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[0:00] If you would, please take your Bibles and open with me to Hebrews chapter 13. We've come now to the last chapter of the book of Hebrews.

[0:10] So I'm sad because that means we're done studying and contemplating this great book. I'm sad because the time for the seniors is counting down.

[0:21] So we're getting close to the end of the school year. I was deciding and sad all at once. We're in the final chapter of Hebrews tonight. And if you were here with us last week, you remember I said at the end of chapter 12, I think that chapter 12 is kind of the conclusion to this author's argument.

[0:44] His sermon kind of comes to a crescendo at the end of chapter 12, and in chapter 13 we get really an epilogue or a final word given to us. As we work through chapter 13 tonight, it might at first seem to you to lack the polish or the shine that the rest of the book has, because there are just very fundamental down-to-earth commands in this chapter.

[1:12] There are 25 verses in chapter 13, as you see, and there are 24 commands in this chapter. And so there are lots of very practical commands which contrast pretty starkly with the high theology we've had throughout the rest of this book.

[1:29] But it reminds us of a couple of things. One, this letter isn't just a theology textbook. This letter isn't just a work of theology. This is a sermon given to real people living in the real world with real problems going on in their lives.

[1:47] And so these commands remind us of those things. It also reminds us of something very important that we always need to keep in mind, that theology always leads to practice.

[2:01] Right believing needs to lead to right living. Theology, what we believe about God and about Christ, is the foundation for the Christian life.

[2:14] So you can't just say, I'm going to live the Christian life, I'm going to obey Christ, and I'm going to maybe eventually read the Bible. Or I'm maybe eventually going to learn something about God or study theology.

[2:26] Knowing who God is, is the foundation for how you live the Christian life. And you can't get those two things backwards. You can't try to live for Christ before you actually know Him. You need to know who He is, and that leads to proper living.

[2:41] Or there's also people that say, you know, I love Jesus, but I don't like theology. Or I love Jesus, but I don't like the church. Those things are completely contradictory. To love Christ is to know Christ, which is theology.

[2:56] And so this letter, we've had 12 chapters of really high and intense doctrine. In chapter 13, that doctrine is undergirding everything He says, but He gives us really straightforward commands.

[3:09] And right living is important to our witness as Christians. Living correctly is important as we seek to share the gospel with unbelievers.

[3:21] There's one pastor. He's really smart because he was British from a long time ago, so he sounds even more smart. I'm not going to read it in a British accent. But he says, the world takes its notion of God most of all from those who say they belong to God's family.

[3:38] They read us a lot more than they read the Bible. And so as we think about sharing the gospel with lost friends at school or lost family members or people we just come in contact with that are random, they may not ever read the Bible, but they can watch the way we live.

[4:00] And so we need chapter 13. We need to live correctly. We need to obey the Lord because it's essential to our life in Christ. And it's essential to our witness to the watching world.

[4:11] And so Jesus, who is over everything, Jesus, who is the greater Savior, the greater priest, He gives us a greater way of life, which is our title tonight, a greater way of life.

[4:25] And if you look in verse 28 of chapter 12, it says, Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship.

[4:40] In light of everything God's done for us, we should offer to Him acceptable worship. And chapter 13 helps us do just that. It shows us what this acceptable worship looks like in everyday life.

[4:53] And what we learn from the Bible is that worship is not just singing. Worship is a way of life. And chapter 13 shows us this greater way of life. And so we'll cover this text tonight in five points.

[5:09] First one being love and money. Love and money. We see this in verses 1 through 6. It says in verse 1, Let brotherly love continue.

[5:23] Brotherly love here is one Greek word, and the word is Philadelphia. So that's why Philadelphia is called the city of brotherly love, baby. Even though it's not that friendly.

[5:33] But anyway, Philadelphia just means brotherly love. This affectionate, familial kind of love and care. Even though if you have brothers, maybe that's not what your experience is.

