Hebrews chapter 13 verse 16. But to do good and to communicate,
forget not. For with such sacrifices God
is well pleased. This is a needful exhortation
that we have a great tendency to forget. How many people woke
up this morning and thought, I need to do good and to communicate
today? Probably wasn't in your thinking, wasn't in my thinking,
and I realized that I need to be reminded about this thing
of doing good and communicating because I will forget if I am
not reminded. Now, as every other verse, this
verse can only be interpreted in light of the gospel declared
in this epistle and the whole gospel. You take this verse by
itself and you can't possibly understand it or even preach
the gospel from it. If I quoted this verse To do good and to communicate,
forget not, I would be misquoting the verse. I would be leaving
out a very critically important aspect to this verse. Now, but is a conjunction. What's a conjunction? When I was growing up, we'd always
watch Saturday night, or Saturday morning cartoons. I don't even
know if they have those anymore, but we would always be excited
about watching Saturday morning cartoons. And they would have
these educational things on, and I can, for some reason, I
remember this. It was a train speaking, and these cars were
getting together, and it goes, conjunction, conjunction, what's
your function? Hooking up words and phrases
and clauses. And I understood what a conjunction
is. It hooks things together. This verse cannot possibly be
understood without verse 15. So to read verse 16 without verse
15 is to not give the true meaning of this passage of scripture.
Every word is of such importance in the Bible. You'll notice in
verse 17, it says, obey them that have the rule over you.
There's no conjunction there. That means there's another thought
being introduced, but here is the thought. By him, therefore, verse 15.
Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually is
that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name or
confessing his name. Now by him, I love the way that
starts by him. Let us therefore by him. That's not a tack-on. The only
way I come into God's presence is by Him. I don't think a thought
apart from it being by Him. This is my greatest need, to
be brought into God's presence by Him. I don't want to think
of anything apart from Him. Even my praise, even my thanksgiving,
it can only come by Him. I don't want it coming in my
name. I want it coming in His name. By him, therefore, let
us offer the sacrifice of praise to God. Non-stop. And I like the way he calls it
a sacrifice. It's gonna cost you something
to do it. In some way, it's gonna cost you. I love what David said,
I'm not offered to God, that would cost me nothing. It's going
to cost you something. You'll cost you something to
be here tonight. It costs you something. By him, therefore,
let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God nonstop. From the
rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's
name is to be praised. That is, here's what I'm talking
about, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name, confessing
his Now our confession, what we believe is that all of our
salvation is in his name. That's everything we believe.
All of our salvation is in his name, by his name, through his
name, for the glory of his name, and for his namesake. There's
only one name at the end of the story as the author of our salvation. You know, in academic papers,
if you ever look at them, they'll have a bunch of names at the
end of people who made contributions. This person, probably the one
at the top, made the most contributions, and then you'll have some names
under them. There's only one name on this. The name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He by himself purged our sins. No help from me, no contribution
from me, no help from you, no contribution from you. And that
speaks of a completed salvation. He by himself, he did it all.
Jesus paid it all, all the debt I owe. Sin hath left a crimson
stain, he washed it white as snow. You know, he said to the
church of Philadelphia, I will write my name upon you. That's the name I want to have.
Jehovah Tsidkenu, this is the name where we shall be called.
The Lord, our righteousness. Now think of these scriptures.
Ephesians 4.32, be kind. tender hearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for, know the rest of the verse? For Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. He didn't forgive you because
you asked for forgiveness. He didn't forgive you because
of how sorry you were. He didn't forgive you because
of the reformation of your life that you promised to make. One
reason, one reason, for Christ's sake. The psalmist said in Psalm 106
verse eight, after he talked about the errors of the children
of Israel, he said, nevertheless, he saved them for his name's
sake. Now, if that's not clearly seen,
we can't go on. We confess His name as our salvation. Now, what's that mean? His name is who He is. We confess
we're saved by who He is. We're saved by an act of His
sovereign will. He willed my salvation. I'm saved
by His righteousness. He made a way to be just and
justify the ungodly. I'm saved by His righteousness.
It's His, it's not mine. I'm saved by His love. I'm saved
by His power. I'm saved by His wisdom. Every attribute of God is included
in His name. I love what John said when he
said we're to obey His commandment. This is His commandment, that
we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and
love one another. as God gave His commandment.
Now, His name, Jesus. I love His name. I hope I always say it reverently.
