Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Hebrews. We've been going through the
book of Hebrews off and on for quite a while now. And we've
come to chapter 13, Hebrews chapter 13, and I have a very simple
Bible study for us this morning. We're going to look at verse
1. Hebrews 13 verse 1 says, Let brotherly love continue. When I read that in my study,
sometimes I, or every week, I sit down and I know I have X number
of messages to preach throughout the week. And a lot of times
on Monday morning, I want to go through everything and see
what's in front of me and start to get my mind around things.
And I turned to Hebrews 13 verse one, I read four words. And as soon as I read those,
I thought, amen. Amen. So be it. Is that not precious? To just
cut through the sin of the flesh, cut through all of our weaknesses,
everything that we are, and just let brotherly love continue. What a wonderful thing to let
happen. What a wonderful thing to just
get out of the way of and let it happen. Just let it happen. If my sinful flesh will just
get out of its way, it will happen. It will happen. To say, let brotherly
love continue, that's just like saying, let God be true. You don't have to let it. God is going to be true because
God is true. And brotherly love is going to
continue. It's going to. All I need to
do is keep my flesh out of its way. And keep my spirit, keep
my soul in its way. I want to try to step my soul
into its path every chance I can. Just let me step in the way.
Lord, let me not hinder it. Let me not hinder it. Only let
me encourage it. Let me strengthen it. Let me
find enjoyment in it. Let brotherly love continue. Brotherly means family. Family. This is the family of God. This
is the family of God. Last Wednesday night, we looked
at the family of God, how precious the union is that we have in
Christ. This right here is the family
of everywhere that God's people are. I have my my actual family
here this morning, but usually they sit in another place on
this earth. That doesn't stop us from being
family. We're just as much family when they're over there as. And
it's the same thing for all of the congregations that God has
raised up all over the earth. Family, this is the family of
God not like family Not as close as if we were family Ephesians
1 says according as he hath chosen us in him Before the foundation
of the world before he made the ball He chose his family that
we should be holy. He selected people to be holy. And without blame, before Him,
in love. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. Don't you love knowing that every
step you take is predestinated? to a particular place, and what
is that particular place? The adoption table where the
contract is signed. We are predestinated, every one
of us are being filtered to the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. It's all according to His will,
and His will is good. He adopted us. He adopted us. Now, who did He adopt? He didn't
adopt everybody. Who did He adopt? Go with me
over to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 1 says, There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. I want to be in Christ. I really do. I want to be in
Christ above everything else. I mean above everything else.
I want to be in Christ. I do. I want to be in Christ. And I know that you do too. Those
of you that the Lord has sent His Spirit to, I know you do.
I know you want to be in Christ. Well, watch this. This has opened
up to me and this is just, I've just been taken by this. Verse 15 says, For you have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received
the spirit of adoption. Every soul that God puts in Christ
wants to be in Christ. Does that make sense? They don't
just want heaven. They don't just want to see the
golden streets and the pearly gates. They don't just want to
not go to hell. They want to be in Christ. Every sinner that God has put
in Christ has received the spirit of adoption. They want to be
in Christ. All of them. And it goes on to
say, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children,
then heirs, joint heirs of God, heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may
be also glorified together. Glorified together with him.
Joint heirs with our elder brother. All of us crying, Abba, Father. Go with me over to Mark chapter
3. Mark chapter 3 verse 31 says, There came then His brethren
and His mother, and standing without, sent unto Him, calling
Him. Our Lord was in a house preaching,
and many were gathered around Him, and they came and they were
calling inside the house. Verse 32, And the multitude sat
about Him, and they said unto Him, Behold, thy mother and thy
brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying,
Who is my mother or my brethren? And he looked round about on
them which sat about him and said, Behold, my mother and my
brethren. For whosoever shall do the will
of God, whoever hears Christ." Didn't God the Father speak out
loud and say, this is my beloved Son, hear Him. Bow the knee to Him. Cry out
to Him. Believe on Him. Look to the Lamb
of God. He said in verse 35, whosoever
shall do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister
and my mother. Let brotherly, let brotherly
love, love. Behold what manner of love. The Father hath bestowed upon
us that we should be called the sons of God. Made to be sons
of God. Allowed to be sons of God. Behold what manner of love. Behold. Love is something that takes
place in the heart. Not in the mind. The mind can
understand love, but love takes place in the heart. Love is something
that is real. I mean, if it's true love, and
I tell you, the best way we can quickly understand it or enter
into it is look at our children. It's something that's real. It's
something that lasts. Love is of God. It is of God. God is love. Go with me over
to 1 Corinthians 13. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1 says,
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have
not love. If I don't have charity means
love. If I don't have love. Look at verse 13, and now abideth
faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is
love. Now, how important is faith in salvation? In eternal life,
how important is faith? John 3, 36 says, he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not on
the Son of God hath not life, but the wrath of God abides on
him. How important is faith? That
verse right there says, love is more important. It's more
important than believing. How important is hope? Love is
more important. It's greater. Verse 1 says, Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love,
I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. He said,
If I speak with the tongues of angels, those angels have so
much love in their hearts. God's heaven is full of love. It is so full of love, so much
love for the Almighty God who is seated on the throne. Can
you imagine the affection that is poured out from an innumerable
company of saints, an innumerable company of angels, as if the
people were not big enough. You can't count them. God said
it's also an innumerable company of angels. Cherubims and seraphims
and whatever else God has created. Lions and lambs, right? They're going to feed together. All the affection is poured out
to the Almighty on the throne. The Lord Jesus Christ who gave
Himself. That's never going to leave the
front of the mind. Gave Himself for His brethren.