[5:45] But our faith in Christ makes us a family. We're not just saved and then sent out by ourselves. We're saved into the context of the church.

[5:57] We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And so this love is something we're called to. But I want you to notice what he says. He says, let brotherly love continue or let it persevere.

[6:10] We're not told to create this love. We're called to just let it flow. We can hinder this love. We can cultivate this love. But we cannot create this love.

[6:22] This is something that God creates in us. This is something the Holy Spirit gives to us when he saves us. He gives us an affection and care for other believers. And if brotherly love is to continue, we must die to ourselves.

[6:38] We have to be humble in order to love each other the way that God commands us to. You cannot love someone else properly if you are only concerned about yourself.

[6:50] And so in order for us as a church or as a youth ministry to obey verse 1 is we have to be humble people. We need to humble ourselves before the Lord in order to love each other as we're commanded to.

[7:02] And in verse 2 he says, Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. And hospitality, he's kind of playing with words here.

[7:13] Brotherly love is Philadelphia. Hospitality is Philonexia. So it sounds similar. One is love for brothers. The other is love for strangers. And so we're not just called to love our own.

[7:24] We're not just called to stay together as a church and only sit with each other at lunch and never make friends outside of this room. We're called to have a love that goes beyond the walls just of our church.

[7:36] We're to have an outgoing kind of love that shows love and concern even for strangers. And the motivation he gives here is shocking. He says, By so doing this, some have entertained angels unaware.

[7:53] And so we're called to show hospitality. We're called to show love for strangers and for outsiders. Because amazingly, some people, by doing that, have shown hospitality and love towards angels.

[8:08] And if you think of Abraham in Genesis 18 and Lot in chapter 19, there are angels that visit Abraham. He shows them hospitality. And they go down to Lot. Lot shows them hospitality and protects them as well.

[8:21] What we learn from the text is that those men were actually angels. And so you think about what the implications of this are. We simply don't know who we're really seeing begging on the side of the street or visiting our church.

[8:38] The random person we encounter in the grocery store might not be who we think we are seeing. And this is the motivation he supplies. He says, We don't know exactly how far-reaching an act of love will actually go.

[8:55] And I often think about this. There are people who visit our church. It's a very normal thing that happens. There are people, though, that come in our doors and love Christ and are seeking Him and are believers.

[9:08] And they're here for one or two weeks. And then we never see them again. And I'm not saying that every single person you see that you don't know is an angel. That's not what I'm saying. But this is the motivation he supplies for us.

[9:21] Angels are God's messengers that are checking in and observing things. And so he says, Some have entertained angels without knowing it, unawares. And this is the motivation he supplies for showing hospitality.

[9:35] And so we need to show hospitality for the glory of God and because we love other people and we also don't know exactly how far-reaching an act of kindness will go, what will be.

[9:46] And verse 3 says, Remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them and those who are mistreated since you also are in the body. And again, this church was persecuted.

[9:58] They're being attacked for their faith in Christ. Many of them had been put in prison. And it would be tempting or even easy to forget about people who were in prison. They're out of your sight.

[10:09] You don't have a phone to text them. They're just locked up. It would be easy to forget about them. It would also be tempting to withdraw from them because associating with a prisoner is dangerous.

[10:20] And so it would be easy to neglect those who are in prison. It would be easy to forget about them and not show them the love and care that they need. And he says, Since you also are in the body.

[10:34] And I think the word body here has a couple of meanings. One, we're in the body of the church. The church is called Christ's body. And so Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 that when one member of the body suffers, all suffer together.

[10:48] And then also these people were being tortured or beaten. So he's saying, Remember, you know what it feels like to be hungry. You know what it feels like to be in pain. You also are living in the body.

[11:01] And so take care of them. Treat them as if you would wish they would treat you if you were in prison. It says verse 4, Let marriage be held in honor among all.

[11:14] And let the marriage bed be undefiled. For God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Let marriage be held in honor among all.