I can't stand it when people use His name, His first name,
Jesus, in an irreverent manner. It just bothers me. I remember
one time a preacher asked me, he said, how come you always
call Him Lord? Why don't you call Him Jesus? Well, he said, You call me Master
and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. But don't you love
his name Jesus? That's the name of his humanity.
Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. He's the Christ. He's God's Christ.
He's God's prophet. He is the Word of God. He's God's
priest. Oh, how precious this is. He
brings me to the Father as my great high priest. with the sacrifice of himself.
Oh, what a king, king of kings and Lord of lords. He's got the
power. The king is the one whose will
is done. He can make me do his will. And that's what I need.
I need him as prophet. I need him as priest. I need
him as king, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now his name, that's the confession of Peter
of the church, the rock on which he built his church. Who do men
say that I, the Son of Man, am? Well, they say pretty good things
of you. Who can say ye that I am? Peter said, thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Don't you love his name? All
of salvation is for his name's sake. Verse 16, but. Now this is that
conjunction that lets us know that this statement can't be
considered independent of that statement. Now understand this,
whatever we're preaching on, we better preach the gospel.
I don't care what it is. If I'm not preaching the gospel,
I'm not preaching that passage right. I must get this first. But, To do good and to communicate. Forget not, for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased. Now I like the way he used the
word sacrifices again. He mentions two things we're
called upon to do. That we're called upon to not
forget to do. To do good. Forget not. To communicate, forget not. For with such sacrifices,
once again, there's a sacrifice involved in doing good and communicating. And I want, I hope, I don't feel
like I've given up anything or sacrificed anything. I really
don't. I mean, when you say, what? Somebody says, I've sacrificed
so much. No, you haven't. I do, I don't want to offer up
to God that which costs me nothing, do you? I want there to be some
kind of sacrifice involved. Now, that being said, it doesn't
mean I'm thinking, oh, look at the sacrifice I offered up. No,
not at all. But I love what David said when
the guy said, I'll give it to you for free, it's not going
to cost you a thing. He said, no, I'm going to give you the full
price. I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing. with such sacrifices, God is
well pleased. Now we realize that it's only
through Christ that God is well pleased, don't we? It's only
through Christ that he's well pleased. He's not well pleased
with anything I do. But through Christ, with such
sacrifices, God is well pleased. When he sees his children doing
this through Christ, God is well pleased. Now that interests me. You see, if you love, if I love
the Lord, I want to please him. That's true of every one of his
children. If you and I love the Lord, we want to please him. And when he talks about these
two things, then he tells us not to forget And like I said,
if I'm not reminded every day, I will forget him. I know myself.
It's just, I forget. And that's why it says,
forget not. To do good and to communicate,
forget not, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. To do good. You know, two times
Paul said in his epistles, Be not weary in well-doing. It's a needful admission, isn't
it? Be not weary, don't get tired of this. Be not weary in well-doing. The first message that Peter
preached to the Gentiles in Acts chapter 10. This is the first
time the Gentiles heard the gospel when Peter was preaching in Acts
chapter 10. And he said, how that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and power who went about doing good. Don't you love that description
of the Lord's life? He went about doing good and healing all that
were oppressed with the devil, for God was with him. Every second
of his life was employed in doing good. Whatever it was that he
did was the doing of good. I love it when he said, many
good works have I showed you of my heavenly Father. For which
of these do you stow me? He never did anything malicious.
He never did anything harmful. He never did anything vindicative.
He never did anything destructive. He went about doing good. Don't you admire the Lord Jesus
Christ? I admire him. went about doing good. I love
to think of his life. You know, I'd never thought of
this before, but Clare pointed this out to me when we were driving
to Damna last night when I preached there, and I'd never thought
of this before, but I like the thought of it. He said, I bet
the Lord never cried when he was a kid, you know, like a baby
crying because they're angry and I'm not getting my way. He
said, I bet the Lord never cried, and I've been thinking about
that ever since. I bet he didn't, because when a baby cries, You know,
the wick that are estranged from the womb that go about as soon
as they'd be born speaking lies, well, that crying's a lie of
some kind to try to get you to respond to them. The Lord never
did that because the Lord never sinned. He went about doing good. How sinful are men to not love
him? All he did was go about doing
good. I know when the woman broke the
alabaster box of ointment upon his feet, it was the doing of
good because Christ called it a good work. Now he's the one
who knows. As a matter of fact, we don't
read anywhere else where he called something a good work, but he
called what this woman did a good work. Now we have in Luke chapter
six, I'd like you to turn there. what the Lord calls doing good. He uses that term twice in this
passage of scripture. Now I'm saved by his name, period. End of story. Amen. I'm saved
by his name, period. I'm not saved by my doing good.
