Another Perseverance

Deuteronomy 31: God’s Presence and Courage for Israel

All right, well if you please stand for the reading of God's Word. The Old Testament reading today is Deuteronomy 31 1 through 8 and Just as a note when a case it's unfamiliar when I read the Old Testament I I say Yahweh where the Bible says Yahweh and that's where it usually says Lord in your Bible.

So if it sounds different than what you're looking at, that's why. So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel and he said to them I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in.

Yahweh has said to me you shall not go over this Jordan. Yahweh your God himself will go over before you he will destroy these nations before you so that you shall dispossess them and Joshua will go over at your head as Yahweh has spoken and Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og the kings of the Emorites and to their land when he destroyed them and Yahweh will give them over to you and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you.

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them for it is Yahweh your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel be strong and courageous for you shall go with this people into the land that Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them and You shall put them in possession of it.

It is Yahweh who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

1 Peter 4: Love, Hospitality, and Steadfast Service

New Testament reading today's in 1st Peter chapter 4 verses 7 through 11. The end of all things is at hand therefore be self-controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all keep loving one another earnestly since love corners a multitude of sins.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling as each has received a gift. Use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's buried grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God's Supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to him be long glory and dominion.

Forever and ever. Amen may be seated. If you would take your Bibles this morning. Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 13. You follow as I read.

This chapter.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them and those who are mistreated.

Since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have.

For he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? 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 and 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 to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For the 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 acknowledge his 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 over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this. Do this with joy and not groaning for that would be of no advantage to you.

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. 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. Amen.

I appeal to you brothers. Bear with my word of exhortation for I've written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released with whom I shall see. 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. Let's pray Lord God. We come now to your word where your voice is.

Heard.

We pray now that you would open our hearts to the voice of our Father. That we might live.

Rightly.

Before men and before you. Please open the text of Scripture to us now that we may understand it and that we may obey it. God help us now. We pray in Jesus name. Amen, what is this? What is this? After these soaring truths about Jesus as a superior being even to the angels as a superior revelation as Superior to all the high priests that ever existed as the guarantor of a new better a new and better covenant.

After hard-hitting warnings shouting at us that there's no hope if we abandon Jesus after an eloquent exposition of the faith that powers perseverance you find a series of what appears to be trivial trifling admonitions.

Love one another be hospitable. Be careful of illicit sex. Don't get greedy. Listen to your pastors. Be generous in your giving and sing on Sunday. What is this? So you may be you may be tempted to think here's a Our Hebrew pastor just adding a collection of rules.

So you'll be good church members. Is that what's going on here? Well, that's really not the case at all. This epilogue to the book of Hebrews fits with the with the rest of the letter and is a vital part of it.

Pursuing and holding fast to Jesus should make us a distinct community of all the communities in the world and that ought to be reflected in what we see here in these verses a community that exemplifies love and purity worship and allegiance to the messengers who bring you the Word of God.

A Community that showcases people who love Jesus so much that they're willing to suffer for him. And as the community of Jesus disciples submits to these directives they actually strengthen one another to persevere in the faith to strengthen one another so they don't give up and they don't give in and they don't abandon Jesus.

All these Are intended to produce the very perseverance that this book is all about. So I want to begin exploring these distinctives and we'll start with the first six verses. Let's look at them again.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them and those who are mistreated.

Since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have.

For he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? So here's what he tells us in these six verses first of all persevere in love.

Second of all persevere in purity persevere in love. Persevere in purity. All right, the first three verses persevere in love. Persevering in love means letting brotherly love continue. Those who follow Jesus love one another like brothers and sisters.

They have a deep affection for one another. Those who follow Jesus have a deep affection for one another. Like brothers and sisters and he says don't let anything interfere with that not even persecution not even hardship.

Don't let any of that interfere with your brotherly love. Let that continue. Let that deep affection continue and grow. Now we know how that that works. I hope you know how that works when I was a kid.

We loved one another. I have a younger brother and an older sister right and we loved one another because our bonds grew as we lived life together. We experienced our tonsils taken out together. My brother and I both had him taken out together.

