In Hebrews 13, the lesson begins
in verse 15, where Paul writes, "...by Him, therefore, let us
offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is,
the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." And he begins,
"...by Him, therefore." If we're going to come to God, it must
be through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have to come to God through
Christ, as we read last week, our author. We have to come to
God through the sacrifice of Christ that's offered on that
altar. And we know every blessing that we have, every grace, every
mercy that God has for sinners like you and me has to come to
us through the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of our prayers, our praise,
our thanksgiving can only be heard by God through Christ.
We've got to come to God through Him. If you look over in 1 Timothy
chapter 2, Our Lord said, No man cometh to the Father but
by Me. In 1 Timothy 2, verse 5, For there is one God
and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. There is just one way to the
Father and that's through the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we can only come to God through whom? But now let's come. Let's come to the Father through
Him. And when we come, let's come
and offer sacrifices of praise. That's what Paul says. We've
been made priests unto our God. Every believer has been made
a priest unto God. Well, what do priests do? Priests
offer sacrifices. That's their job, their function. Well, what sacrifices do we offer?
We don't offer blood sacrifices like those Old Testament Levitical
priests did. We don't offer blood sacrifices
for sin. Christ offered the only sacrifice
for sin we'll ever need. But we do offer sacrifices of
praise and thanksgiving to His name. And Paul calls this praise
the fruit of our lips. It's the fruit of our lips just
like Israel of old offered the first fruits of the harvest.
They brought those first fruits and offered them before God.
We offer the fruit of our lips. Look over in Ephesians chapter
5. Paul talks about this in the church at Ephesus too, in Ephesians
5. In verse 19, he says, Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always
for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ. That's the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks always for all things under the God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the fruit that we offer
unto God. But you notice verse 19, we also
bring this fruit to each other. Speaking to yourselves in Psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs. This fruit is to the Father and
it's also for each other, the fruit of our lips. And Paul says
we're to do this continually. Now you know that doesn't necessarily
mean 24 hours a day. But it does mean in every condition,
in every situation that we find ourselves in, whether it's sickness
or it's health, whether it's poverty or it's wealth, whether
it's happiness or whether it's sorrow. In every condition. As believers, we always have
something to be thankful for. We always do. Even in the most
difficult of trials, We have God's glory. We always have something
to be thankful for. So be sure we're always offering
continually the fruit of our lips, the praise of our God,
giving thanks to His name. In verse 16, he goes on, he says,
but to do good and to communicate, forget not. For with such sacrifices,
God is well pleased. We offer the sacrifices of our
lips, but it doesn't stop there. We offer the sacrifice of our
actions, too. Don't forget, Paul says, to show
kindness to everyone. To be generous to those people
that you know that you come across who are in need. The profession
of grace is not just in word only. It is in word, but it's
in action, too. It's more than just hollow words. It's backed up by our actions. That's the lesson, the title
of the lesson that Henry gave outward evidence of inward grace. If there's inward grace, it'll
show in your outward actions. And Paul says, be sure to look
for opportunities and show this kindness and generosity to one
another. Be generous with the money and
the good that God's given you. And also be generous with your
kind words and your affection for each other. Paul says this
is well pleasing to the Father. And I tell you, it makes a difference
to God's people. I'll show you that in Philippians
chapter 4, in Philippians 4 verse 15. Now you Philippians know also
that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from
Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving
and receiving, but you only. And even in Thessalonica you
sent once and again under my necessity. That giving, that
generosity made a difference to Paul as he was out on the
mission field and he's thanking him for it. It makes a difference.
One more scripture in Galatians chapter 5. I'm sorry, Galatians chapter 6. Galatians
6 verse 7. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh
Shall the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth for the Spirit
shall the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well-doing."
You know, you get tired. You think, well, people don't
notice, don't appreciate. Well, we're not doing it for
their notice and their praise and their appreciation. Let's
not be weary in well-doing. For in due season we shall reap
if we think not. And as we have therefore opportunity,
let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are
of the household of faith, because it will make a difference to
me. And with those sacrifices, Paul says, God's well pleased.
