Critical Reminders (Part A)

After this life, it dies with you and that it that's what she had, which is why Jesus engaged her and converted her letter to salvation cannot always know what God is up to. That's why were supposed to live as though he may be up to something, even when we're around people we don't know and they are engaging.

Also we engaging them Bible gives us these instructions to follow. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston.

Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Hebrews. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Hebrews chapter 13 as he begins his message critical reminders. Hebrews chapter 13 if you have your Bibles please turn their we will take verses one through six. Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers or by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels remember the prisoners as if change with them. Those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body also marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled fornicators and adulterers God will judge that your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have or he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So, we may boldly say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what can man do to me critical reminders that is selected, the writer is now bringing to the front with these Hebrew believers and for those of you who may not have been following along and understand what this Hebrew letter is about. These were Christians they were Jewish.

Ethically, they were Jewish.

They were Hebrews and they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were even persecuted for Christ a minister to those who were persecuted for Christ and yet it was beginning to pile up on them. The pressures of being a Christian and a society that was very, much against Christ and so some of them were thinking about going back to Judaism, perhaps to escape the persecution to get away from being persecuted for whatever reasons they were thinking about leaving Christ and the writer whom I believe was the apostle Paul writes to them, and points out the superiority of Christ and the doom that follows. Those who abandon him will become apostates to Jesus Christ out your reversible, it will be well. He has taken up large part of the letter. With just these details and now he has some critical reminders for them.

As Christians he's treating them as Christians throughout this this letter because they were Christians and I hope I hope you and I when we are treated like adults by God when we are treated like Christians by God that we receive it and not push back against it as is.

Unfortunately so many do truths throughout human history has often been overruled by self-will what I want more important than what truly is.

Well, that's why there's a witness protection program.

The gangsters the bad guys they don't want someone telling the truth about the crime they committed. So they look to eliminate the witness who is looking to tell the truth. Self-interest is flat out in conflict with God. That's why we try to order our lives to be interested in God. God centered, Christ centered, Jesus sums it up in his prayer. Nevertheless, not my will be done, but your will be done.

We all want will those that want to be interested in what God has, but we are only desiring to satisfy ourselves. Whatever the cause. Whatever the matter may be, it is an injustice before God and the Bible deals with this through and through and we need to deal with it. That's why you we are ordered by God to attend the assembly to receive the Scripture as Paul wrote to Timothy give attention to the doctrine. Make sure your preaching the word. Now that book of Judges we have been the Old Testament. Most of us are familiar with this verse is repeated in the book of Judges by the writer because he is trying to emphasize the damage that this lifestyle of rejecting God of living without his authority not being ruled by God. But overruling God by the flesh. He wants to emphasize the folly of this associate the rights and Hebrews of apartment judges 17 verse six.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes: these days. In some places there is no church others buildings with people to go in, but many times there there really not interested in what Christ has to say everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Human beings come before God whenever that happens is a problem that does not mean when God is first and human beings are treated as cattle or secondary elements in the universe. Quite the opposite is why the Bible speaks so much about love.

Everything good can be abused is the essence of sin, abuse of something that is permitted maybe we'll get back to that. But in these days which we live. There is no God in the life of so many people everyone does what's right in their own eyes and therefore what is wrong in the eyes of God. While the Bible is very careful about this. King Asa was a good king. We been covering this going through Chronicles with all of what I have to say has something to do with every single one of us. None of it is just Bible lecture as a do in our lives, how we think, because how you think has something to do with how you live. If you get the life wrong, you may find yourself alienated from God King Asa when he had come back from a victory. Well, actually a little later on. The second time. One of the prophets approached him. He says this is at the time and Asa was not following the Lord was it was a good king but he goofed up towards the end of his life and the prophet says for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him.

God is looking for people who were loyal to him.

It takes a little time for God to affect us to make sure that not that he needs to know you already knows but so that we get to know we are committed to him and so these critical reminders they have to do with those who are looking to be faithful to God and instruction of the word is supposed to really help with that many Christians just uninterested Bible teaching. They just want to be told everything is going to be all right. Whatever that means again and second Chronicles. This time it's King Jehoshaphat good king son of Asa the King I just mentioned earlier and where is it judges it says in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Jehoshaphat took steps to make sure that wasn't the case. While he was on the throne. He sought out teachers from the priest and the Levites to go and teach the people the word of God and we read about in second Chronicles verse nine of the 17 chapter. There, he says, so they taught in Judah and had the book of the law of Yahweh with them. They went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people, the consequences of living in darkness spiritual darkness should be unacceptable to every child of God. We are supposed to be children of light salt of the earth not supposed to spend our energy avoiding the difficult things of Scripture.

