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Hebrews Part 43 - Simply Christ Podcast · Simply Christ Podcast

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Alrighty, I guess we'll get started here.
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Thanks for being here again and and joining us.
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Welcome to our weekly Bible study webinar where we discuss
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God's Word and we let it transform our lives.
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For the next hour or so, we're going to go through the book
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Hebrew Hebrews and discuss some of the text that is there
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tonight. You can ask questions via the
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chat anytime you would like, type them in there or raise your
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hand digitally and we'd be happy to mute you and let you go ahead
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and speak on here. We're streaming like always to
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Facebook and YouTube as well as we produce a podcast from this
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later that'll be on our website. All the links to everything is
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there at simply Christ Ministries.
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You can check that out there. Tonight we're going to go
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through Hebrews chapter 13 starting in verse 3.
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We might I'll read starting in verse 1 to get the running start
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there, but we'll we'll bounce off of verse three first and go
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from there. So, but before we go any
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starter, I'm going any farther, I'm going to start us with a
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word of prayer. So God, we just thank you for
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tonight. Thank you that your word is true
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and just thank you that you have given us life through your Son,
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Jesus. God, we pray that tonight we
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could speak clearly, that we can understand what you meant when
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you preserve the word for us, and that we would have hearers
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whose hearts would be opened to receive the word of truth.
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And God, we just pray that your blessing would be on tonight's
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study in general in Jesus name, Amen.
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All right, so as most of you know, if you've been following
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along, this has been a really good journey.
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Kinda learned a lot of things, discovered how valuable that the
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book of Hebrews is to believers and just I, I love how it
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clarifies and simplifies, reiterate over and over again
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how that Christ is our salvation and nothing else.
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And we're still on that on that path here.
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I guess we got through the Chapter 11 where he talked about
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faith and he just got done talking about how that this
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Kingdom, this this city of the living God, the Mount Sion.
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It says in verse 22/12/22 how that is the the beating place
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where God is and that Jesus is a mediator of this, this city or
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this this new covenant and how that it's an unmovable Kingdom.
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Even if he were to shake the heaven and the earth, this this
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Kingdom will stand it it will be something that will remain after
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the entire earth has been or the entire creation has been shaken.
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This one thing would stand and now it seems to be like 13 here
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is going to be kind of a recap or an overview chapter from what
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I could read here quickly. And so I, I think it's
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interesting. It's almost like when we write a
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letter to somebody, we would finish the letter probably with
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some of the highlights or the overview.
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Can I, we, we leave a room, but the kids are that home will back
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over our shoulder like, hey, don't forget this, don't forget
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this, don't forget this. These are the three things, you
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know, all the other instructions we gave you, but this, you know,
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and that's so I think that's kind of what this looks like to
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be a little bit of a it's kind of a recap thing there.
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And so he says the first thing that he says, well, let me start
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in verse 29 of chapter 12. He says for our God is a
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consuming fire. The point that he is making
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there is that he is almighty, unchanging, ever present.
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You will not escape him. Even if you don't, even an
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atheist will not escape him, that the fact remains that you
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will, you will meet God. And it would be of course,
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vastly in our favor if we would have Jesus as our mediator, of
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course. So then he says, let brotherly
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love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain
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strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
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We talked about this a little bit how that we should always be
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open, we should always be friendly or what would we say
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like Kingdom minded, God focused, God centered, maybe
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that way. And then he says remember them
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that are in bonds as bound with them and them which suffer
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adversity as being yourselves also in the body.
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And I I think again, we're we're kind of overview.
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This is this is kind of he's talking about what a Christian
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does. This is how you are to act as
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you know, being the whole book of Hebrews so far.
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If that's true, that's you that this is what would flow out of a
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believer. And I just I just like what it
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says there. Remember that there Ari bonds
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has bound with them and then which suffer adversity as being
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yourselves also in the body. And so he wants us to realize
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that if our toe is hurting, we're going to do something
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about it. Or if your finger is hurting,
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the finger doesn't say, Oh, well, you know, at least I'm
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not, you know, another part. So if, if there's an issue, the
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whole body is going to hurt and you're going to strive together
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to fix the issue, then I can't. I kind of think that's what he
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goes kind of it says that in where is that in first
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Corinthians 12, he he goes there starting in verse 12.
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It goes there. He talks about the body, about
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what it is, how that you know, and I is not the whole body, but
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it's part of it, you know, and, and the hand and the foot and
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let's see verse 26 says, and whether one member suffer, all
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the members suffer with it or one member be honored, all the
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members rejoice with it. And I think that's the point
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that he's making here, that we should remember those that are
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in bonds as if we would be in bonds.
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And I tell you, that's a good reminder because we are very
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apartment to, if it doesn't affect us directly, we're going
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to soon forget about it. I, I, that's just human nature.
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I, I think that's something that we all struggle with.
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So to have to remember that this is a a major part of walking
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with brothers and sisters, a body, a a complete functioning
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group, you're going to have to remember those even if you
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personally are necessary fairly hurting or whatever.
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So but anyway, I know that was kind of long.
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I don't want to steal your Thunderbell, but that's what
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those were the things that were coming up at me out of that
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verse three there. Yeah.
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So it seems like, you know, before, like like you said, he
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was been talking and all these chapters up to this point, he's
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been talking about the significance of Christ, you
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know, versus the law. And he just got done describing,
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you know, that we're part of a of a bigger of a better Kingdom,
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actually Kingdom and not this earthly, you know, Tabernacle,
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like like when when we were living by the law before Jesus.
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So, but now it seems like like he's kind of switching gears
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here and he does not really switching gears, but like in
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many of the other letters in the Bible, he's like giving them a
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overview of what it looks like to be living in Christ and, and
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part of the body of Christ is that you described because.