I'm saved by his name, period. You know what it makes me want
to do? Do good for the glory of His name. Now what is this
thing of doing good? How does He describe doing good? It's not goody-two-shoes kind
of stuff, but let's look at what the Lord says is the doing of
good. Luke chapter 6, verse 27. But I say unto you, which hear. Not everybody hears. I think
that's such a significant statement. Oh, I want to be one of these
people that hear, don't you? I want to hear. That's who he's speaking
to. I say unto you that hear. Love your enemies. That is the doing of good. What's he say next? Do good to
them which hate you. Ain't that beautiful? This is
what the Lord calls the doing of good. Do good to them that
hate you. Verse 28, bless them that curse
you. Now that is the doing of good.
Somebody curses you, they're angry with you, they wish ill
upon you, bless them. Ask the Lord to be merciful to
them, to make himself known to them. Don't curse them, bless
them. And pray for them. which despitefully
use you. You know you're being abused.
You know you're being wronged. You know it. What are you called
on to do? Pray for them. Pray for God's great grace and
blessing upon them. That is the doing of good. Verse 29. And unto him that smiteth
thee on the one cheek, Offer also the other. When someone
abuses you and mistreats you and smites you on the cheek,
offering the other one also. Don't get tit for tat. Don't
get vengeance. Don't pay back. Can you see the
strength in that? What strength there is in turning
the other cheek? That is the doing of good. This is very similar to the Sermon
on the Mount. You know, even in the Beatitudes,
when he says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy, that's the doing of good, isn't it? What about when he
says, be a peacemaker? That's the doing of good, isn't
it? Most of this comes right out of the Sermon on the Mount.
This is a different time, but let's go on reading. And him that taketh away thy
cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Now here is somebody
unjustly take something from me. Here's everything else. That's what the Lord says. That's
the doing of good. And I love the Lord's doing of
good. I want to do good, don't you?
Let's go on reading. Give to every man that asketh
of thee. Whatever he asks, give it to
him. That's the doing of good. And of him that taketh away thy
goods, ask them not again. That's the doing of good. You
see, if I believe that Christ is my
all, I don't need anything. I've already got everything.
Now this is what is called the golden rule. And as you would
that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. Do you want to be treated mercifully?
Do you want to be treated with kindness? Do you want to be treated
with graciousness? Do you want to be given the benefit
of the doubt? I do. Well, the way you wanna be treated,
that's the way you're to treat whoever the Lord brings in your
way. Don't you love that? However
you wanna be treated, that's how you're to treat that individual.
Verse 32, for if you love them that love
you, That word thank is grace. It's
the same word as grace. If you love them which love you,
where's grace there? Do not sinners also love those
that love them? Yes, they do. If you love me,
I'm all for you. That's just the way we are. But
he says, where's there's grace in that? And if you do good to them which
do good to you, where's the grace there? For sinners also do even
the same. And if you lend to them of whom
you hope to receive, where's grace there? For sinners
also lend to sinners to receive as much again, but love your
enemies. Now, that is not mean you feel
all ooey gooey and no, you love them when you pray for the Lord's
mercy on them and His grace on them and that He would save them
by His grace and that He would reveal Christ to them. Now that's
what it is to love someone. I mean you can feel hurt, anger,
whatever, But you've truly asked the Lord to reveal Himself to
that person. That's the doing of good. Love
your enemies. I pray that God will give each
one of us the grace to do this. This is the doing of good. Don't forget this. The doing
of good. He says, love your enemies and
do good. There that is again. Do good. This is what the Lord calls doing
good. So this is not what my take on things are. This is what
the Lord says. And lend, hoping for nothing
again, for no return. And your reward shall be great. You know what your reward is? Christ. Knowing Him, what could
be better than that? This is not talking about earning
some kind of high reward in heaven. This is the reward of faith.
Knowing Him, what could be greater than that? And you shall be the children
of the highest, for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the
evil. The doing of good is being kind.
to the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful
as your Father also is merciful. That, oh may the Lord make us
merciful men and women. Having experienced the mercy
of God, may I be a merciful, gracious, forgiving person. You know, one of the Beatitudes,
blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. And this is the doing of good.