Now, verse 17, Lackanarotex, Hebrews 13. Obey them that have
the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for
your soul. It's they that must give account,
that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that
is unprofitable for you. Obey them that have the rule
over you, What does it mean to obey them, to have the rule over
you? You know, he's speaking here of pastors and elders, mostly
pastors. Well, it doesn't mean to obey
them as a tyrant. Scripture's plain on that, speaking
to pastors. He says, not as lords over God's
heritage. These men aren't making up their
own rules and regulations and ruling on their own whims according
to what will make them a prophet or whatever. This is not like
a servant obeys the master, like a slave obeys the master. This
obeying means receiving the Word preached. It means believing
the Gospel that's preached by the man. It means attending the
Word and paying attention and putting importance on the Word
preached. It means respecting man for the
position that God has put him in. Respecting their counsel.
Recognizing their God-given leadership and authority. The pastor is
God's under-shepherd for the flock. And that shepherd does
have God's authority over that flock. For the flock's good.
Look over 2 Corinthians 5. The pastor is God's ambassador. He's sent to his people. And
the ambassador has authority. based on who he's speaking for,
who it is he's representing. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you
in Christ's name. Bring the message of Christ to
you. Be ye reconciled to God. That's where his authority comes
from. We ought to listen to him. But he's speaking for God. Now
the man that gets into the ministry so he can have power over people
and influence over people and have some sort of, you know,
I don't know what you'd call it, respect or whatever, has
got it all wrong. He's just got it all wrong. It's
not ruling, sitting in like the Lord said, a Moses seat. God's
pastors see themselves not as rulers but servants and guides
for God's people. And we'd be wise to follow them. They're God's under-shepherds
for us. And Paul says obey them. Now listen. Submit yourselves. They watch for your souls. Watch
for your souls. God's pastors are not in this
in the ministry for fame, for recognition and money or whatever. They're in it for one reason
and one reason only. To serve God. To care for the
souls of His people. God's pastors are concerned with
souls. I mean, this is deep water. I mean, you get in over your
head and you start caring for men's souls. They preach the
Gospel that gives life to men and women's souls. Not just the
flesh we can touch, but souls. They care about feeding our souls
with God's Word and the green pastures of His Word. Their desire
is to comfort our souls. Their responsibility is to watch
for error that could harm our soul. I mean, this is eternal
matters for us that they're dealing with. And isn't it a blessing? I thought this week, isn't it
a blessing to have someone who'll watch for your soul? Who'll care
for your soul? And that's a burden. Now, what
a joy that is for us, isn't it? What a joy. What a blessing of
God. But what a burden that is on
the pastor. A man's soul. This is not a job. It's a calling. And somebody gets into this ministry
on their own accord, has no idea what it is that they're dealing
with. God better put you here because this is a burden. I read
a story one time about an old believer. A man is dying. Laying
on his sickbed, dying. And his pastor came to see him.
He's there weak and dying. And the pastor sat down beside
him and whispered in his ear. He said, brother, is it well
with your soul? That man looked up at the pastor
and said, it is. He told me the truth. I mean,
that's a burden. A burden on a man's soul. He's
going to go meet God based on what that man told him in God's
Word. That's a burden. What a blessing it is to have
God's ambassador. Preach the gospel of Christ.
Oh, believe it. Obey it. Submit yourself to it.
Paul says, for they have to give an account of their ministry.
They've got to give an account first of all to themselves. To
your own conscience. You lay down at night and the
lights are out and it's dark and it's quiet and you've got
to give an account to your conscience. That's not true. You've got to
take the edge off of it and shy away from it I was afraid of
somebody or I was trying to gain something temporary. You've got
to give an account of your own conscience to tell the truth.