[11:28] We as Christ's people should be known as those who honor and protect marriage. It's a sacred institution created by God between one man and one woman as it intended to be a covenant for life.

[11:44] And so we must hold to that. We must defend that wherever the world attacks it, whether it's along the lines of gender or what marriage is or how long a marriage should last. We must stick with what the Bible says.

[11:56] We must be known as those who honor marriage. God honors marriage. God created marriage. And so no one has a right to dishonor it. No one has a right to change what marriage is.

[12:09] No one can say it's actually between two men or two women or a transgender and a man or whatever combination they come up with. God is the one who made marriage. He is the one who created it.

[12:20] We must stick with it and be known as those who honor marriage. He says not just let marriage itself as an institution be held in honor, but let the marriage bed be undefiled.

[12:36] And here he has sexual immorality in mind, especially based on what he says next when he says, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

[12:48] And if you notice here, those two categories, the sexually immoral and adulterous, apply to both married and unmarried people. In order for something to be adultery, one party involved has to be married and cheating on their spouse.

[13:04] But sexual immorality applies to anyone regardless of what they're doing. And so whether you're married or unmarried, we must be sexually pure. And according to the Bible, sex and sexual activity belong in marriage and nowhere else.

[13:21] And our culture will lie to you about this. Our culture will put pressure on you about this and tempt you to go against what God's word says. But anything outside of that is an attack and a dishonor and a defilement of marriage.

[13:39] So let the marriage bed be undefiled. For God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. And if that calls you out, if that describes something you're doing, repent.

[13:52] Turn to the Lord. Ask him for forgiveness. And don't just think that this is a one-time battle. This is something we must protect and must defend against for all of our lives.

[14:06] And so when Lacey and I grew up in student ministry, it was called purity culture. It was like a big thing. Like every guy's weekend or girl's weekend was like about purity, which there are worse things to talk about.

[14:17] But that's all we would ever talk about. And the big push was like, you've got to be pure until your wedding day. It's like, okay, so then after that, it's just like whatever goes. It's like there's purity, but that has to be a way of life until death.

[14:32] And so our goal is not just to be pure until marriage. Our goal is to be pure until we die. And this is a constant battle we have to fight. Get friends to help you. Get your parents to help you.

[14:45] We must hold marriage in honor and we must keep the marriage bed undefiled because God is going to judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. You cannot live against the grain of the maker of this universe and escape the consequences.

[15:02] Proverbs 6 talks a lot about sexual immorality and in verses 27 and 28, it says, can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and not his feet be scorched?

[15:16] There are consequences to our sin. And so we must be aware of that and live in light of that. Verse 5 says, keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

[15:36] So we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? And verses 5 and 6 are really a rephrasing of the 10th commandment.

[15:47] The 10th commandment is you shall not covet. You shall not lust after or desire something that someone else has. You should be content. And so contentment is the opposite of jealousy or that covetousness described in the 10th commandment.

[16:02] So keep your life free from the love of money. And this is hard for us as Americans. I love capitalism.

[16:13] Don't get me wrong. It helps, it makes sure there's a reward for hard labor. But our entire economy is built off of you having what you want and wanting what you don't have.

[16:27] And so if you are covetous, if you are not content, there are endless opportunities for you to spend your money on whatever. And if you're spending your money on whatever, you're going to want more and more money so you can keep buying and keep purchasing.

[16:41] Our culture is built on a love of money. I remember when I was a kid, I was probably five or six, I was watching a baseball game or something on TV and there's a commercial that came on and there was this magical place where you could walk in with very little money, play a couple games, and come out with lots of money.

[17:00] I was like, what? Like, why would we not do that? And so I literally get up and go into the other room and I'm like, mom, there's this place, you can play games, you don't have to have a lot of money to go there, but you'll get a lot of money if you win.

[17:12] And my mom's like, that's called a casino. We don't go there. And I thought it was a good idea when I was five, but I grew up and realized that that's not a good investment of time or money. But this desire for money can ruin our lives.