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So the simple fact is, is that if someone that you do not know
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and have no connection with goes to prison or is in bonds, you
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know he's talking about remember them that are in bonds someone
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that is in prison, you're not going to really care deadly
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squat about that person. But there's something when when
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you become born again and when you receive the Spirit of God,
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there is actually a spiritual connection that happens between
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believers, other believers that are born in the Spirit.
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And then there's this connection that happens and and not even
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just spiritually necessary, but also physically like the body,
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like you were just saying the body of Christ it describes in
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First Corinthians is like a body working together and all the
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parts are working together. And so he's just saying that
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when we remember them that are bonds as we are bound with them
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because they are part of the body, right, And that we are
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part of and then which suffer adversity and being yourselves
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also in the body. When we see other believers and
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and feel connected to other believers like that other people
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in the body of Christ, and then we will we will be more
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compassionate and we will want to help them.
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And that's just how the body of Christ should be operating
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actually, right. Unfortunately, there's a lot of
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times that it, it doesn't, it seems like it's not quite
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operating like that, but he's that's why he's reminding them I
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think of this right, so. No, that's absolutely right.
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And and I've we're in verse 3. By the way, Andrew, thanks for
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hopping on. But I was I'm reminded of that.
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You know, we go do that prison softball deal down in Alabama.
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You meet these guys and they're they're in there.
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They're brothers you you talk with Jesus about or to them
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about Jesus and they're they're on fireman and but how long
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after you get home it just settles in the back of your
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mind. It's not that you forgot it, but
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it just settles away. And so this is a this is a
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timely reminder. Andrew.
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Any any other thoughts? I know you just hopped on.
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It has a whole new meaning since what we went through here.
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The support from the believers is overwhelmingly good.
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When bad things happen and there's a body of believers,
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that is what I guess I would consider pretty honorable, like
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honorable group, pretty pure, pure motive of purely driven
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believers. I know Melon was mentioned a
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little bit about unfortunately, often it seems to be like we're
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not getting along and we're we're all considered believers,
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but we don't get along a lot. A lot of times there's a lot of
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fighting going on and divisions. And I think that's extremely
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unfortunate because when something really bad happens,
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all of a sudden a lot of those little things that don't really
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matter kind of fade away and we wonder why it was such a big
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deal, which is a lot of the lot of those things, at least at
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this point. I really think about now before
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I make a big deal about something because I remember
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what it was like when you're wiped out completely.
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And it's the darkest moment I've ever experienced in my life.
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And believers would be there as the they're going through it
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too. Like you said right there, this
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verse, they did all the believers here in the fellowship
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and abroad, even you guys and I mean all over the states,
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believers that are associated with the with us and the camp
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and stuff and the body coming together and people.
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I mean, there's people that from the group came and sat right
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down beside you when I didn't know what to say and you didn't
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know what to say and what basically all just crying
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basically. And you know how hard that is.
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I my hat off to brothers that are able to do that.
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I don't know if I can do that sit right next to serious pain.
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And even though they don't understand don't even know what
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to say, but they're there, you know, that's that's that's
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brotherly love right there, and that's being in bonds with our
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inaport cities and and struggle, you know, like you were saying
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there. So this whole thing we went
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through really helped me. I think in a lot of ways that I
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don't want it to go for not the value of believers through our
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believers getting along and giving ourselves physically and
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emotionally for each other. I know I didn't think I those
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words would come out of my mouth, but but there's a place
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for and tells us to do it. Like to be in bonds like to be
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emotionally there as much as possible, you know, to inject
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ourselves 1 towards another and tell you what when you're going
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through a hard time like that it is.
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I know why he says it because there's times when you get hit
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really hard. Like I told one of the brothers
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that was really good like that last night.
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I said pretty vulnerable when you can't pump yourself up
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anymore, when someone else has to come pump you up like I, I
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couldn't normally I'm pretty good at I feel like I'm pretty
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good at encouraging myself when I'm looking in the dark or kind
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of living in the dark. I can kind of pop myself out.
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But man, when it's bad enough, sometimes when your brothers
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say, hey, you know, here's the other side, here's the light,
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like think on the light switch. Your, your eyes need to turn
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from that to this right now. And even my brother Moe's, you
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know, even brothers are good and bad times.
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But he's like, hey, Andrew, you need to suck it up, you know, So
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we need each other that that verse is there for a very good
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reason. Yeah, no, I agree.
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I think it's that's a very vital part of of what he calls a body
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for sure. OK then it says marriage is
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honorable in all and the ban undefiled.
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But whoremongers and adulterers, God would judge.
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I don't see where there's a whole lot of discussion on a
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verse like, I mean, that's that's pretty clear.
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I mean, I agree with 100%. Marriage is honorable.
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It's it's the right thing to do. You know, even if the world
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today would probably suggest something different, the world
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today would would not probably go that far as to say that it's
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honorable at all. And and the bad are defiled.
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But really, really it is. Yeah.
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Mel would go ahead. Yeah, and I was reading through
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this, it kind of reminded me of Proverbs actually, right.
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He's these next couple verses here.
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He's kind of doing a contrast, right?
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He's saying marriage is honorable in all and the bed
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only found. But war mongers and adulterers
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gobble judge. And so it's like he's giving us
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giving them the picture, the believers there in the Hebrew
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believers, the picture of what it looks like for a God, godly,
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honorable marriage. And and then he gives the the
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other side where he says, yeah, but who are mongers and
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adulterers? God will just and he just, you
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know, got done saying, like you said in the end of verse 12,
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where it says that God is a consuming fire.
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And so the simple fact is, is that when we, when you do
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marriage God's way and you know, the way he wants it between one
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man and one woman, and no, you know, no sex outside of marriage
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until you're married, then it will be phenomenal.
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It'll be more than you ever imagined it could be, right?
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And, and it's going to be honorable to you as a couple and
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also to God for sure. And and the bed will be
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undefiled. Absolutely, Dad.
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Yeah, I think I like that he put that verse in there.
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In America, the culture has shifted so far towards open
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relationships and just all messed up.