Mine were bad his wasn't they said let's take them both. Those are back in the days when you know tonsils. We're all gonna come out anyway, so. They took mine out and they said well might as well take Andy's out while we're at it.

I mean we went to we went to the hospital together. We were in bed. Beds together. We had our tonsils taken out together. We walked to school together. We stood against the world together. Hey, listen, you make fun of my sister.

You got her brothers to deal with right? We were concerned about each other. If my brother was down. I wanted to know what his problem was. What's wrong?

Right, I.

See that in my own children, especially. I see that in my own children. Especially when someone from the outside wants to become part of our family. Right. I'm just the door to what I call the court of the siblings.

Okay, if you want to marry someone in our family, you got to go through the court of the siblings. It's a grueling trial trying to get the approval of brothers and sisters. But that grows out of a love they have for one another and they're concerned that whoever Gets married in our family is going to have a good and a happy and a joyful marriage.

They're concerned about that. And by the way, once the in-laws come in, which is no easy task. Once they're in they have the same Allegiance and the same loyalty and the same love but as all the others in the family do.

That's what he's talking about here. He's talking about this kind of affection and loyalty that belongs to us as brothers and sisters in Christ.

By the way.

That is where we got the habit of calling one another brothers and sisters because of passages like this. Let brotherly love continue. Now this is the kind of love that ought to distinguish this community from all the other communities of the world.

We ought to be known for our deep affection and loyalty to one another. That we will stand by one another that we will never give up on one another. We belong to each other as family that ought to distinguish us up Distinguish us and by the way as you cultivate that brotherly love you will strengthen one another's Resolve to persevere in the faith.

You see that you will not give up. You will not give in you will not abandon Jesus because you follow him together. We are together as we follow Jesus. We don't follow Jesus alone. We follow Jesus together and because you love one another when one weakens when one in the of the family weakens you're going to come alongside and like a brother help and Strengthen and encourage him.

You're gonna put your arm around your brother and you're gonna say come on we can do this together. That is going to strengthen our resolve to persevere in our faith. He goes on in verse 2 persevere in love you persevere in love by practicing hospitality.

Now the term hospitality literally means love of strangers and it was used primarily about the care you would show traveling Christians and traveling Christian leaders as they would move about see the ends of that day in that time period were Disreputable and dangerous that you didn't want to stay in a public inn and so Christians became known as those who would take people in taking other brothers and sisters in Christ who were traveling and take them in and be Hospitable and that was really important for believers then it's important today.

Hospitality is important for caring for brothers and sisters in your home in Your home it means sharing meals with them or just regular times together. You know what I Can tell you that because of regular times of young people being in our home.

I have spiritual children in this congregation That actually are almost like My own kids In some fashion, but I have spiritual children children in the faith because of that it may mean offering Temporary housing to someone who's in need and sometimes over an extended period of time paul savage comes to mind.

When I say this I remember at one point as we were we were trying to help someone who was struggling with addiction. Paul Took the brunt of that and had that person stay in his house as he Detoxed and everything else that went with it and kept guard on him and said give me your wallet.

Give me your phone. We're gonna help you here. Right. I can remember that clearly and that wasn't the only person he did that with. Means simply such things as housing the Bible conference speaker that we have here every year.

It's just hard for you because I usually get to jump on that but anyway Just things simply like that. We have hospitality says you have no idea what your hospitality is going to involve. Now he talks about here about entertaining for some have entertained angels unawares.

Now that does not necessarily mean that you will house an angel who suddenly Disappears after you fed him breakfast and he walks out the door. Okay, like oh we had an angel here tonight. That's not what he's driving at.

He's making reference to Abraham in Genesis 18. If you want to look back there He's making a reference to this story from the Old Testament Genesis 18 let's just look at verses the first eight verses and.

The.

You want to follow Michael's practice and Yahuwah? That's his name. Appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. Him is Abraham here to the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the door of his tent In the heat of the day.