[17:30] It can cause us to not trust the Lord. Just keep your life free from the love of money. Money itself is not the issue.

[17:43] It's a love for money that is sinful. And so some of you have a lot of money. Some of you don't. The issue is not money or a lack of it, but your attitude towards it.

[17:58] And so I don't want you to read this or read other phrases like this in the Bible and think, oh man, rich people are the worst. Because there are poor people that are very covetous, very desirous of more money, love money very much.

[18:11] And so the issue is not money itself, but your attitude towards it. 1 Timothy 6.10 says, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.

[18:22] Ecclesiastes 5.10 says, whoever loves money will not be satisfied with money. Luke 12.15 says, one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

[18:33] We cannot love money. It will not satisfy. It's a good servant. It's a horrible God. And it will always leave you frustrated and lacking. And he doesn't just call us to avoid the love of money, but also to positively be content with what you have.

[18:54] Not only should we just not love money, we need to be joyful about what the Lord has given us. And so in our world, in our life, we're tempted to have a bigger house or a nicer car or better clothes or a newer phone, but God has called us to be content, to be joyful with what he's already given us.

[19:18] And he quotes the Old Testament from Joshua 1. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And that was said to the Israelites as they were going in to conquer the promised land.

[19:31] They were going to encounter nations far more numerous than they were, far richer than they were. They were going to encounter giants. They were going to encounter militaries that were far more advanced than they were.

[19:42] And the Lord says, I will be with you. And then he quotes from Psalm 118. So we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear.

[19:53] What can man do to me? We can lose everything that we have and we will still have the Lord. Are we content? Are we free from the love of money?

[20:05] Are we free from the love of stuff? So here are three ways to be content. Three ways to make sure you're fighting for content.

[20:15] commitment in your own heart. And they all revolve around who God is. We need to recognize God's goodness. Recognize God's goodness.

[20:28] And I think it would be a helpful practice even if you got home tonight and just wrote things down that God has been good to you with. Why should you be thankful to God? What are some examples of ways that he has been good to you?

[20:41] And not just good to you, but he is goodness itself. He is all good all the time. So we need to recognize that he is good regardless of our circumstances.

[20:53] Secondly, we need to remember that God is omniscient. That means all-knowing. God is omniscient. God is omniscient. He knows you.

[21:05] He knows your circumstances. He knows what's going on in your life. God encourages us to pray to him with our needs, but the Bible also tells us that even before we utter a word of that prayer, he knows exactly what we need before we ask.

[21:23] He knows exactly what you need, and he will provide that for you. He'll provide what you need. Maybe not everything you want, but certainly everything you need.

[21:36] And thirdly, God is sovereign. God is sovereign. That means he's in control. He has a plan. And the Lord does not have the same plan for all of us.

[21:50] And so it's possible that you could waste your entire life trying to get rich and never be successful. The Lord has a plan for each of us, and it suits us best if we just abide in that plan.

[22:03] I'm not saying don't work hard. I'm not saying don't make wise decisions, but in order to be content, we have to recognize that God is sovereign over every detail of our lives. And so to be ungrateful or discontent is to be frustrated with God himself and what he's provided.

[22:20] Okay, so that's love and money. Secondly, we see worship outside the camp. Worship outside the camp in verses 7 through 16. He starts off in verse 7, Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.

[22:36] Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Now he says remember your leaders. Why doesn't he say honor them? Why doesn't he say submit to them or follow them or respect them?

[22:51] Well, it seems like these leaders have died. And there's persecution going on. It's possible that these leaders have been killed and made martyrs. It's possible that these leaders were old and have now passed away, but regardless, they're called to remember those who have led them.

[23:08] And this is a good practice for us. Who in your life has spoken the word of God to you? Who led you to Christ if you're a believer? Think about those things. Remember those who went before us and taught us the word.

[23:23] And not just consider their teaching, but consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Spiritual leadership means living your life before people and calling them to imitate you as you follow Christ.

