are going
to continue on is their folly. And yet their posterity, the
ones that come after them, do the same thing. They go on doing
the same thing. But he says, it won't continue.
Now look, do you have 2 Peter, Mark? 2 Peter chapter 3? 2 Peter chapter 3 in verse 10. Let's read this together. The
Lord is going to return. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is
in heaven, who is everywhere, is all present. He's going to
return one day bodily though. We're going to see Him. He's
going to return one day. And it says, verse 10, the day
of the Lord, that day when He comes, will come as a thief in
the night. How does a thief come? Comes
unexpected, doesn't he? Comes when you don't expect Him
to come. You don't know He's coming. In the which the heavens,
look now, the heavens, that's the stars and the skies and the
moons and all the universe, everything out there, shall pass away with
a great noise. And the elements, all the material
things, the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth
also, the earth, all the earth also and the works that are therein,
all the beautiful things that men have built through the years
and look so sturdy and stable and lasting, they shall be burned
up. the earth and those things. Seeing
then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Looking for. This is a belief. He's looking for this day. He's
hasting unto the coming of the day of God. He's looking forward
to this day. Wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved. and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to
his promise, now look at this, we look for a new heavens and
a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. No sin, no tears,
no sorrow, no rebellion, You know when you look out here,
and y'all like to go out here and play in the woods behind
the firehouse after the service? You go out there and there's
all those briars and things, you know, growing around out
there. You know why that's there? Because of sin. Because this
world is cursed. This place that we're talking
about here, this heavens and this earth is going to be beautiful.
There's nothing but righteousness to dwell in this place. Wherefore,
beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent
that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."
We've got Newtown, and Cranberry, and Pennington, and Rocky Hill,
and Vincent, what's the name of the place y'all live? What's
it? Spotswood. Spotswood. New York City, Philadelphia,
all these places around. There's Newtown, and Cranberry,
and Spotswood, and Rocky Hill, and Pennington. There they are. All the money you can get, all
the fame and all the fortune you can get. I can't even get a bubble. There it is. Catch it. Live on it. Put it
in your bank. Treasure it up. It's just like
trying to hold on to soap bubbles. That's exactly what it is. There's
no continuing city here. There's nothing of lasting substance
here. But we seek one to come. The believers seek something
to come. Look at Hebrews 10.34. And I'll just go through these
right here in Hebrews with you. Hebrews 10.34. Ye had compassion of me in my
bonds, Paul said, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, your
material possessions. You supported me with them, knowing
in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring
substance." That's the opposite of no continuing city, an enduring
substance, one that doesn't fade away. Look over at Hebrews 11,
verse 8. Hebrews 11, verse 8. By faith,
Abraham, when he was called to go out, to leave the camp, to
go out into a place which he should have to receive for an
inheritance, obeyed. He went out not knowing whither
he went. And by faith he sojourned in
the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
Why did he do all that? For he looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Look at verse
16. But now they desire a better
country, that is, a heavenly country. Wherefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them
a city. Look down at Hebrews 12, verse
22. Hebrews 12, verse 22. You are come unto Mount Zion,
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly
city, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven.
And to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,
to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that
of Abel. Look down here at verse 27, Hebrews 12, 27. It says, And this word yet once
more signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken,
those things that are made, that those things which cannot be
shaken may remain. So there's going to be this fervent
heat and there's going to be a shaking by God. And some things
won't remain, but some will. What's going to remain? Verse
28, Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us
have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear. And so the writer tells us here,
we have no continuing city here. but we seek one to come. That
city is established by the blood of Christ the Lord. It's established
by God himself. It's built by God. It's a sure
foundation. Christ is the foundation. It's
founded on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
This is a sure, continuing, enduring city. Now let me ask you, are
you going to go after what you can see with your eye? Or are
you going to do what Christ said? He said, Believe, and you shall
see. You shall see the glory of God. I've got one more Scripture for
you. Revelation 3. Revelation chapter 3, verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make
a pillar in the temple of my God. And he shall go no more
out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name
of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh
down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my
new name." Which one sounds more impressive
to you? New York City or New Jerusalem? You're honest. New York City does to you. You've
been there. You've seen that one with your
eye. This is the one that God says seek. This is the place
that God says seek. New Jerusalem. Heavenly Jerusalem. Seek Christ, the King of that
kingdom, that city. All right.