 He reads at verse 7 in chapter 13, and I'll read to verse 16 and we'll get into our study. Remember those who rule over you who have spoken to follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tapernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered outside the gate. And therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp bearing his reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. And therefore by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But do not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. And so as we begin the writer of Hebrews has been exhorting the believers to love. And remember last time we were together we noticed how he had exhorted them to love one another, to have love for strangers and to have compassionate love for those who are in prison. And as an earmark of love not only are they to care for others in that way, but they're also to live sexually pure lives as well as living lives that are free of material covetousness. He had made it very clear in verse five when he said, let your conduct be without covetousness and be content with such things that you have, for he himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you. And so he had been speaking concerning that, but especially had closed with the concern for materialism. You see the love of money is one of the most obvious forms of covetousness. And the interesting thing about that is most people will acknowledge that wealth does not satisfy, but that doesn't mean that they're not willing to pursue it with all of their efforts. It's interesting how we think that money is going to save us and solve all our problems for us. And some people have a tendency of trusting in their finances to the point where they don't really need to pray or seek the Lord in their own way of thinking because they've got insurance and they've got money to pay for medical bills if necessary. And yet we know that money, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Money in its possession though gives us the impression that it's never going to leave us and that it will solve all our problems because we have it. But the Bible tells us in Proverbs 23 verse 4, do not overwork to be rich because of your own understanding cease. Will you set your eyes on that which is not? Riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like eagles toward heaven. You cannot trust in riches because riches will not satisfy you and they are not permanent. There's an interesting story I'd like you to turn with me for a moment in the Gospel of Matthew that illustrates this and I want to do so out of Matthew chapter 19. Could you turn your Bibles there with me for a moment please? Matthew chapter 19. And I want to remind you of a story that we find there beginning at verse 16. Matthew 19 beginning at verse 16 to illustrate this. To illustrate that wealth does not solve all of our problems and even if you have it you still have a hunger for something that's deeper than your money. And a great illustration is found in Matthew 19 beginning at verse 16. It's the story of the rich young ruler. And here we see in verse 16, behold one came and said to him, said to Jesus, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? So he said to him, why do you call me good? There is one, no one is good but one that is God. But if you want to enter into life keep the commandments. He said to him, which ones? Jesus said, you shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, all these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, if you want to be perfect go sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, assuredly I say to you that it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven and again I say to you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When his disciples, they were exceedingly amazed saying, who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said to them, with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible. This rich young ruler having financial success and all, having everything that a person would want. He was rich, he was young and he was a leader. He was well known and had a great reputation in the community. This rich young ruler coming to Jesus Christ, a penniless itinerant carpenter turned rabbi, if you will, asking him, what's the key? What is it that I need? You know, what am I lacking? It's interesting how he spoke to him and how that Jesus, speaking to this young man, said to him, well you know the commandments. This is because the guy was trying to attain a peace of mind through adherence to the law. So Jesus said, you know the commandments. And what's interesting to me, when you look in this passages, Jesus spoke to him concerning the commandments that relate horizontally. He gave him the commandments that relate from man to another man. And speaking in that way, he gave to him the commands that relate to social relationships and all. That's what it means when he says you shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself. These are social commands. He didn't even approach the loving God with all of your heart. He just began to show him his weakness in his relationships that this was a man who didn't actually do that. What's interesting also is the young man said, all these I have kept from my youth up, what do I still lack? He really had this assessment of himself that he was a pretty good guy. He had that self-assessment and that self-assurance. I've been keeping all of these commands, which is really ridiculous. There's no way that he was keeping all of those commands because once Jesus said, well, go and sell all of your possession, give to the poor, you'll have a treasure in heaven. When Jesus challenged him on that, when he said, sell what you have and give to the poor, which is a social action. It's loving your neighbor. It's caring for them. This guy immediately, looking at Jesus, turned around and walked away sorrowful. Why? Because he had much riches. So finances and materialism will actually keep us out of the kingdom