[23:36] So we should remember leaders not just because of their teaching, but also the way they lived their life. Verse 8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

[23:50] Our outward circumstances are always changing. We cannot keep up with anything going on in the world because it's just constantly changing very quickly.

[24:01] I just noticed Matthew McDougal doesn't have a sling on anymore. So change. We cannot keep up with all of the details around us that are constantly changing. Teachers and pastors will come and go.

[24:14] Situations around us will change. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Jesus will never change.

[24:25] Jesus will always be faithful. And here's a tie to the beginning of the book. If you remember chapter 1 verse 12, speaking of Christ, it says, you are the same and your years will have no ends.

[24:38] This means that Jesus is God. Regardless of what change happens around us or in our church or in the school you go to or at your work, Jesus is the same.

[24:50] He will never change. And because Christ never changes, Christianity never changes. Christian teaching never changes. There will never be anything that improves Christianity.

[25:04] There will never be a new way to please Christ. He is the same. Therefore, our faith is always the same. And so we should not be led astray by new teachings or teachings that are contrary to what we've learned from Scripture or from the leaders who have gone before us.

[25:23] The message of Jesus is unchanging because Jesus himself never changes. And he goes on to address some of these things in verse 9. Do not be led astray by diverse and strange teachings taught presumably by false teachers.

[25:39] For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them. So these diverse and strange teachings were things they'd been confronted with.

[25:53] Likely temptations go back to the Mosaic covenant. Temptations go back to the Old Testament way of life and the law and the sacrifices offered in the temple by the hands of priests. But notice the distinction here.

[26:06] He makes a distinction between grace and food. It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods. It seems odd.

[26:18] We've seen distinctions made in the Bible between grace and works, between grace and the law. But between grace and food.

[26:31] And here, I think what he's saying is that by wanting to go back to the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, by wanting to go back to these sacrifices and obeying these dietary restrictions and laws, you are walking away from grace.

[26:48] You're walking away from Christ. Christ. And we live by grace. We are strengthened by grace, not by foods.

[26:59] Now, physically, food does strengthen you if you eat the good stuff. But spiritually, food has no bearing on our standing before Christ.

[27:10] Some of you remember this quote, but I was telling my dad one summer when I was in middle school, I was like, Dad, I want to get jacked. Get me yoked. And he said, if you want to get big in the gym, you got to get big in the kitchen.

[27:23] Iconic quote. That's true physically. Spiritually, we are strengthened by grace and not by food. Romans 14, 17 says, the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

[27:41] And so it's not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit. And so while we may not be tempted to go back to the old covenant, don't also, just practical wisdom, don't get caught up in like diet fads and scams and stuff.

[27:57] Man does not live by bread alone, but by the word that comes from the mouth of God. That's how we're strengthened. I go to Crunch Fitness with my dad in the mornings and one morning we walked out in the summer and there was like this sparkly new Herbalife car.

[28:15] You know what Herbalife is? It's like supplements and healthy stuff. I don't mess with it, but it was a brand new Herbalife car. It had Herbalife 24 sticker on the side.

[28:27] It was like diet, skin care, weight, like all this stuff, everything. And it was parked in the handicap spot. And that is just a picture. You are not in control of your life.

[28:39] You can eat all the vegetables in the world. You cannot guarantee that you'll live to 120. You probably won't. So enjoy life a little bit. You're not strengthened by food, but by grace.

[28:51] Praise the Lord. Okay. So take care of yourself. Don't be consumed with food. Verse 10. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

[29:05] He's saying we have access to food that the priests can't. We have access to Christ. We have free access to Christ through his death and the priests in the earthly tabernacle do not have access to him.

[29:22] For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.

[29:34] And so these animals they'd be brought into the temple, they'd be killed, their blood would be drained, the meat and the fat would be taken out and burned and offered on the altar and what would happen to the rest?