In those days in the days Jehoshaphat. There was a king who sought to do the right thing by God.

He was determined to take his people from darkness you say taught him what taught them the ways of the Lord because to teach about God is to learn about man. We have a whole world outside these doors that want to learn about man from man.

We want to learn from the one who made us from the creator outside these doors are many who spend their energy insisting that we are not created beings. No time to take on that really is not a deep argument at all.

We as Christians when we consider these critical reminders from Scripture and then we consider how we fail not to be discouraged. We fall short in spite of the teaching and the effort that we put into lining up to being in God's formation were not to be discouraged to the point where we don't function for Christ anymore which is what Satan off trying to get us to do.

If we take no credit in whatever victories we have in Christ we give it all to him. We have to be careful that we do not think it's robotic because we know that it through negligence we can mess things up. Therefore, we count each and every one of us count to be matter to God. We matter to the work being done. God's work and going without you.

If you don't serve the Lord.

God's is not just get somebody else does mean you and love you just need to go to get somebody else, you miss out. So Paul says we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that that's how bodies in a side of us. We have this treasure yet that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of ourselves.

The treasurer is the Holy Spirit. So now we're considering lining up with God's critical reminders from this great saint to the Lord how much the Bible talks about when there is no king when there is no rule of God. The problems that come out of it and so here in verse one. Now if you would look with me says let brotherly love continue winding down the letter and he brings up love is just three words in in the Greek brotherly love is one word Philadelphia so he says let love the love that flows from agape love.

Let it show up and brotherly love, love the dead deep love you have for Christ.

It should be showing up in some form towards others. It is a critical reminder.

The Bible never separates doctrine from action Scripture from behavior expects that we are not to always learn and never come into the knowledge, but that we do learn that we do something with it that is pleasing to God. Those who do not like that.

They church shop.

They shop or church where the word is not upheld, not even taught or the word is taught but it's not upheld. That makes them feel like they're gaining ground, but they're not to step forward and 10 backwards. If that is the approach that word again. Philadelphia, the Greek rich in language makes distinctions between types of love where is our English language does not the same. You can say you know I love ice cream and say I you know I love God is the same word you have to figure out a contact which one is more a greater or superior with the Greek helps us out with that.

There's a love for romance that can be of certainly abused, but though the romantic love arrows.

His family love stroke a when the Greeks used a language and they said I you know I love my family. The look they do stroke a and you you knew that this was the family they were talking about brotherly love, which is phi Leo which has to do with just the love of things.

Nothing wrong is very deep. It's not to be trivialized when we call someone say they have a PhD a doctorate that pH stands for phi Leo. They love whatever discipline they have the invested themselves in. So when he says let Philadelphia let brotherly love flow from you is it's not well this just a secondary love is big. Jesus asked Peter.

Peter, do you have that spiritual love for me that deep highest love.

Had Peter not stumbled before the question he would've said yeah you bet your whiskers I have that love for you, but it was after Peter had been humbled, and he realized that his sinful nature was a fierce opponent within him a traitor within his own heart, so he responded, Lord, you know, I have great love for you. I can't say I have the greatest love. I wanted I just can't get it and that's why, in the Greek if you look at it in the Greek in John's Gospel with this exchanges dialogue takes place as Jesus. Do you agape media have the spiritual love and Peter says no I phi Leo you don't have the big stuff I wanted, but describes all of us. Now we have agape love for Christ sometimes would behave as though we don't special enough treatment of others, so this is a big part of the letter.

This is a holding them accountable to behavior led brotherly love continue, don't abandon the faith stay in it and continue to love as Christ taught to love Peter when he wrote to the persecuted Christians. He was careful not to center all of his letter on all poor thing.

I don't want to make that humerus because I don't want to be under persecution and someone making humor about it but I want to point out that there's more to our faith than just relief from whatever it is that hounds us so he writes be hospitable to one another without grumbling in the word he uses for hospitable has phyllo in it again. Be loving to one another in kind without grumbling. Well I better love them or somebody else find out I don't problem J. Vernon McGee makes this comment he says we are to love not like brothers, but because we are brothers that is true we are to behave as though we belong to the family of God, not just drink in the blessings of belonging to the family, but letting some of those blessings flow through us to others. Also going to call for commitment. Action step up if you insist on sitting on your hands, you won't be called off the bench. But if you apply yourself, you watch what God will do. I think there is a lot of brotherly love in this church that won't stop immature Christians or people from objecting because the immature really think love is a self-centered thing in the measure love by what you give them, not by what they give others so critical is brotherly love that when it is missing.