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Would it be really good for everyone to just say, hey, you
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know what? Marriage is actually an
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honorable thing in America? Marriage is almost looked at as
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like, oh, you're tied down, You're not.
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You're not able to have, why would you make a commitment like
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that when you can run around and experience life to the fullest
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with a bunch of different boys or women or whatever?
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And but the bottom line is picking the one and investing
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every aspect of our lives it with one person is the horrible
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thing to do. And anything outside of that,
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you're under the judgment of God.
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And why would you want to do that?
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And again, I don't think, well, I don't just think I know that
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we're not just under the judgment of God because God
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doesn't want us to have fun. God knows that it destroys us.
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Like a lot of times the men enjoy running around because sex
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doesn't affect them the way it does a woman.
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So it's it sounds like fun and it often is for quite a while
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for men to run around until they dig themselves in such a deep
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hole, whether it's child support or financially or all these
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women just work gets around, they're miserable.
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But most of the time they will grow old by themselves, lonely
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and depressed. It the honorable and the most
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rewarding thing to do is to get married.
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Enjoy the wife of thy youth and have a lot of fun in your own
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bed, undefiled and anything outside of that, this
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destruction, it's just like sin is.
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It's not that God, again, it's not that God doesn't want you to
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have fun. He actually wants you to have
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the most fun, the best. He wants the best.
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When you go fornicating, you're being deceived.
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You're believing lies. And you're going down the road
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of destruction. Yeah.
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And you know, and that's, I agree with you, Andrew, that
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it's an important verse because if you look at it on the face,
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like in America, the culture today, there would be a lot of
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people that would argue this verse.
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They would say, no, actually it's a lot more fun not being
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married. It is a whole lot better to not
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be married. And you know, as far as getting
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judged, I don't see nothing. You know, my life's happier.
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Yours is with the house kids and tied down.
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You can't go sleep around. They would argue that and you
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hear it actually, if you hear that today.
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And so he's saying no. The fact is you are going to be
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judged for that kind of behavior and but marriage in itself is
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honorable if done God's way. So I I very timely verse.
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And still, still there's an emptiness with a a relationship
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that is not rude and solid. Like there's an insecurity
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there. Why do you think that all the
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ones that are doing the like the making the argument that you
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just made when they see your wife just loving on you and pure
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love, pure honest eyes, not feet, not lies and hypocrisy,
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but true genuine honest love in their eyes just adoring you.
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That will bring tears to all of those guys's eyes.
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And it does on a regular basis. They're like, man, you just got.
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You're such a blessed man. Yeah.
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No, they say. Lucky.
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Yeah, yeah, right. That's yeah.
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It's I want to punch him when they say lucky, like no doing
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the heart and right thing. The honorable thing is not luck,
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but right. But and it's easy to love
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someone for one night or or one day, right?
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I mean, it is. Seriously.
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Right. Yeah, That's why it's so
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popular, yeah. Yeah, but to, to actually be in
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a marriage for, you know, whatever however many years God
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grants you and, and which is honorable to God, but to, to
22:20
fight through that and to it. It's it's just way more in other
22:24
words, what I thought of when you were saying that Andrew,
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when you know, men like, you know, sleeping around or
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whatever. And that's actually a lie.
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Really. It's a lie from Satan, actually.
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But the other thing is, is that how do you know that that is the
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best if you haven't experienced the best, right?
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I mean, in my opinion, right, That in other words, the
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marriage that is horrible and bad, that is undefiled.
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The marriage bed that is undefiled is once you experience
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that is it was way better than that than that would be.
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I don't know. I've never been, you know,
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sleeping around with other women, but I know it's it's
23:03
better. It way better.
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Because God says it is. That's right.
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And the other and the other argument, a lot of them like the
23:10
magus, well, you couldn't make it with my wife either.
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But if you just knew how my wife treats me and she does not
23:18
respect me and some women are bad and I guess you just married
23:24
a bad one. You have bad taste of, you know,
23:27
bad taste, you know you, but I know what the taste was.
23:31
He was usually they were dating for a female.
23:37
It wasn't because they loved them or if they didn't, they
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didn't understand the idea of love and they made a bad
23:46
decision. A lot of them didn't make a bad
23:48
decision, but now they've got that's what they got.
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Like, I just don't think we couldn't make a bad choice and
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not listen to any counsel while they're dating.
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And then, oh, I just got the wrong one.
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And you know, there's no way I can make it work.
24:05
She's just nasty. Well, we'll try to tell you, you
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know, many people trying to tell you.
24:12
And I think that person needs to learn how to love his wife and
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learn how to win her. Start dating again.
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And too many times they just allow bitterness to rise up,
24:26
just like we do with brothers and sisters in Christ and the
24:29
church. We allow walls to come up.
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And we assume this isn't even a weakness for me.
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Every day is. We assume that somehow my wife
24:38
is trying to see if she can get under my skin.
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Like the first thing we we believe is that he's trying.
24:45
I think she's actually, Yeah, she just did something again, I
24:48
am pretty sure to see if I'll get upset at her, you know, like
24:52
she's trying me like, And it's not true 99% of the time.
24:58
It's not true. And as soon as we go down that
25:00
road, it's going to put away at, you know, our relationship.
25:04
And it's no longer also no longer honorable.
25:07
Like Christian marriages that never would think about
25:12
divorcing but are fighting and is not healthy to me.
25:15
It's just as bad as if you're sleeping around.
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Well, maybe not the physical consequences, but I hate when
25:27
Christians are so spiritual and always trying to do all these
25:32
spiritual things, but they can't.
25:34
They don't have a good marriage. That's not horrible.
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That's not a good. It's not good.
25:39
I think we need to figure out our relationships.
25:42
Yeah. That leaves a.
25:44
That leaves a kind of a muddy testimony, actually.
25:49
Yeah. You know, it does.
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I mean, I think, I think, yeah, yeah.
25:53
Anyway, but I don't want to think that if, if there's a a
25:58
godly marriage where the man and the wife are working together
26:02
and they're just, they love each other, you can see it.