[29:48] It would be taken outside the gates and burned. It was considered unclean, it would stain spiritually speaking and ceremonially speaking the priests and so they had to take it outside the camp in order to burn it.

[30:04] And he draws a connection between that sacrifice and what Jesus offered, verse 12. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

[30:16] Jesus at his death was marched outside the city carrying his cross, walking out of these gates in order to be killed just like these animals were disposed of under the old covenant.

[30:29] But Jesus' death was different. His death actually sanctified the people through his blood. It actually purchased our holiness and made us holy.

[30:41] Verse 13, Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach that he endured. These Hebrew Christians were sometimes scared to associate with Christ.

[30:51] They were sometimes ashamed to claim the name of Christ because they didn't want to suffer. They didn't want all of the reproach and all of the baggage that came with claiming Christ. And the author of Hebrews is saying, that's Christianity.

[31:05] You're going to be mocked. You're going to be hated. You're going to be humiliated because of your faith in Christ. But let us go to him. Let us identify with him outside the camp.

[31:15] Let us be expelled. Let us be kicked out of our society because this is where Christ was. This is the reproach and the hatred he endured from sinners.

[31:26] Let us endure the same kinds of things. 2 Timothy 3.12 says, everyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

[31:40] So let us go to him. Let us not be ashamed of Christ. And the motivation he gives is in verse 14, for here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

[31:55] We anticipate heaven. We look forward to that everlasting city where every amount of suffering will be redeemed. Our pain will be seen to not be without purpose, but Christ being formed in us through our suffering on that day.

[32:10] We look forward to that city like Abraham did in chapter 11, like was described in chapter 12, verse 22, that heavenly Jerusalem, the Zion of heaven.

[32:23] And as believers, we no longer offer up animal sacrifices, but there are still sacrifices to be made. We must endure through temptation. We must renounce any reputation we want to have.

[32:33] We must bear his reproach, but also there's the sacrifice of worship in verse 15. Through him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

[32:48] He's saying, you guys want to offer sacrifices? Acknowledge Christ with your lips. Claim him with your mouth. Say, I belong to Jesus. Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

[32:59] That is an acceptable sacrifice in the eyes of God. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

[33:09] So not only acknowledging Christ with your lips, but doing good to others and sharing what you have. Those sacrifices please the Lord. And notice that all of this in verse 15 is through him, through Christ.

[33:25] The only way we can approach the Father is through Christ and his death and resurrection. Number three, follow the leaders.

[33:37] Follow the leaders. This is in verses 17 through 19. It says, Obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account.

[33:52] Let them do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you. Obey your leaders and submit to them. So who are the leaders? The leaders in this situation are pastors.

[34:06] Why this command? Why submit to the pastors? Not because we're smarter or better educated or cooler, certainly not cooler, but because we are keeping watch over your souls and based on that we will give an account to God for you.

[34:29] We're seeking to shepherd you towards Christ knowing that one day we will stand before him and give an account for everything we said and did. We are under the authority of Christ.

[34:44] Now this doesn't mean in everything. This doesn't mean I can tell you who you should or shouldn't date. Well you shouldn't date an unbeliever but beyond that I can't tell you the details of your life. I can't tell you what store to go to or where to live.

[34:56] I don't have authority over you. So what is this saying? This is saying so far as the pastors of your church are preaching the word obedience to those words is obedience to Christ because leaders and pastors are really just mouthpieces are speakers for the word of God and as long as they're speaking the word of God obedience and submission to that teaching is compliance with Christ.

[35:29] And do this let them do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you. He's saying it's to your advantage to help the pastors of your church work with joy and not groaning.

[35:43] In verse 18 he says pray for us for we are sure that we have a clear conscience desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

[35:58] And it's interesting because we have not seen the author speak in the first person a whole lot in this letter. He hasn't said I or we very much and so this conclusion is intensely personal as he wraps up this letter.