He lifted up his eyes and looked and behold three men were standing in front of him when he saw them. He ran From the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said Oh Lord If I have found favor in your sight do not pass by your servant.

Let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. Well, I bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves and after that you may pass on Since you have come to your servant.

So they said do as you said and Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said quick. Three seals of fine flour knead it and make cakes. And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf tender and good and gave It to a young man who prepared it quickly.

Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them and he stood by them Under the tree while they ate and he'd go on and one of those what happens is simply this that Moses Moses Abraham.

Abraham actually showed hospitality to two angels and the Lord himself. Who's the third and What what were they going to do? These three men then went left him and went to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. Here's the point.

You don't know who you might help and what they might accomplish. You don't know who you might help and how and what they might accomplish. When I was a youngster.

A.

Man by the name of dr. Viggo Olson came and stayed with us for a while. He was a medical doctor and he went to Bangladesh Which is a Muslim country and he established there a hospital which became the center of Christian missionary movement in that country.

He ate at our table we sat with him we talked with him and As he founded that hospital and served there he got a good foothold for the gospel ministry among Muslim people and By the way, Phil partial one of our former missionaries who is worldwide known For missions to Muslims was connected with dr. Olson when he first came there.

See, you never know what's going to happen as you show hospitality. You must and so he says cultivate the sacrificial caring for others because that's going to distinguish us from all other Communities we ought to be known as people who will just bring in others.

To care for them to help them to feed them to at least do something for them in our own home. Some of you say boy, that's really uncomfortable. Tell me about that. Right. I know what that's like. It is hard.

It is hard, but you don't know what's going to happen as a result and that ought to distinguish us. We're willing to take in people. We're willing to feed them. We're willing to do those things in our homes.

And by the way when you cultivate Hospitality you encourage others to finish the race to persevere in the faith. Hospitality is going to encourage others to persevere. You say how well I think of those.

Think of those who might sit around your table. I think of dr. Olson for one. You know what? He faced trials and tribulations that I'll never face. And yet here's an example. I know his life. He can do it.

I can do it you end up listen. I End up having heroes sitting at your table. People who've gone before and show you how to persevere. That's what comes from hospitality and you sit there By sitting with and providing for another brother or sister.

You also encourage them to stay faithful to.

Christ.

You know what when someone's in trouble and they need a place to stay.

And.

No one steps up. Do you think they're gonna be more likely or less likely to continue in their walk with Jesus? What do you think? It's important. For our perseverance. Here's the last thing he says about persevering in love.

Persevering in love means identifying with the persecuted. Now you should identify with them since you also are in the body. You might think this is a reference to the body of Christ. I don't believe.

It is because he just doesn't use that terminology anywhere in this epistle. He's talking about you're also in your own physical body. This is rather you can identify with and sympathize with those so cruelly treated because you also live in a body.

You also know what physical hardships are like, you know, what pain is like.

You know.

What others are going through and you want to alleviate that pain and that means also you're equally vulnerable to the same kind of treatment. You're equally vulnerable and so what he says is you got to remember those who are in prison and remember those who are Mistreated because of their faith as though you were in prison with them remember them that are in prison and Remember those who've been mistreated as if you're in prison as if you're mistreated.

Now what he's trying to To bring across it here is to understand there's always personal risk involved when you so. Identify with people who are suffering. You'll be identified with those unhinged lunatics who have this hardline Bigoted belief system, which is how we're characterized today, aren't we?

That's how we're characterized.

Right.

You Christians.

Boy.

You're you're you're a bunch of lunatics. Today if you identify with people who espouse biblical viewpoints, you'll be ostracized. You'll be marginalized. You'll be labeled a bigot an unscientific ninny who is dangerous and divisive.

That's how we're characterized. Count on that. Now, how do we identify the people like that? Well, okay, you know. None of us are being thrown in prison because of our faith in Christ. None of us are yet in prison for that.

So what does he mean? Well, let me give you an example. The new speaker of the House of Representatives is Mike Johnson. Right. Now, I don't know Mike Johnson personally and I doubt that I'll die. I would agree with all that.