26:06
You can see it that that alone is a testimony to the redemptive
26:10
power of Jesus Christ. Because otherwise you.
26:13
Yeah. I mean, there wouldn't be any
26:14
other way probably to do that. So.
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And for the women that are faking it, you're not faking it,
26:23
right? Like you just said, you think
26:25
you're faking it. You're not.
26:28
We can see when there's genuine, honest eyes and genuine just
26:32
where you just adore and you just think your husband's the
26:35
greatest guy we can. We know.
26:38
Like, yeah. And I think it goes the other
26:41
way, too. Like, so I think this is a great
26:44
verse to remind us to, I mean, marriage.
26:47
I've always said I like to talk marriage, but it's probably not
26:52
I I think you could spend episodes on marriage.
26:55
Yeah. And we will hit a couple of
26:58
subjects after we get done with Hebrews here.
27:00
Maybe that would be one of them. So anyway, let little bit this
27:03
is marriage is actually not the context here.
27:06
It's just kind of a little drop here.
27:08
Yeah, yeah. It's kind of a bit on a couple
27:10
trails though, of course. Yeah, any any good podcaster
27:13
would do that. OK, All right, so it says, let
27:20
your conversation be without covetousness and be content with
27:25
such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never
27:29
leave thee, nor forsaken. This is what would I say?
27:37
Very this this verse has probably changed the way that I
27:43
view Christianity and my life more than a lot of any other
27:49
single verse probably has. And when you because I was
27:55
probably maybe my own mind, but in my own mind, I was always
27:58
kind of striving to get near to God or remain near to God.
28:05
But he says that he will never leave thee.
28:09
He won't forsake me. And so to me, this is a verse
28:13
that brings a whole lot of peace, stability, just content.
28:23
But maybe you would say when he says stuff like this, you know,
28:28
to be you would never leave me nor forsake me on the other
28:31
hand. And then I'll turn it over to
28:33
you, Melvin, being content with the things that I have.
28:39
I don't know if that's necessarily talking about
28:40
physical things, if you look at it in context here, or if it's
28:43
just talking about, you know, things like the Holy Spirit and,
28:47
and Jesus as your mediator. You know, like in context with
28:51
what the book of Hebrews is saying.
28:52
I'm not, I'm not making an argument for or against that
28:55
necessarily, but for myself in physical things, I could easily
28:59
run off track. Being a visionary person, I see
29:02
something sparkle and I got to have it.
29:04
You know, I don't mind working hard to get it.
29:06
You know, I, I don't mind working hard to make the money
29:09
to buy it. But it's just, it's something
29:12
that that is easy for me to run sideways on.
29:15
But anyway, Melvin, go ahead. Yeah, I, I that's a good
29:19
question. I kind of was thinking it is
29:23
talking about earthy things, but I don't know if it is
29:25
necessarily. If you really read the verse for
29:27
what it said, it says let your conversation or your life be
29:32
without covetousness and be content with such things as you
29:37
have. For he has said, I will never
29:40
leave thee nor forsake thee. So in other words, it seems like
29:44
he's saying, you know, he's just got done the whole chapter here
29:50
telling them the Hebrew believers how they need to stay
29:55
in Christ and and and not go back to the law, right.
30:00
So I think he's saying be content with this simplicity in
30:06
Christ, right, because I think right, because it because he
30:12
says for he has said I would never leave the, you know, for
30:14
safety. So in other words, God will
30:17
never leave you nor forsake you and Jesus will never leave you
30:20
nor forsake you. There's another verse and maybe
30:23
Andrew can find that one where Jesus said that himself
30:27
actually, and that's comforting, like you said me, and that is
30:31
very comforting and and I that should make me content knowing
30:36
that and believing that and and walking in that right so well.
30:42
Again, if you look at it in context, I think, you know, like
30:45
the Hebrews were discontent with the idea of having Jesus alone.
30:52
That's, that's, that's what the whole book of Hebrews is about,
30:55
actually. So that's why I thought maybe I
30:56
know it gets used. I've probably never heard it
31:00
that way, if that's indeed what the text is saying.
31:02
And I, I would contend that it is.
31:04
I have always heard it, as you know, don't lust after your
31:07
neighbor's tractor kind of thing, you know.
31:10
But Andrew, go ahead. Yeah, nice job bringing that
31:16
thought out because when you read before and after, it looks
31:19
to me like he's telling them remember them that are in bonds
31:24
as bond within them and then would suffer adversity as being
31:28
yourselves also in the body. And then he talks about marriage
31:31
and then my homeowners. God will judge.
31:34
Then he says let your conversation be without
31:36
coveiness and being attacked with such things as you have,
31:40
which could mean your wife like go running around and also not
31:47
be coveting other people's lives where they're where they're not
31:52
suffering the way you're suffering, not the Cove years of
32:00
of not being persecuted like your friends are that believe
32:03
and are not persecuted because of the next verse, which I won't
32:07
read. It talks about not worrying
32:09
about what man will do to you. And so I think you're on the
32:15
something there, Leon that it's not just talking.
32:18
I think it could be both, but I don't think it's just talking
32:21
about physical things. I think it's talking about not
32:24
looking at how your neighbor has it, whether it's spiritually or
32:29
persecuted, like persecuted less, more or hey, how come they
32:35
didn't get caught? How come they're not in jail but
32:38
my kid is, you know? Yeah, obviousness there, you
32:42
know, but it's not fair. Yeah, yeah, No, I I think too,
32:47
you know, it's, it's basically asking you to play the hand that
32:50
you're dealt. You know, whatever, whatever is,
32:53
you play it. You praise God, you honor God,
32:57
you do the right thing. Don't be looking over here and
33:01
wish that you had their life. Yeah, I think you said that
33:03
well, Andrew. And then I would still mention
33:07
the verse where he says if you have food and raiment, be there
33:09
with content. There is a huge like that's one
33:15
of the main verses I use when a couples like talk about
33:21
marriage. Like he just mentioned that.