They must give an account to the church, to the people that
they minister to, to your souls that they're watching for. And
they must give an account to the Lord, to the Master who sent
Him, He their servant. And we're to obey them, Paul
says, that they might minister and give an account of their
ministry with joy. That their labor might be a joy
It's a joy for a pastor to see spiritual growth in people. It's
a joy to watch. You can watch someone becoming
interested in the gospel. When they don't come just because
they're fascinated with the pastor's eloquent oratory, or the people
are all so friendly, it's nice to be around them. When they
become enamored with the Lord Jesus Christ. when they become
taken up with Him. That's a joy for the pastor to
watch that happen. It gives joy to the labor, the
time spent in the study, going through the Word, the time spent
in prayer. It makes that burden a joy. And
I've always said I'd like it to be said of me that my pastor
would say it's easy to be his pastor. I was a boy. I remember this. Brother Henry
was talking about Jeff Thornberry. I don't remember what the occasion
was, but he was talking about him. He said what a help Jeff
had been to him in the ministry. He's been such an encouragement
to me. And Henry said, when I've been weary, he's held my hands
up so many times. I was just a kid and I thought,
that's a compliment. I'd like that to be said about
me one day. That I made my pastor's labor a joy. Yes, we can make
his labor a joy. And we can make it grief, too. It's grief. It just causes grief
to see indifference. To see unbelief in the gospel.
Rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's like the Lord called Samuel.
They're not rejecting me. They're rejecting me. It's not
that we care somebody's rejecting us. It's rejecting Him. The gospel didn't prove it. And
we cause our pastor grief. And we bring grief on ourselves.
Right now. In this life. We're robbing ourselves. If we don't obey Him, don't submit
ourselves to the gospel and preach it, we are robbing ourselves
of joy in this life. The joy of resting in Christ. And we're certainly, by refusing
to believe the gospel, robbing ourselves of joy, causing ourselves
grief in the Day of Judgment. And that certainly is unprofitable
for us. So obey them, Paul says, to have
the rule open and submit yourselves so they watch for your soul.
And remember the burden they're under. Look what he says in verse
18. Pray for us. Pray for us. For we trust we
have a good conscience and all things willing to live honestly.
And you know, we want to be a blessing to our pastor. And it's a quite
obvious statement. It's a two-way street. We all
want our pastor to be a blessing to us too, don't we? And we have
it. So easy. What a blessing it is
just to, you know, without much thought, just come sit down and
all were fed. Just everyone fed so richly the
gospel. Oh, what a blessing. Well, we
need to remember. Pray for us, Paul. Pray for us. Prayer is so important. This
ministry, is so important. We all have a part in this ministry.
It's not just John's ministry. We all have a part in this ministry.
The Gospel is so important. What is more important than the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? We all have a stake in the Gospel
that's being preached here. Whether we need to pray for it
or not. Pray for it. If the pastor is
blessed in his time of study will be blessed in his preaching.
So pray for him. If the Lord teaches the pastor
and speaks to the pastor's heart in a study, he'll teach us and
speak to us through the message that he preaches. And we need
to pray that the Lord bless him when he's studying. I've said
it before and I'll say it again in the future. If you just go
through your week and think about your pastor, pray for him. Right
that moment, he could be in a study. Pray for him. Let the Lord give
him understanding. Let the Lord give him wisdom. Give him strength
for the work that he's called on to do. And the more we pray
for our pastor, the more we'll be blessed. Now that's just so.
Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. I'm afraid for myself sometimes
I don't get a blessing or, you know, it's not maybe as blessed
as I want to be. And I said, well, did you ask
for it? Pray, pray for us. 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 1. Finally,
brethren, pray for us. Why? That the word of the Lord
may have free course and be glorified, even as it is with you, and that
we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. For all men have
not faith. But the Lord is faithful. He
shall establish you and keep you from evil. And He'll do it
through the preaching of the Gospel. So pray for us. Because listen, if the pastor's
not blessed, we won't be evil. If the pastor's not given the
message and given the light, then we're going to suffer. So
pray for us. And the importance of that ought
to keep the pastor in this ministry in our prayers. Because it takes
just two seconds to think about where we'd be without it. And
he says, for we trust we have a good conscience in all things
willing to live honestly. Now, like I said a minute ago,
Paul and every true preacher has got to give an account. Got
to give an account to his own conscience. And Paul says, we
trust we have a good conscience. Well, you can have a good conscience
if you've been faithful to the Word. If you've been faithful
to the Master that sent you. You can have a good conscience
If you've been faithful to preach the whole counsel of God. Not
leave anything out because you're afraid to offend somebody. You
have a good conscience if you've been a good steward of the grace
that God's given you. You can be a good steward if
you've been, as the under shepherd, taking the best you can to care
for the flock that God's given you. And you can also have a
good conscience if you've lived honestly in the world. Both in the Word and in the world.
