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Good evening and welcome to Sunday night Bible study with Pastor Josiah Shipley of Wynton Baptist Church today. We continue our study on Hebrews chapter 13. This is part two. We left off on verse 6. So we are going to start on verse 7 today.
Read with me the Word of God. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 7 remember your leaders. Those who spoke to you the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever.
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar From which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priests as a sacrifice. For sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
Therefore let us go outside the camp with them and bear their approach in yard. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.
That is the fruit of lips that acknowledges name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch of your souls of those who will give an account.
Let them do this with joy and not with groaning. For that would be of no advantage to you. We'll stop there and we'll read the end a little while. All right, let's uh, let's look back at verse 7. Remember your leaders.
So these are the leaders in the church. We'll call them the pastors. Those who spoke the Word of God to you now listen church. Consider the outcome of their way of life. Some of your bibles say carefully observe that word literally means to look twice.
So and then imitate their faith. So in other words You should not take what anyone who calls himself a pastor or a preacher says as gospel truth. It's not found in the Word of God. Not even me. It says carefully observe consider do a double take on their way of life.
So not just what they say, but how they live and if how they live. Does not coincide what this says you are not to imitate their faith but as You consider the outcome of their way of life how they live if it's in accordance with Scripture you are to imitate their faith.
Pastors leaders we should all Be able to say first Corinthians 11 1 follow me for I'm following Christ. But really all leaders should be able to say that. It's a tall order pastors of congregations. Older men to younger men.
Older women to younger women as Titus tells us parents to children husbands to wives you should be able to say Follow me for I'm following Jesus. You can literally step in My footprints and you'll be on the right track because I am just stepping in the footprints of Jesus.
You could just follow me and that should be as if you're following Christ because I'm that closely associated in my sanctification of obeying Jesus. That's a tall order, isn't it? That's what the writer of Hebrews is telling us as leaders in the church to be.
People are to consider our way of life examine it and in that imitate our faith. You know why they can do that because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. We don't need a new vision or a new gospel.
If someone preaches to you, this is Galatians chapter 1. Paul says. If someone preaches to you a gospel different Than the real gospel. He's to be damned cursed anathema. Um. That's how serious what we're talking about here what we're playing around with is not just anything this is the gospel.
This is the Word of God. So a leader of the church Should be able to have people carefully examine his life. And through that examination they should be able to imitate their faith. Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever.
Which should give the people in the congregation those listening the tools. They need to examine if what he's saying is true because it's from the Word of God, which won't change. Don't be led away by diverse and Strange teachings.
We don't need more diversity in the gospel. We just need the gospel. Don't be led away by diverse or strange teachings. Where it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them remember.
And I hope I said this last week. The writer of Hebrews is talking to a group of people Who still think the Old Covenant is the way of salvation? The Old Covenant was a covenant. God entered with his people Israel to teach them to obey.
Okay. The moral law of that covenant is still binding to us Christians today. Now the ceremonial and the civil not in the same way. Those have been fulfilled as mean they've been gone away with they've been filled up.
Just like this cup if I fill it up doesn't mean it's gone away. I mean, it's full. We don't need to add anything else to it. But my point being here is that The heart should be strengthened by grace not by food following the letter of the law.
Is not what grants you salvation you obey as a result of a changed life. The bodies of those animals that are brought to the holy place by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the Camp so think about the Mosaic Covenant.
The priest goes outside the camp think of the tent of meaning where Moses and Aaron rat that the the first tabernacle in that sense the the Mobile tent but a very elaborate one made of a lot of gold and stuff.
They entered that place outside the camp to sacrifice the animals in the same way Jesus Was not in the city limits. They crucified him outside the camp so the sacrifice Was a blood sacrifice. What we're called to do is go outside the camp.
Go outside the camp as Jesus did and on the altar offer a sacrifice of praise continually. The book of Romans calls it a living sacrifice because we didn't kill anything except our flesh. But think about this for a minute.
We're to go outside the camp, what does that mean? Ladies and gentlemen, if you looked if you look and talk and sound just like the world. You're not outside the camp. Now. I don't mean physically go outside the camp like some of our armist brethren do.