33:23
I found it interesting that right after he talked about the
33:26
marriage and the bed undefiled and he right after he talks
33:30
about not being covetous and being content.
33:35
Contentment closes a lot of doors in a relationship.
33:39
Yes, choosing to begin 10. Let's not like, oh, I'm content.
33:43
It's or I'll I'll be content when I'm satisfied.
33:46
You know, you choose to be to settle down.
33:50
You choose to be content. That's why it tells us to be
33:54
like it's something you can do, but too many too many times that
33:59
we think once we have certain things, then we can be content.
34:03
I think we can choose to be content until whatever you know,
34:07
and and a lot of relationships with the problem that what what
34:13
is America's statistics isn't like a divorce.
34:17
Money is like what, 90? It's very high.
34:22
Very high is the money for reason or divorce, which is the
34:26
ultimate thing about here about consciousness and not being
34:31
content. And so I always like, well, my
34:36
husband just doesn't do this and but he does that or she does
34:39
this and I say, yeah, food and clothing.
34:42
Well, yeah. Well, what's the problem?
34:47
Yeah, Yeah. It's, it's crazy.
34:51
Yeah, I think that the context was correct because if you read
34:56
verse 6, it says so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper
35:00
and I would not fear what man shall do unto me.
35:04
If we're not content and we're always wishing that we had his
35:07
life or her life or their life. It would be really hard for us
35:11
to say that it really would. So if if we own the deck of
35:16
cards that were dealt to play and and we own that say well,
35:20
like, what is that Ebenezer rock that we sing that song trying to
35:26
think now. Whatever my lot, whatever lot
35:29
or. No, it's the Ebenezer rock is
35:33
mentioned in in the Old Testament.
35:34
I don't know where, but it, it says, it basically means thus
35:38
far the Lord has helped me and I'll, I'll, I'll look at it when
35:42
it, when you guys are talking and I'll, I'll find that because
35:46
I think that we can boldly say that, you know, everything
35:49
wasn't perfect because I screwed up or whatever.
35:52
But this far God has been faithful.
35:55
He has been my helper. If there's anything that caused
35:58
me to be OK or to have a testimony, it's because the Lord
36:03
was my helper. Otherwise, you know, otherwise I
36:06
probably wouldn't be able to, you know, even stand.
36:10
So yeah, yeah, Mel, go ahead. Yeah, I think that's very
36:14
important actually got to remember that he is talking to
36:19
the Hebrew believers here that I think we're suffering probably
36:22
quite a bit of persecution and and they were being persecuted
36:26
for their faith. But this is like kind of this
36:29
versus kind of convicting to myself even because you know, so
36:33
many times when we think about our life and, and what we have
36:39
been through or maybe successes that we had and places where we
36:43
messed up, we lot of times tend to think, you know, this is, you
36:47
know, look what I have done when in all reality we should be
36:52
saying, look what the Lord has done in our lives, right?
36:56
And he has been here and has been my helper.
37:00
You know, sometimes it might not feel like it, but the scripture
37:03
says right here, we read it. You know, I will never leave
37:06
thee nor forsake thee, though sometimes it might feel like it,
37:10
but he he definitely won't because what what he says he is
37:15
true. Like he's not going to go back
37:18
on his word, but and I and then he says there I will not fear
37:22
what man should be unto me. Yeah, that's convicting to me
37:26
too, because we like our comfort, right?
37:29
I mean, but the simple fact is, is that when we could, when we
37:36
boldly say that the Lord is my helper man, we shouldn't be
37:40
fearing what man will do to me. Because if it's for Christ and
37:47
it's if it is, whatever that man is doing to me is because of my
37:52
faith in Christ and and for Christ's sake, then I shouldn't
37:56
be fearing what can happen to me physically.
38:00
Yeah, yeah, that's right. And I'll turn it over to you,
38:03
Andrew here in a second. But what I was talking about,
38:07
there's a soul that we say that goes, and here I raise my
38:11
Ebenezer. Hitherto the Lord hath helped
38:14
me. Well, that is actually in
38:15
reference to a verse in first Samuel where Samuel is being
38:21
chased. And then he says in first Samuel
38:23
712, it says that Samuel took a stone and said it between Vizbah
38:31
and shed and called the name of it Ebenezer saying hitherto has
38:36
the Lord helped us, you know, and that that's that's the
38:40
picture I get by buying when I read this verse, but go ahead.
38:45
Yeah, these are actually beautiful passages because it
38:50
helps you deal with difficult times that are different from
38:53
others, where you're not trying to reconcile fairness.
38:58
I think that's the biggest trap. A lot of times we fall into it.
39:01
Well, this is not fair. If I was in the will of God, I
39:04
wouldn't be dealing with what I'm dealing with.
39:07
Those people over there that they must be more committed to
39:10
God because their life is a lot easier.
39:12
You know, they're more blessed or whatever.
39:15
I'm glad I don't have to look at my situation to see if I'm in
39:20
the will of God. I'm glad that we can read the
39:23
word where he said that I will never leave you or for safety.
39:27
There's great contentment in that if if he has given himself
39:34
for us and has perfected us forever and he's a much better
39:41
sacrifice. So much so that he took our sins
39:45
away once and for all. And on top of that, he'll never
39:49
leave you or forsake you. That's right.
39:53
And remember when Jesus said don't worry about what they do
39:57
to the body? Worry about the guy that can put
40:01
you in hell? Yeah, and here he's telling us
40:07
again. Hey, don't worry what a man will
40:10
do to you. I will never forsake you.
40:14
That's right. Right.
40:20
Well, oh, that's so good. We're, we're on the winning
40:23
side. I don't which wherever we slice
40:25
it, we're always on the winning side.
40:28
It's just Jesus Christ and him crucified.