You can have a good conscience if you've handled the Word of
God with honesty. Not with craftiness or deceit or twisting it for
your own benefit. But handling the Word of God
honestly and also in the world. Outside. Look in 1 Timothy 3. I'll show you that. 1 Timothy 3. Here's the qualifications for a pastor. Verse 1. This is a true saying. If a man desires the office of
bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop, then, must be blameless.
The husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given
to hospitality, apt to teach, has an ability to teach, not
given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient,
not a brawler, not covetous, one that rules well his own house,
having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man
know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care
of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being lifted
up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover,
now there she's got a good report in the church. Moreover, he must
have a good report of them that are without. He must live honestly
in the world without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare
of the devil. Look over in 2 Corinthians chapter
4. Living honestly in all things,
Paul says. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 1. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry, as we have received mercy, we think not, but have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, committing ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God, living honestly in all things." Now, back to
Hebrews 13, verse 19. Paul says, but I beseech you
to rather to do this, that I may be restored to you this soon.
And here's the power of prayer and the importance of prayer.
Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. I'm sure it was
not a pleasant experience, but he says, through your prayers,
I may be delivered to you soon. Now you get out of here. And
it's so important for us to pray for each other at all times,
but particularly in times of trial and trouble, to pray for
each other, that the Lord will deliver from trials and troubles
and heartaches and sicknesses and grief. That He'd give strength
during those times. Because the Lord's going to send
trials. That He'd give strength during those trials. That He'd
give us His presence during those times of trial. Brethren, pray
for each other. Samuel said, I've sinned against
God. I seek to pray for you. So pray for one another. And
I know You do too. That the Lord has a predestined
purpose in everything He does. His counsels are of old from
eternity. There's a pointed beginning and
ending to every trial, to every situation, to everything. God's
eternal purpose. And we are not going to change
through our actions God's eternal purpose. Yet, this is true too. The Lord hears the cries. He
said, I'm going to go send Moses down to Israel. Why? Or down
to Egypt to set Israel free. Because their cries are calling
him. I'm going to answer their cries, their prayers. He hears
the cries of his children. Look at Psalm 65. I want you
to look at two places in the Psalm where David describes our
God. Psalm 65. Psalm 65, verse 1. Praise waited
for thee, O God, in Zion. And unto thee shall the vow be
performed. Now listen, verse 2. Here's the
description of our God. O thou that hearest prayer. He's going to hear the prayers
of His people. Unto thee shall all flesh come. Now look in Psalm 102. Psalm
102, verse 16. When the Lord shall build up
Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer
of the destitute and not despise their prayer. This shall be written
for the generation to come, and the people which shall be created
shall praise the Lord. For he hath looked down from
the height of his sanctuary, from heaven did the Lord behold
the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoners, to loose those
that are appointed to death, to declare the name of the Lord
in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem. He'll hear the cry of His people. So cry to Him. Maybe He'll deliver
us from sin. In verse 20, Paul begins to wrap
this up. He says, Now the God of peace
that 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, working
in You that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now there's a lot
of comfort in this closing prayer. Paul says our God is the God
of peace. He's the author of peace. Peace
began with him. God is the one who found a way
to make peace between himself and men. He's the giver of peace. Paul begins so many of his epistles.
Grace, mercy, and peace. God our Father and Lord Jesus
Christ. If we have peace, it comes from
God. He's the one who gives it. He
gives peace to His people and among His people. And we have
peace with God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through
Him. Peace that came both from the death and the life of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says, God who brought from
the dead again our Lord Jesus Now we know our Lord was delivered
for our sins, for our sin that was laid on Him, and God killed
Him for that sin that was laid on Him. He had to die to make
peace with God. The blood of Christ must be shed
to put away our sin. Our sin is what's made God angry. The only way that sin can be
put away is through the blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission. He shed His blood to take our sin away,
to remove it. that God's not angry anymore.