of God. Having a covetous heart, a greedy materialism, an unwillingness to release those things into the hand of the Lord. Our finances and all of that, that's enough to keep us out of the kingdom of God. So turning back to Hebrews chapter 13, that's what the writer is referring to. He's saying, listen, love is demonstrated in a variety of ways. It's demonstrated towards strangers. It's demonstrated towards those whom we know. It's dedicated to those who are in prison. It's demonstrated by our relationships physically with those whom we are with. And it's also revealed by our generosity and all. And so that's what he's speaking about. And he's making a point that the secret of contentment is Jesus Christ. Because when you have him, you have everything. That's why he says in verse 5, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The key to contentedness is a relationship with Jesus Christ. You see, no Christian can ever live effectively for the Lord if they suffer with covetousness. That's because they'll never have enough. And that's because they're only going to want more. The millionaire was asked the question, how much is enough? And his answer was a little bit more. The Bible makes it very clear in Proverbs 27, 20, death and destruction are never satisfied and neither are the eyes of man. A little bit more is always what I want. And so that's what we were looking at last time. And so picking up in verse 7, he continues by saying, remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow considering the outcome of their conduct. And so as we love one of the other things that we are to love is we are to love those who rule over us. In other words, we are to remember our rulers or our spiritual leaders. Not only do we have social duties, but love is demonstrated in the spiritual realm. When he says remember those who rule over you, that word remember means be mindful of or call to mind. It speaks of holding in memory. Hold in memory or call to mind those who rule or have spiritual leadership in your life. Why would that be important for them to do? Well, in the coming years, as persecution and struggle strike them, they're going to have to recall their spiritual leaders and how they weathered the storms and how they weathered the attacks, but how they also were victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says remember your leaders. So when he says in verse 7, to remember those who rule over you, there to think of those who served the Lord before them, some of whom probably had already died. To remember those who had the rule over them would include the apostles, but more than likely this is referring to leaders in their local churches. I want you to see this with me because it'll be remembered for three things. There are three things that they're to be remembered for. One, he says they're to be remembered because they spoke the word to them. These are the ones who spoke the word of God to them. So remember them for their faithful teaching. Remember them because they have faithfully communicated the word of God to you. And because they were faithful to continually do so, they should be highly regarded and deeply loved. These are people who loved you enough to communicate to you the truth of the word of God. And because of that, they should be respected and esteemed highly. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 12 and 13, Paul said, We ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard and love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. Remember them because they have faithfully divided the word and they have communicated the word of God to them. In 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 17, he says the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, and only those whose work is preaching and teaching. So one, what do you remember your leaders for? Well, one, remember them because they have faithfully spoken the word of God to you and hold them in high regard for doing so. Secondly, he said whose faith follow? Now, when he says whose faith follow, that gives us insight into the power of a godly life. Not only are they speaking the word of God, this is the key, they are also doing their best to live it out as I am constantly saying because this is something the Lord is speaking to my heart, as I'm constantly saying, God wants to work through our character, through the kind of people that we are. He wants our message and our lives to line up. He wants our beliefs and our behavior to be the same. And so he says, not only should you highly regard them and love them because they faithfully have opened God's word to you and have blessed your life to know the things of God, but also because they live that message out in a personal way, whose faith follow. So they're living lives that are worthy of imitation because these are people who are living out the gospel of Jesus Christ. They're living letters. And so the people who are being ministered to by these people are actually having the advantage of having somebody who actually cares about the things of the Lord and lives in such a way that they can be an example to them. In 1 Thessalonians in chapter 2 verses 8 through 10, Paul said something there that I think is very powerful. He said, We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you, not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship. We worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you who believed. This is a scripture the Lord gave to me numerous years ago now as I was entering into ministry because he says something that really speaks to me when he says we shared with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well. It isn't enough, in other words, that the minister of the gospel come out and give a solid Bible study. That is, of course, a very, very important thing. But it's not only handing the word of God, but it's also handing your life to the people too. It's a combination of the two. It's a combination. There's a fly here that I'm going to have to kill. I hope you don't