40:30
And I'm telling you, he's telling us not to go back to the
40:33
law, but he is also telling us to not worry about what other
40:37
believers are having that you don't and not be coveous, not be
40:40
angry, not be upset, not go outside of your marriage because
40:44
of things that are tough and all that stuff.
40:46
So it's good, good stuff. Yeah.
40:50
You know that verse when you were talking now I remember it's
40:53
in a song of the guy that lost his four daughters on a on a
40:57
ship. I think I forgot get the name,
41:00
but it's the song. It is well of my soul and it
41:04
says whatever my lot thou has taught me to say.
41:10
It is well with my soul, which is very much what this is
41:14
saying. I have whatever your lot bottom
41:20
line is, it's well with your soul.
41:22
Because I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.
41:25
I have redeemed you. I am presenting you before the
41:28
Father blamed us. You can now boldly come to the
41:31
throne of grace. Because I'm your mediator.
41:33
I'm your lawyer. I'm your attorney.
41:34
I died for you. My blood speaks better than
41:36
Abel. My blood makes you perfect.
41:39
And I won't leave you. So don't care what?
41:42
Don't matter what man do to you. Yeah.
41:45
That that's exactly in context, Andrew.
41:47
That's exactly the point that he's trying to make here.
41:50
Get our mind off the poor us in our situation to the things that
41:55
really actually matter at the end of the the whole thing.
41:58
So that's that's really good. Yeah, Nathan, he is listing in
42:04
here from Wisconsin and he he said, I love how the word
42:07
content has the idea of setting up a barrier.
42:10
In other words, I'm barricading myself with contentment within
42:14
the blessings that he has given me so that I won't even see
42:16
those things which would distract me from his.
42:19
Good. That's a good point.
42:20
I'm preaching Nathan, Nathan, but for those of you don't know,
42:24
but Nathan is the one that he takes the recording from what
42:28
we're doing right here and then he produces our podcast.
42:33
I hired him to do that. And he's also cutting out short
42:36
videos that we just started posting.
42:38
Now you've if you'll see him on our Facebook page and stuff like
42:42
little short clips of different things.
42:43
They're really good. He does a really, really good
42:45
job, so I appreciate. I'm going to get you something
42:49
like I see a Leon. You got something now?
42:52
Yeah, I'm trying this out. I don't like it because it
42:54
covers both my ears so it sounds like I'm just hearing myself.
42:58
But the auto quality is pretty good, so yeah.
43:00
I want to, whenever you figure out what works, send me the
43:03
link. Yeah, one of the links I sent
43:06
was a fraudulent one we figured out.
43:09
Oh, well, so it goes. All right, let's go on to verse
43:14
7. And this is one that I kind of
43:16
struggled with. But anyway, remember them which
43:19
have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God,
43:24
whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation
43:32
and I'll just read it. We're not going to discuss verse
43:34
8 necessarily, you know, unless it's part of what you were going
43:36
to say. But it says Jesus Christ the
43:38
same yesterday and today forever.
43:40
Again, goes back to the context here, but that that to me is a
43:46
bit of a challenging verse for probably 2 reasons. 1 is I'm not
43:53
quite sure I understand it exactly.
43:54
I'm really interested to see what your comments are on this
43:57
verse as to who it is that has a rule over you.
44:02
And then like, is it to submit or?
44:05
Yeah, it's just, it's just one of those that I haven't parsed
44:08
in my mind. Very good.
44:09
No, but I'll let you go ahead. Yeah, I think so.
44:13
I know that a lot of people use this verse and in the context of
44:18
elders and and pastors and and it could be speaking about that
44:23
as well. But one thing that I see what it
44:27
says if you really read it carefully there it says remember
44:30
them which have rule over. You who?
44:32
Have spoken unto you the word of God, which can mean a pastor,
44:35
but it seems like he is talking about you know those that
44:40
brought them the gospel it whatever whoever that may be.
44:44
It might not have necessarily been a pastor necessarily could
44:49
have been Paul was talking about himself or maybe you know I'm
44:54
talking about whoever that he went to the Hebrews there to
44:58
bring them the gospel, but that's what he's talking about.
45:02
Remember them which have rule over you.
45:07
Consider whose faith follow considering the end of end of
45:11
their conversation. In other words, and he's telling
45:14
them, just remember that, right? Just just keep them in
45:17
remembrance, maybe pray for them.
45:19
I know he, Paul speaks a lot in many of these letters about he,
45:23
how he prays for the churches and also how he commends some of
45:30
the churches for supporting him and for praying for him himself.
45:35
And so I that's kind of what I see maybe more so than
45:41
necessarily just talking about an elder in specific or a
45:46
pastor. And then that word considering
45:49
the end of their conversation. Conversation means their life
45:53
considering the end of their life.
45:55
In other words, looking at at what their life actually looks
45:59
like. Maybe those that brought you the
46:01
gospel if they are actually following Jesus or or believing
46:08
only in Jesus because there's all talks about many that are
46:12
going to bring the gospel of Jesus proclaiming the gospel of
46:16
Jesus that aren't actually following Jesus.
46:19
So anyway, that's what I see there.
46:23
Yeah, I appreciate hearing that, Andrew.
46:26
Yeah, I was actually going on the same lines of what Melvin
46:29
was just saying to me. Also, I just remember them which
46:32
have to rule over you. If you look at Paul's epistles,
46:36
I don't know who wrote this, but in Paul's epistles there was, it
46:42
was significant to Paul for some reason that I don't really
46:46
understand why is that? If you shared the gospel in an
46:52
area and you brought the gospel to them, that was sort of like
46:56
your territory. And remember how he said that he
47:02
made sure when he went that one place or he's not building a
47:05
foundation upon another one or on someone else's foundation.
47:11
I don't understand that. But there's a respect there or
47:15
there's a thing there that pulled us out.
47:18
And then he also tells them in the First Corinthians, or is it
47:23
2nd Corinthians 11? I can't remember one of the
47:25
Corinthians 11 where he's competing with false apostles
47:30
and he's saying how, you know, you guys are all flustered
47:35
because they did this and they said, well, I'm, I'm, I'm you.