[36:11] And fourthly we get the benediction the benediction or the blessing. And this is a prayer a two verse prayer and it may be the most beautiful prayer ever spoken by a Christian.

[36:25] It says now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant equip you with everything good that you may do his will working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever.

[36:46] Amen. He prays to the God of peace. Now how do we reconcile this with other things we've read in this letter? If you just look at verse 29 of chapter 12 our God is a consuming fire.

[37:00] How can that same God be called the God of peace? How in the world can he be the one how can he be the source of peace and tranquility if he is a consuming fire?

[37:13] The only way both of these can be true is because of Jesus. Romans 5 1 says therefore since we've been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[37:28] Because Jesus stood in the gap for his people because he bore this wrath this fiery wrath of God we can call God the God of peace. The God who is the source of all peace and tranquility and it comes through faith in Jesus Christ the great shepherd of the sheep the good shepherd of Psalm 23 by the blood of his eternal covenant and it's God who's working in us that which is pleasing in his sight.

[37:56] And of all the things he could mention about Jesus here he mentions the resurrection that is essential to our faith it's central to what we believe. And he calls it the eternal covenant there is no other covenant coming there's not a new new covenant that's coming down the line this is the final word that the father has to his people which is where he started the letter saying that in these last days he's spoken to us through his son.

[38:24] And lastly number five bear with the word bear with the word he says I appeal to you brothers bear with my word of exhortation that's a phrase used to describe sermons for I've written to you briefly and this letter is dense many of us haven't written papers that are as long as this letter so how can he call it brief well as long as as dense as it is it's not very long and imagine what this letter would look like if he was able to explore everything that he wanted to he's calling this letter brief because he just touches on the things he thinks are most important he says you should know that our brother Timothy has been released from prison presumably with whom I shall see you if he comes soon greet all your leaders and all the saints those who come from Italy send you greetings grace be with all of you grace be with all of you what a perfect ending to this letter grace is the foundation of

[39:25] Christianity the whole letter has been established and has been establishing that grace is the foundation of our relationship with God through Christ we need grace to be saved we need grace to have faith we need grace to endure to the end grace be with all of us and the author's point in all of this letter so we'd see that Jesus is over everything Jesus is greater than everything and that by seeing that truth by seeing that portrayed on the pages of this letter it will help us to endure it's the grace of God that strengthens a person and to conclude I want to return our thoughts to verses 20 and 21 Jesus has risen again he died and rose again and it's through him that the father will equip us for every good work Jesus is over everything and I want to conclude by reading a quote it's a little bit longer which I rarely do but this is so worth our time

[40:32] Jesus Christ came from the bosom of the father to the bosom of Mary he became the son of man that we might become sons of God he had no wealth or influence and had neither training nor education in the world schools in infancy he startled the king in boyhood he puzzled the learned theologians in manhood he ruled the course of nature he walked upon the waves and hushed the sea to sleep he healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for his services he never wrote a book and yet all the libraries of the world could not hold the books about him he never wrote a song yet he has supplied the theme for more songs than all songwriters together even T Swift that's not the quote that was added he never started a college yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as he has this Jesus Christ is the harmonizer of all discords and the healer of all diseases throughout history great men have come and gone yet he lives on

[41:36] Herod could not kill him Satan could not seduce him death could not destroy him and the grave could not hold him it is this Christ the book of Hebrews presents and it's this Christ through whom the father is working in us that which is pleasing in his sight and may it be so let me pray for us our father we thank you once again for your word help us never take it for granted and help us to live by chapter 13 knowing that it's Christ in us that's the hope of glory knowing that it's through him that you are working in us to do your will father I pray for all of us as a group and for these students in particular as they're constantly barraged by the temptations of this world that they would endure to the end saying that Jesus is greater Jesus has better promises

[42:37]  Jesus has greater rewards than this world could ever offer help us to see the glory of Christ in this world and in your word father and preserve us till the end it's in Christ's name we pray amen to he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he fathers he fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers fathers Five