He says politically all that aside. I'm not talking politics here. Talking about a man has been elected speaker of the house who is a forthright verbal bold Evangelical. Who says the Bible is my worldview.

Who says the Bible influences all I do. Who says I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who says I believe God created the heaven and the earth. And I believe that men and women are the only ones who should be United in marriage.

No news to us. So what's the big deal? I don't know. Read the read the Article in Rolling Stone about him. He's a dangerous man. He's a dangerous man. What kind of a man like this. A man who's faithful to his wife who believes in the Bible?

This guy is dangerous or one commentator calls him he's less divine and more divisive.

Now.

Politics aside. I'm saying here's a guy a public official who is. One person played a clip in which he says I believe in the Bible and I read it. Just played that clip and the audience is supposed to go.

Oh No, what a lunatic.

Now look.

Are you willing to be called a lunatic? Are you willing to be called more divisive than divine? Are you willing to carry the same labels? That's what he's talking about here because when all that's going on We tend to fade into the background like I don't want to be.

I don't want to be called that I don't want to be ostracized. I don't want to be marginalized and everyone thinks I'm a looney tunes. We don't want that he says. That's what you've got to do. You got to be willing.

You have to be willing to be identified with those kind of people now here. It's people who are in prison. What's the problem? There's a risk involved if you go and visit if you go be a part of that person in prison.

You'll be counted as one of them and you may end up there with him. Are you willing to do that? That's what our writer is saying. You have to be willing to do that. This has to distinguish us as Christians willing to be marginalized ostracized.

To be called lunatics to be called divisive. We got to be willing to carry those labels. You know There was a writer a Roman writer by the name of Lucian who tried to ridicule the Christians when he wrote This treatise called the death of Peregrinus and he's he's almost writing Sarcastically when he says this the Christians he says left no stone unturned in their endeavor to procure Peregrinus release when this proved impossible.

They looked they looked after his wants and all other matters with untiring solicitude and devotion from earliest dawn. Old women widows. They are called and orphaned children might be seen waiting about the prison doors.

While the officers of the church by bribing the jailers were able to spend the night inside with him. Meals were brought in and they went through their sacred formulas. I Hope we can carry that label someday.

I Hope we'll be known for the same thing even though Lucian holds it up to ridicule. Oh That we would be ridiculed that way.

And.

Can you see last of all? Can you see how this would encourage the perseverance of those facing? Imprisonment ridicule and sometimes even death. The fact that you're willing to be identified with him. Do you think they'll be strengthened in their resolve?

To stay true to Jesus. I think they would. I Think they would so persevere in love. Now he goes on to say persevere in purity persevere in purity. Verses 4 through 6. Let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have for he has said I will never leave you Nor forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?

First of all, keep yourself pure from sexual immorality. He says marriage should be honored in the marriage bed undefiled. Now listen marriage is a wonderful beautiful Precious institution and you should always view it that way.

In our culture many avoid marriage. They don't want to lose their so-called Freedom, I'll lose my freedom if I get married and so we have a whole Generation of people growing up into their mid -30s with no thought of getting married.

Right, why. Because it's something to be avoided it's something to be avoided. They're single not because of Of anything happening and within providentially they're single because they don't want to get married.

They don't want it. Well, who would want to get married. Many denigrated as an instrument of oppression and needs to be eliminated altogether. I remember my father. This is one of the things I remember the most about my dad.

He would get furious about marriage jokes. He would get mad with him and I'll tell you when anybody would ever refer to a wife as a ball and chain. Right that gives you a view of marriage right there, doesn't it?

I'm married to him. It was my ball and chain. That would just make him mad and some of you are old enough to remember some of you never heard the name of Johnny Carson who was a really really famous and Entertainer.

Okay. He's a real famous entertainer who was married like three times. And he'd always be making jokes about his ex-wives and alimony and all this kind of stuff making jokes of it. And I tell you that that would just infuriate my father.

Why. Because he had the attitude that marriage is really special and a good thing. And you never ever want to denigrate it in any way marriage is an incredible gift from God. That's what he's saying here.