47:39
You should say they were persecuted.
47:41
I was more persecuted. You say, oh, they, they were
47:44
circumcised. I was too.
47:47
They were Hebrew. Well, I was the Hebrew of the
47:49
Hebrews. You know, he was always a step
47:52
ahead of him and he ends up saying follow me as I follow
47:56
Christ. That's that's language that I
47:59
don't like. I'm a little bit with you there,
48:01
Leona. I'm not, I would not want that.
48:05
But one thing I do want is if we are sharing the gospel and if we
48:12
are claiming to be sharing the gospel in the Word of God, then
48:18
we should be confident enough to know that we're right that we
48:21
would want people to follow it. Pretty, pretty stupid for us to
48:25
share a gospel of. Now don't hold me to that.
48:28
Like don't put your faith in that though.
48:30
I mean, that's just me speaking. Well then you shouldn't speak.
48:34
Yeah. You know.
48:36
That's a good point. Like after the faith that we
48:40
preach should be something that we would want someone to
48:43
completely follow and trust, just like we do.
48:48
Otherwise we're saying one thing and doing another.
48:53
And so I think it's like, I really like how he says there to
49:00
watch their conversation, which I think is word and deed.
49:04
I think it's both. I think it's their life and what
49:06
they say. And because he calls out these
49:10
hypocrites, these false apostles, they preach the
49:12
gospel, but then they their conversation is meats, drinks.
49:17
And he's like, watch him like, you know, you can tell quickly
49:20
whether they're single heartedly, single, lightly
49:23
following his Christ or if their God is their belly, you know,
49:29
watch him like see if they're consistent with the gospel.
49:33
And Paul was, we all know he was.
49:36
I would follow Paul, not him as a person, but the gospel he
49:39
preached, the faith he preached. That is something to follow.
49:44
And if we're preaching the gospel, I think it should be
49:48
what's up. That's why we need to preach the
49:50
gospel in all its purity, so it can be followed without someone
49:56
following you as a person. You see, we, we're we gladly
50:00
will follow a person, but we don't want to follow the faith
50:03
that someone has. Right.
50:05
But yeah. Yeah, yeah, we we talked about
50:08
that back in Hebrews, what was a 8 or 9.
50:10
We kind of talked about how that, you know, too many people
50:14
want, want people to follow them.
50:17
You know, it's, it's a position of power and glory and whatever.
50:21
So yeah. I think grades should be
50:23
followed. Yeah.
50:25
Yeah, that's right. That's right.
50:27
I think, I think maybe we might have a little bit too much of A
50:30
of a mental block against, you know, this, those things like
50:34
following a person necessarily we think right away is that it
50:37
means following the person. And I don't think that's what
50:39
he's talking about because if the verse came to my mind in
50:43
Matthew where he says go ye therefore and teach all nations,
50:46
baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and the Holy
50:49
Ghost, and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
50:53
have commanded you and know I'm with you always, even to the end
50:57
of the world. So in other words, a part of
51:00
sharing the Gospel and spreading the gospel is what Jesus is
51:05
doing here. He's giving them the Great
51:06
Commission, right? Part of that is says is teaching
51:09
them to observe all things. It doesn't say just give them
51:13
the gospel and that's it, right? It's saying teach them and
51:16
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever.
51:19
I have commanded you. So it's like being a disciple,
51:22
like you're discipling someone. So when, when, when you're
51:27
discipling someone or if you are being discipled, you are in a
51:30
sense following that person, not necessarily the person, but
51:34
their faith. Yeah, what to bring more clarity
51:38
to this, you should read the first 3 or 4 chapters of First
51:43
Corinthians. There Paul's dealing with the
51:46
fact that, hey, some are of Paula, some are of receipt for,
51:49
and then he ends up telling them, you know what, I wish you
51:52
wouldn't know anything except Christ and him crucified.
51:55
And then he also says that was Paul crucified.
52:00
So that tells you where his heart's really at as far as
52:04
being followed. That tells us that he doesn't
52:07
want to be followed the way that we like.
52:10
I thought of that when you mentioned about, or was it Leon
52:13
that mentioned about people wanting to be followed or want
52:17
to? People want to follow people and
52:21
that really cleans it up. Paul wants the believers to
52:27
follow his Christ and him crucified his, which is what he
52:31
preaches. That's right.
52:32
Remember how he says that over and over?
52:34
Like whom we preach, you know? Yeah.
52:37
Yeah, I think, I think probably for me it's yeah, it's kind of a
52:41
metal block, like you said, Melvin, because often times, you
52:44
know, this, this idea was thrown at us, you know, while we were
52:49
being manipulated by spiritual leaders that were actually
52:56
probably of the Kingdom of darkness, a lot of them.
52:59
So those were not, that's not what he's talking about here,
53:02
but he's he's talking about the one that would have brought you
53:05
the gospel, one that is helping you see the Kingdom of God
53:11
clearly and operated that clearly.
53:13
That's the one and it and it doesn't necessarily say obey or
53:16
whatever. He's asking us here to remember
53:19
them. Like in other words, take care
53:21
of, you know, consider them when you make a decision or do
53:24
something or whatever, support them, you know, emotionally or
53:29
for physically or monetarily, whatever, maybe whatever,
53:32
whatever. That would all entertain there,
53:34
I suppose. Do you think there's any
53:36
significance to the fact that for us it was this way?
53:40
And I see it happening. I don't know if it's just nature
53:43
running its course, but usually the first people, like the
53:47
people that had you were involved with when you got
53:51
saved, you hold a special place. They hold a special place in our
53:57
hearts and it's hard for us to think that there's anything
54:01
wrong with that person because of you associate your changed
54:08
life with that person. Even though he just had the
54:11
message of the gospel that changed his lives, he wasn't the
54:16
change. He wasn't significant other than
54:19
the fact that he brought you the gospel.