And that love continues to all the brethren that he gave himself
for. Love is the principal thing in
glory. It's just flowing with love.
Verse 2 says, though I have the gift of prophecy and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith,
and here he says it again, same thing he said in verse 13, though
I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, If I don't
have love, I'm nothing. This has really hit home to me
as a pastor. It does not matter if I can preach. It don't matter. It makes no
difference. None at all. It does not matter
if I understand the mysteries of this book and I can stand
up and take a passage of scripture and see Christ in it and explain
it and people say, now I see it. It doesn't matter. Makes
no difference. It does not matter how confident
I am in my God. If I don't have love in this
heart, then my God says, I am nothing, I have nothing, and
there's no place in God's heaven for me. Love, love. Verse 3 says, Though I bestow
all my goods to feed the poor. Man, what a wonderful thing.
I would encourage you to do that. Just empty it. Feed the poor. Though I give my body to be burned
for the truth's sake, if I don't have love, I should have just
kept it for myself. I should have just gone on expensive
vacations and just blown it all on me. It profits me nothing. Profits me nothing. Verse four
says love suffers long. Oh, it just it's so long suffering. So long suffering. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. It envies
not. You think about your child. Think
about your own child. When that child wins an award
for something, are you jealous? Really? No. It's because love is there. Verse 4 goes on to say, love
is not harsh. Not rash. It does not vaunt itself. Love is not proud. It's not puffed
up. It doesn't bow up. That's just
not what love does. Verse 5 says, Love does not behave
itself in an inappropriate way. It's not unseemly. Love is not
selfish. It does not seek her own. Love
does not easily get angry. It's not easily provoked. Very
difficult to make love angry. Love thinketh no evil. That means
when you look it up in the concordance, it means does not take an inventory
of, does not impute, does not lay to the charge, does not lay
the charge of evil to the one it loves. Now, is this not our
Lord? Is this not our Lord? If I can
speak with the tongues of men and angels, but I don't have
Christ, If I can argue doctrine with
the best of them, but I don't have Christ? If I'm literally the kindest
person and most generous person on this earth, but I don't have
Christ? Christ suffers long. He suffered long. Oh, did He
suffer long on that cross. And He suffers long. He keeps
putting up with us. He keeps putting up with us.
Why does He keep putting up with us? For Christ's sake. For His
name's sake. Christ is kind. Always so kind. That beautiful weather out there
is so kind. The just and the unjust. Christ
was not jealous. Now listen to this. He had all
the Father's attention, all the Father's affection, all the Father's
love, all the Father's things. And the Father said, I'm going
to give it all to you and every other person I put in you. A
number that no man can number. He was not jealous at all. Amen. Let Him have it. Let Him have
it all. Let me give it all. He wasn't jealous. He's not harsh. He's so sweet. He is the opposite
of proud. You've never met a more humble
man. Wait till you meet him. Wait
till you meet him. You'll... You've never... Moses. Man was Moses, God's man. I mean a type of Christ. This
scripture says Moses was the meekest man on earth. But a greater than Moses. Wait
till you meet him. Just wait till you meet him.
You're going to say, no man has ever been that humble. No man. Our Lord, everything about him,
so unselfish, so giving. And even to this day, He's not
easily angered. He doesn't get angry. You know,
how many times a day do I give him reason to get mad at me?
I'm going to spank you. He's not easily angered. Christ
thinketh no evil. He does not take an inventory
of. He does not impute. He does not
lay the charge of evil to the one he loves. He doesn't
do it. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute
sin. Will not do it. Why will he not
impute sin? Because greater love had no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends, his
brethren. So let brotherly love continue. Let brotherly love continue.
Continue means remain. It means abide. It means live. Let it live. Let it live. Let brotherly love live. Go with
me over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Verse 9 says, But as touching
brotherly love, you need not that I write unto you, for you
yourselves are taught of God to love one another. God's already
put it in your heart. You do it anyway. You already
want to do it. Verse 10, And indeed you do it toward all the
brethren which are in all Macedonia. But we beseech you, brethren,
that you increase more and more. You don't need us to tell you
and teach you about the love of God. God's already put that
in your hearts. We're just encouraging you to increase it more and more. Let it live. That's what he's
saying. Let it live. Let it thrive. David
said, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity. It's like the precious ointment
upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard
that went down to the skirts of his garment. They poured that
oil on his head, that soothing, sweet smelling oil, and it ran
down all the way down. David said, it's as the dew of
Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for
there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.
Brethren, dwelling together in unity is soothing. It is sweet smelling. It's as
the snow-covered mountains of Hermon, that in the spring, that
snow melts and it starts sending down rivers of water. to the
city of Zion. It's just wonderful. It's precious.
Life-giving. Brotherly love is the greatest,
sweetest thing that a child of God can possess in this flesh,
tangibly, while he's here on this earth. Love in Christ. Love in and around his gospel.
So we pray, Lord, please, please, please, in this congregation,
in all the congregations, between the congregations, we're one
family. Remind us, Lord, that we are
one family. Please let brotherly love continue. Let it continue for our elder
brothers' sake, for Christ's sake. And I won't make you turn. We were gonna close with this,
but he said, by this, in John 13, 35, by this shall all men
know that you're my disciples, if you have love one to another.
That's the way. May the Lord let it be so.