Everybody knows Jesus said you are. You are the salt of the earth without salt the flavor. Something's missing without salt its absence is noticed. His presence is been in demand was the same with us with how we behave when love is missing its noticed there's a demand for, and think about the loveless things that have been done to you by someone else. Then think about the things that are loveless that you have done to someone else. Then think about the loving things you have done for others and others have done for you. How love flows from you and then this exhortation led brotherly love is very important verse two if you look with me in verse two is continuing with this everything as this is going to be built on those words do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

Don't forget the salt don't forget the spiritual element of your life is saying that the brotherly love continue. Now I'm from I'm I'm born and raised in New York City, strangers are not to be trusted. There and he's not saying you just go on the road and say hey I don't know you want to come over my house will have a good old time but is saying you better be careful when you are around people you don't know, just don't lock up and become cold and calloused, so easy to do. I have to work at it actually someone comes up to me and says excuse me, you have the time, will you doing you don't know me was your buddies got another guy in this gonna come in ahead of something is just used suspect of people approaching you, you don't know well in the Scripture. Of course Abraham, when the three men showed up there.

Abraham was in the tent. The cool of the day in and in the cool of the shade, and they show up and he is very careful how he treats them turns out two of them are angels. The other one is an appearance of God himself on earth course there are others.

This lot there's Manolo and his wife, the parents of Samson New Guinea and one of the more comical ones Gideon stressing wheat and the winepress because he's afraid.

And the angel of the Lord shows up and he's in no greeted as a man of valor in God is with you and he's questioning everything up where God is with us to. Why am I thrashing wheat in the winepress, hiding out like an old thing going somewhere we're not going to take further than that. My point is the Scripture is. It gives us examples of those who entertain strangers who are actually sent by the Lord. One of my favorite ones are probably maybe I am one of my favorites is the woman at the well.

She did not know was Jesus Christ that initiated conversation with her, asking her for a drink. What is this Jew talking to me, a Samaritan, what is a man without a chaperone doing talking to me.

She had religion. She doesn't have salvation.

That should get a lot of people that we come in contact with and alive. You can have useless religion good for nothing after this life, it dies with you and that's it.

That's what she had, which is why Jesus engaged her and converted her letter to salvation cannot always know what God is up to.

That's why were supposed to live as though he may be up to something, even when we're around people we don't know and they are engaging us. Are we engaging them Bible gives us these instructions to follow so we we need to be careful because some have entertained angels unaware they haven't been.

They were unaware at the time those were angels and it can happen to you. God can send someone a messenger doesn't have to be an angelic being.

God can send a person in your life and you can mess it up or not. But how do you not mess it up. Just be loving, be obedient. Be on guard the will of God to use you. Verse three he says remember the prisoners as a chain with them. Those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body.

Also the senior Christians is Christians he's talking to almost Christians in our thinking about being Christians, not giving Christianity of these are solid Christians saved by the blood of Christ, and now many of them are in trouble. Thinking about leaving Jesus Christ. Now you don't believe in free will or you think your free will goes away when you're saved and you may struggle with that I don't share that view, nor my afraid of it.

I am honored.

Learn to be honored by what God brings into your life the good of the bad JoJo put it this way, the Lord gives Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I don't loving the put an emphasis on that but I want to and we get to the end of this section maybe will find some of another emphasis along those lines, but this is brotherly love. Now to prisoners.

What if it was your brother in prison. Your real brother. Maybe a brother that you love us.

There are those that have brothers and they're not very close.

But if it's close brother. Of course you feel it all right is not asking them the feeling he's asking them to obey it is telling them look beyond this life. Put yourself in their place of this is a little history here with them. In Hebrews 10 he says for you had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods. Knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven just suffered for your faith. You suffered for me when I was a prisoner of Christ you did not keep me at a distance.

I he's a convict.

Now is part of the criminal element. Yet he was for the causes of Christ.

They did not turn away from from him and he he calls the Mounties remember, remember to victory on their side was an honor for them to show honor one of God's prisoners in Hebrews 11 is this still others had trial of markings and scourge ingestion of chains and imprisonment. Second Timothy this is about a man named Vanessa Morris Lord grant mercy to the household of Vanessa Forrest, for he often refreshed me catch that part do you refresh anyone or do you just drain all manner they go move you've been listening to cross reference radio the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick asked Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply log on to cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick, you can subscribe cross reference radio.com or simply search for cross reference radio your favorite podcast to the next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of Hebrews right here on cross reference radio