54:22
And so I think it's OK that I don't know if that's a God
54:26
thing. He almost seems like he's
54:28
somewhat speaking to that. Like, remember that it's OK, you
54:33
know, to look up to them, but watch the conversation.
54:37
There's a lot of the people that were significant in my life.
54:41
There's a lot of things that I would, you know, disagree with
54:43
now, but at the moment I couldn't disagree with anything.
54:47
I mean, I was just like these are.
54:52
Yeah, that's good. No, 100% verse 8.
54:57
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever.
55:01
Any conversation there adds to be just one of those those
55:07
truths that he's been pushing at all the way through Hebrews this
55:13
far, reminding us that no, he's the same as he always was.
55:17
This is the way it's always been.
55:18
You know, if anyone's changing, it's you guys.
55:22
Any thoughts Melvin? Yeah, I not a whole lot other
55:26
than just the simple fact that I, I didn't have the time to
55:32
look up that verse that I think it is maybe in Galatians
55:37
somewhere, but it talks about how Jesus Christ was with God
55:43
from the beginning, like before creation.
55:46
And so when I, that's what I think of when I read this, read
55:50
this verse is that simple fact is that Jesus Christ has been
55:55
with God before creation. He will be forever for eternity
56:01
and he will never change. He's going to be the same.
56:04
He is. That's why he's called the rock,
56:06
right? And he's a cornerstone.
56:08
He he's the foundation. So that's, and that's comforting
56:14
to me that I can put my faith in Christ and he I, I can trust
56:20
that he's not going to change or, or turn his back to me.
56:24
Right, Andrew? No, again, I think that verse is
56:28
very significant after he just got done talking about the faith
56:34
that we heard when and the people that brought it to us,
56:37
how it's consistent and or it has to be consistent.
56:43
That's why you watch their conversation.
56:44
It has to be consistent. Someone that preaches the pure
56:49
gospel will tell the people we're witnessing to that the
56:57
victory is crucifixion. You dying with Christ and rising
57:02
again is how sin and death and the body of sin is destroyed.
57:06
When you rising again is what's going to make you a spiritual
57:09
body. It's what's going to change you
57:11
from corruptible to incorruptible, from mortal to
57:14
immortality. It's what is going to make the
57:17
old man dead and gone and destroyed and then and bring you
57:20
up a new man, a new creature in cracks, seated in heavenly
57:24
places. That's always going to be the
57:26
case today, yesterday, and forever.
57:30
That's always going to be. It's not all of a sudden down
57:33
the road. Well, now that the church has
57:34
grown and that we have all these young people, we need to have
57:38
some programs in order to help these people defeat sin.
57:42
No, it's always going to be that Jesus died to defeat sin, always
57:47
destroyed through putting out the death and resurrection of
57:51
Christ. It's not programs all of a
57:53
sudden. It's not the church all of a
57:56
sudden stepping in and doing a better job and discipling.
58:00
It can be. I mean, that can be.
58:02
That's kind of a broad brush, I guess.
58:04
But we have that same today and forever is so key that we stick
58:11
with that same gospel that changes lives and not try to
58:13
come up with an alternative because in our eyes, what our
58:17
eyes see is the gospel is not working.
58:19
Right. And but we need to allow the
58:22
gospel to work. If the gospel doesn't work, then
58:24
there's nothing we can do about the situation.
58:27
Right, right. Yeah, No, I appreciate that,
58:30
Andrew. That's really good because,
58:32
yeah, it really is a wrap up of what he's saying about
58:36
remembering the OR considering the end of their conversation.
58:38
Like if they change, something's the matter.
58:42
Yeah, Jesus Christ is always going to be the same.
58:45
The same Christ that redeemed you is also going to cause you
58:48
to live and righteously and walk away from sin, be free from sin.
58:52
Because yeah, my Bible has a heading there between verse 8:00
58:56
and 9:00. But the text doesn't because he
59:00
goes right straight into being a carrot carried away with divers
59:03
and strange doctrines, you know, so another reason, you know,
59:07
look at the context again, It's it's right on the on the spot
59:10
there. So you didn't?
59:11
Even see that? Yeah.
59:12
You nailed that right on Andrew. So I I appreciate that's, that's
59:15
really good. Any other real quick thoughts on
59:19
this? We got a couple seconds left
59:21
here. Anything else?
59:24
Otherwise we're just going to quit there because verse 9
59:26
starts out really good. That'd be something about bounce
59:30
into next week. So hey, and two, if anybody's
59:35
listening to this, we are probably about one study or so
59:40
away from being finished with Hebrews.
59:43
Maybe two could be 3 or 4. But I I hope one and then we're
59:47
going to do a couple of subjects.
59:49
So if anybody has a subject that they would like discussed, send
59:57
it to one of us or get a hold of me or or go to my website and
1:00:02
send us a note and let us know. We'd be happy to discuss.
1:00:07
We kind of tossed around a little bit about maybe doing a
1:00:10
couple on marriage since all of all five of us on here have been
1:00:14
married for. Considerable time now and we
1:00:18
thought that would be a very interesting subject and there's
1:00:20
others too. So, but if you have something
1:00:22
that you really want to know what our opinion is on, go
1:00:27
ahead, send it to one of us. We'd love to talk about it.
1:00:29
So anyway, that is it for today as we conclude today's study,
1:00:35
remember Hebrews 11/1. Faith is the substance of things
1:00:39
hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
1:00:41
And you know, I say that at the end of every study, but I really
1:00:45
that is so key in being a Christian is that you can see
1:00:50
the truths of the Bible so clearly that they are they're
1:00:53
just real to you. That's that's what I hope that
1:00:56
would happen here. Join us next Monday as we
1:00:59
continue to look at God's word through the substance of faith.
1:01:01
God bless you guys. Thanks for your time.
1:01:03
I appreciate you coming on and we'll see you back next week.