And he says keep the marriage bed undefiled. What he's saying is sexual union within the covenant relationship. Relationship of marriage is undefiled. Our Hebrew writer here as one as one put it our writer focuses on the priceless gem of sexual intimacy to be protected by the covenant of exclusive fidelity between a man and a woman.

The world looks at us and says when Christians talk about sex what they do is they draw a big frowny face and write no underneath it. And our writer is saying just the opposite. Sexual intimacy within marriage is something that's wonderful and good.

It's it's undefiled so he says don't defile it with sexual immorality and sexual immorality is a constant and a serious threat a Serious temptation. Notice what he says here sex experienced outside the covenant of marriage.

Any sexual relationship outside the covenant of marriage invites God's fury invites God's fury. Consistently through the New Testament. You can look at Ephesians 5 and look at Galatians 5. Look at 1st Corinthians 6.

Number of places it talks about God's Unmitigating judgment on those who are sexually immoral. So don't make any mistake. This is serious business. This is really serious. Why. Listen. Sexual immorality does indeed cause you to fall away from the faith to give up on Jesus.

Listen. The pleasure of sex is so intense. It can convince you of the lies of Satan. Sexual pleasure is so intense That it can cause you to start believing the lies of Satan. There's nothing wrong with this.

How can anything this great be that wrong? And we're talking about sexual morality outside of marriage. All right, how can this be wrong. Exercise self-control. That is way too big a price to pay and what happens is you begin to believe you're free.

When you actually are enslaved to sexual immorality that's the problem and. So as you dive deeper into illicit sexual pleasure you walk Further away from Jesus until you finally abandon him. It's serious.

Keep yourself pure from sexual immorality if you would walk with Jesus to the end. If you'd walk with him to the end. Now, let me just say something here. All right. As I've talked about marriage and sexual morality.

Right.

Divorce sexual immorality. Are not Unforgivable sins, are they? There's complete cleansing in Jesus so that none of that is on your record. None of that will ever count because in Jesus you're forgiven.

When you trust in Jesus He's paid the penalty that you owe and he gives you a clean slate. And he gives you a perfect record that God looks at. And so I want to not just hammer you with this but to say there is still hope in Christ.

The point is. The point simply is this be very careful Christian. This is serious. Marriage should be held in honor and the marriage bed undefiled. This is important for our perseverance in the faith.

Now it goes on. What's the second pure thing? He talks about keep yourself pure from greed now. Our Hebrew pastor turns our attention to financial pressures. Why. Because they're suffering financial pressures because of Jesus.

Remember look back at Hebrews 10. Remember what's going on in the lives of these folks. Hebrews 10 verse 32. But recall the former days when after you were enlightened and endured a hard struggle with sufferings.

Sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property.

Since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For when we have need of endurance. For for you have need of endurance that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Remember they're under financial pressures because of their faith. They're losing their jobs. They're being thrown in jail. Their property is being confiscated they are under severe financial pressure and When that happens, what's the temptation to seek your security in giving in rather than in the promises of God?

And by the way.

Right.

It may come that we will start losing our jobs for being Christians. That's that is that can be on the horizon unless things change. It will be possible. It is already possible I think to lose your job for being a Christian and that's when you'll be tempted to say is it worth it?

So what does he say? He says learn contentment and learn freedom from the love of money. Let me ask you is it possible that some of you here this morning are not content with what you have. I Mean right now in these days of freedom Before you actually do lose your job or before your property is confiscated.

Do you now even even in the freedom that we have are you finding it hard to be content? Are you content with the house that you dwell in? Are you content with the job that you have with the vehicle that you drive with the little on that you have to mow or.

Or are you saying to yourself? If only I had a little bit more I would be fine. Are you content? Are you even happy with what God's given you at this point? He says you've got to learn contentment. Is it possible that some of you love money or you think maybe you'd be happy with just a little bit more?

Or man, you've got to have that money you're gonna hang on to it. You're gonna get as much as you can and it's so important to you. I mean right now when you won't lose your property because you love Jesus.