I don't mean physically go outside the camp. I Mean spiritually. I mean the way you walk the way you live the way you talk Should be different than the rest of the world. If it's not you haven't gone outside the camp.
There should be a marked difference the New Testament Lays this out very clearly. It should be a marked difference between how you live and how everyone else lives. You should speak the name of Jesus absolutely, but if your actions don't back it up, it's meaningless.
Let your light so shine before men. They can see your good works before you ever said anything. They can see your good works and glorify your father that's in heaven. So we go outside the camp outside of this worldly system and we offer a continual sacrifice.
So not a lamb our own lives. Ourselves a continual sacrifice of praise. And what is that sacrifice of praise now? How loud you sing or how high you raise your hands? It's how much you obey. That's your sacrifice.
That's your obedience. Romans 12 1 and 2. I beg you brothers by the mercies of God. You present your bodies as a living sacrifice not a dead one a living sacrifice holy and acceptable. This is your reasonable service.
This is your spiritual worship. Don't be conformed to this world. We're outside the camp member be Transformed by the renewing of your mind so you can discern. Where's a good pleasing and perfect will of God you can discern that I don't know what the will of God is for my life.
The Bible says you can discern it. First off it's so bad. That's what the Bible says. This is the will of God that you abstain from sexual morality blown it to obey. But The more you obey the more you follow God search after him.
The more you can discern was a good perfect pleasing will of God. We read on. Therefore let us go outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.
That is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Don't neglect to good and to share with what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Yeah, that's perfect. Such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
You understand that your obedience and your sacrifice to God pleases him. It pleases him actually pleases him so again. We have our leaders Pastors and you're to obey them and imitate their faith if. What they say lines up with what God has said it says carefully observe their lives first.
Consider the outcome of their lives. Do a double-take. Remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever and then imitate their faith. I'll be led away by diverse and strange teachings.
When someone listens me teach I expect them to Weigh it with what the Bible says. See if it comes up short or if it is what the Bible teaches. For if it's just the doctrine of Josiah, I don't want anyone including myself to follow it.
It's good for the heart to be strengthened by grace. What is grace? Grace is getting something good that you don't deserve. Without grace, we cannot please God. Hebrews says without faith, it's impossible to please God, but even that faith requires grace.
Because no one seeking God or their own let the heart be strengthened by grace that God that God Loves and died for you so that you can live for him and offer a continual sacrifice of ways praise. Excuse me.
Last point and we're gonna end on verse 16 and we'll pick up verse 17 next week. Don't neglect to do good and share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Know you sacrifice to God. By obeying him what's the chief commandment he gave us.
Love the Lord your God with our hearts all mine the strength and love your neighbor your fellow journeyman as yourself. We said this the other week when Jesus marked the righteous from the unrighteous the sheep from the goats he said the righteous.
Visited him when he was sick gave him food gave him drink. And I said Jesus when did we ever do any of these things for you? And he said if you've done it for each other you've done it to me. Remember the world will know that we are his disciples by the way.
We love each other not even by how we love the world. That's not what the text says. It says the world will know that we are his disciples by the way, we love each other. The world can tell a real Christian from a fake based on how we love each other.
And I know that's true. I've seen. Someone looks at suppose it Christians who don't love each other and says I don't want any part of that. Some Christians on the outside I mean some Unbelievers on the outside look in and see Christians actually loving each other and say there's something different about this place.
Something different the sacrifice of praise we bring is not just in our singing voices. It's obeying God and the best way we show God we love him and obey God is by loving each other. We can love God by loving each other by loving each other.
Let us not neglect you to good and share what you have such sacrifices are pleasing to God. If you want to obey God service people. That's what the whole thing about the body of Christ is. If you want to obey God serve his people and we all aren't gonna serve the same way figure it out some way.
It can be a phone call or a text. Serve his people reach out build up the body. That's how you serve and love God. Alright next week. We'll continue on with verse 17. I Love you guys very much, and I hope this is some benefit to you.
Bye.