Now there can be peace. Once the sin's gone, there can
be peace. Our Lord died to make peace,
to take away that which made God angry and make peace. But
He didn't say that. He rose again. God brought Him
from the dead. He rose again for our justification. And because our surety rose,
because our substitute rose, we can expect to have life in
Heaven. We rose in Him, and one day, we'll have life with Him. And our Lord Jesus is described
as the great shepherd of the sheep. That great shepherd of
the sheep. Look over in Isaiah 40. Here's
where this shepherd was promised. In Isaiah 40. What is it that
a shepherd does? What is it that he's sent to
do? In Isaiah 40, verse 11. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry
them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with
him. Here's what a shepherd does.
He feeds his sheep in the Word. He gathers his lambs to himself. He calls them out to the preaching
of the gospel. He pulls them up close to himself,
to his breast, to his bosom. And he will carry his sheep all
the way home in his bosom, that place of protection and affection.
And he'll gently lead us in the path of righteousness. He'll
lead his sheep to green pastures beside the still waters. He's
the great shepherd of the sheep. And that must mean his people
are his sheep. And that's a good description
of us. Sheep. I don't know a lot about sheep,
but I know sheep need a shepherd because they're not too bright.
They'll wander off and get lost and suddenly they realize they're
lost and they have no clue how to get back. They're not right
bright, as Janet says. Well, don't try to be like sheep
that way. Try to have a little bit of discernment. But be like
a sheep in attitude. Harmless, meek, humble. You know,
sheep live in flocks. Not individually. You don't find
one here and one there and one there and one there. And they
just get together at conferences every two or three times a year.
Sheep are community animals. They live together. So do we. Can't do without one another.
And sheep will follow the shepherd. They know the voice of the shepherd.
They're willing to follow the shepherd and depend on the shepherd. And that way we should be like
sheep. And we have peace through the blood of the everlasting
covenant. God's salvation is eternal. This is not plan B. You know,
if plan A was salvation by the law, and that failed, and then
God came up with plan B, salvation through Christ, you know, something
in there might be plan C. Maybe we've realized that's not
working too good. We'd be like Isaiah who had to
leave God's report. Maybe we need to come up with
plan C. Whereby trust is in Christ, you'd be cast out and lose your
salvation. No, sir. The blood of the everlasting
covenant. Everlasting from eternity to
eternity. It should. In eternity past,
the eternal covenant of grace was struck between the Father
and the Son. It should. And it was ratified. That covenant of salvation in
Christ was ratified in the blood that He shed at Calvary. And
our God uses His power The work in us. That which is well-pleasing
in His sight. To enable us to mature. To enable
us to do good works. I know a lot of grace people
get afraid of talking about good works. You don't have to be afraid
to talk to God's people about what God's Word says. It's alright.
Good works, He says. You don't have to be worried
that believers God's sheep who are under the care of the Good
Shepherd are going to start trusting in their good works and not in
the Shepherd. That's crazy talk. A good work is a work that's
done in faith. It's done in Christ for the glory
of the Savior and for the good of His people. That's a good
work. And every believer has the desire to do good work. You
just have that desire in you because you have the Spirit of
Christ dwelling in you. That desire doesn't come so you
can have praise or you can have something else to trust in for
salvation. That's foolishness. It's an outward evidence of inward
grace. If that grace is in you, it's
got to come out. And really, from what Scripture
says, it's not us doing them anyway. We're not going to glory
in those things anyway. It's Christ working in you. He
also, in one of the other translations, translates this, the Lord making
you fit unto good works. It's His Spirit dwelling in you.
I know the motivation and desire is not perfect, but it's there.
And it comes from His Spirit. In verse 22, He says, And I beseech
you, brethren, suffer the word of exaltation, for I have written
a letter unto you in few words. You know, it's sad, but it's
true. Just be honest with ourselves.
Every believer at times finds themselves being sluggish, being
indifferent, maybe taking the gospel for granted. I don't know.
So we need this word of exhortation. Encouragement. Be stirred up
a little bit. Maybe we're taking these green
pastures for granted. Paul said, stir yourself up. Listen closely. Pay attention.
to the words of this letter, both the words of comfort and
the words of warning, that we'll be stirred up to follow our Lord
Jesus Christ. Well, I hope that's been a blessing
to you. Lord willing, next week we plan on beginning a study
in 1 John. We'll see you here same time,
same channel.