Here's the doing of good. Judge not. Well, what they did
was wrong. Judge not. Well, how can you
justify that? Judge not. Judge not. Judge not that you be not judged. Now, that's not saying if I judge
somebody, God's gonna judge me, because if that's the case, none
of us will be saved. We're all infinitely too judgmental. But what that is saying is if
you're not judgmental toward somebody, they're not gonna be
judging you either. They're gonna like you. You know, when I'm
around somebody that I feel like I'm being judged, I don't like
them. And I see every flaw. I'm looking for them, I see them.
But if you're around somebody that is non-judgmental toward
you and gracious toward you, hey, they're great. I like them.
Get along just fine. This is the doing of good. Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you
shall be forgiven. This is the doing of good. And if you believe that God,
for Christ's sake, has saved you, holy for Christ's sake,
it doesn't have anything to do with anything you've ever done,
this is what you want. The doing of good. What it says
in verse 38. Give, and it shall be given unto
you good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running
over shall men give into your bosom, For with the same measure
that you meet, with all that shall be measured to you again,
your blessings are going to be returned to you in the basket
you bring. Now that's what he says, that is the doing of good. I need to be reminded. To forget
not. To do good. I wish this would
just be plastered on my mind when I open my eyes in the morning. Forget not. To do good. To treat people in a gracious,
merciful way. Do good. Now the next thing he
says in our text, Hebrews 13, now that's the Lord's
statement with regard to the doing of good. And the next thing
he mentions is to communicate. But to communicate, forget not,
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Now not only
are we called upon to do good, and that has to do with sacrifice. Sacrificing our rights. Sacrificing
our rights, when it comes right down to it. Sacrificing our rights. do good, and communicate. Now generally when I think of
communication, being able to talk to somebody, they understand
what you're saying, you understand what they're saying, you have
a good line of communication, you understand what they're saying,
but that's really not, that's included in what this word means,
but it's the word that's most often translated, fellowship. Fellowship. The fellowship we
have in the gospel. Endeavor to keep the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace. Fellowship, fellows in the same
ship. You know, I'm looking at some
people that I love, that I know look to Christ only as the only
thing they have. And we have fellowship in that. We have fellowship in the gospel,
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. How sweet, how precious
is fellowship? The word, and here's what he
means by this word at this time, is giving. To communicate is
to give, to give of your money. If the Lord doesn't have my wallet,
he doesn't have my heart. to give of your money, to give
of your time, to give of yourself. That's what this means. And I have some vague idea of how selfish
I am and self-centered I am. And that's why I need to be reminded. Don't forget to communicate. of yourself, to be a friend,
to be a help, to be involved, to deny myself. There's self-denial
involved in this. There's sacrifice involved in
this. I have to repeat what David said,
I won't offer to God that which cost me nothing. I love the way
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8 that giving proves the sincerity of
your love. Love gives. And I'm not just talking about
money. I'm to give of myself, of my time. Love gives. You know, I've heard this saying,
and you've heard this saying, and I'm sure I hate this saying.
I'd rather see a sermon than hear one. That's pious, self-righteous
dribble is all that is. I've never been saved by somebody's
example. I've never been saved by watching somebody's conduct.
I'd whole lots rather hear a sermon than see one. But that being
said, that being said, I would like to be someone who You can see. Here's a man who's experienced
grace and it's made him gracious. Here's a man that's experienced
the mercy of God and it's made him merciful. Here's a man who's
experienced the generosity of God and it's made him generous. Here's a man who God says he's
my friend. That's what he says of all his
people. You are my friends. What could be greater than that?
To be the friend of God. For God to count you his friend.
Oh, with him as my friend, what a friend I want to be. Now to
do good. Now first, if all we talked about
was verse 16 and didn't deal with the but, we'd miss the whole
meaning. You see, The result of confessing salvation
to be holy in his name is the doing of good and communicating. And really, if you don't understand
that your salvation is holy in his name, for his name's sake,
and it has nothing to do with your works, you can't do good.
You can't communicate. It's bad. It's bad. You've got
a bad motive. You don't really, it's not right. But oh, when I know that God,
for Christ's sake, hath forgiven me, and saved me by his grace,
and he wasn't looking for a thing out of me, he did it all. You
know what that makes me wanna do? Makes me wanna do good and
communicate. With such sacrifices, and there's
sacrifice involved, with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. So may the Lord make every one
of us to not forget because I know how quick I forget. I hope the
Lord will impress this on me and hope he does for you all too.
He will. As we close in prayer, Jan Carver
had surgery last week, a biopsy, and she's doing well right now. She won't find out the results
of the biopsy until next week, but everybody remember her as
we close. Let's pray together.