mind seeing the death of a fly because if I have an opportunity, he will die. And I'll show you how to kill a fly if you don't mind. They bug me. What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear a word you're saying. I want to be, as a minister, accurate in my exposition of the word of God. No doubt about that. Today, this morning, I wonder, and I seldom, if ever, do this, but I have to ask this question, and I want you to actually respond so I can say something. How many of you were in church this morning here? Raise your hand, please. I want to see. Most of you were here? Okay. I misquoted a scripture today, and I wanted to correct it. I'll be correcting it again Wednesday night, and I'll correct it again next Sunday. But I, see, I don't like giving you the wrong references. And for some reason, I said, due to Ronamy 33 and 34, and I knew when I was saying it, that's not right. It's Exodus 33 and 34. Now, there are some of you who will take note of that and will let me know. And I love you for that. I really do. You haven't done it yet. I'm kind of cutting you off at the pass. But the bottom line is, is accuracy to me is very important. It's very important. On Wednesday night, as I was typing, I mistyped a scripture reference. I put in Matthew 17 when, in reality, it was Matthew 16. And so, as I was giving the Bible study, I read my notes, which I had typed out, and I misquoted. It was actually Matthew 16-22, and I said Matthew 17-22. But when I catch those errors, I want to make sure that I let you know, because some of you are trusting me to give you the right scripture, and therefore I want to make sure I do that. That, to me, is extremely important. On that, I need to be living this out, too. I need to have an accuracy not only in my exposition and teaching, but I need to have an accuracy in my lifestyle, because if I'm standing up here saying that we should love God, but I'm really not somebody who's desperately in love with Him, I might be giving you great information, but I'm not being a good example to you. And so Paul said, listen to the Thessalonians. I was blessed to give you not only the Word of God. I imparted that to you, but I also gave my very life to you because I've told pastors and pastors' conferences if you are not willing to love your people, you might as well give them your notes because that's all you're really giving to them. You have to give them not only your notes, you have to give them your heart also because that's what shepherds do. That's what ministry is. And so Paul was saying, listen, he said we were willing to not only give to you the Word of God, but we also gave to you our very life also because you had become dear to us. And that's what ministry is. And so you highly regard people for their faithful service and great examples in the Lord. Paul was obviously a man who could teach not only through speaking and writing, but also through life. In Acts chapter 20 verses 18 through 20, it says, when they arrived, he said to them, these are the Ephesian elders who arrived to speak to the Apostle Paul and Paul's speaking, he said to them, now listen, you know how I lived the whole time I was with you from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears. Although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews, you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly from house to house. You know how I lived and I taught you publicly in house to house. He would combine not only the words that he spoke but the life that he lived. And so when the writer of Hebrews is speaking here and says, remember those who rule over you, who've spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, he's saying you should thank God and love these people who give you the word of God accurately. He says, but not only do they give you the word accurately, but they live accurately also. And so it always goes hand to hand. And that's why thirdly, he says considering the outcome of their conduct. The word considering means to observe carefully and repeatedly. It speaks of looking at this again and again. Those of you who like sports, as I do, I enjoy sports, I don't play them, but I can watch them. And as I watch them, I have my favorite teams and all and that's pretty obvious in this church. If you come here long enough, you know I have my favorite teams. I will mention them. And so yesterday I watched my favorite football team play. And it didn't play in the evening, it played at lunchtime. Some of you know what I'm speaking about. SC played it at night. And so what? So I was watching, so I was watching UCLA play. And the interesting thing about that is I watched the game and then I'll watch the news hours later just to relish that one more time. I do that. I will see the whole game and then today I read the newspaper from two different accounts just to say oh yeah it was a great game and yeah I saw that. And so you know that's just the way it is. You know, you consider something by looking at it over and over again. And that's what he's speaking about when he's speaking about their lives. He's saying look carefully at their lives. But especially consider the conclusion of their life. Look at the fruit of their life. Observe how they lived and how they closed a well spent life. Did they die with regret? Did they die with sorrow? Did they die with grief? You know, consider the outcome of it. Watch the way they lived and observe them as they die. And that to me is a very powerful thing because as you watch somebody as they're about to close their eyes to enter into eternity that's when their whole life is being summed up. And he's saying you can look at the life of these leaders and you remember those who've gone before you who've gone on to be with the Lord and remember how they went with faith and how they went with that joy. How they went to heaven with that peace that came through a relationship with God. So consider the outcome of their conduct. And so as you love them they have spoken the word of God to you. Their faith is something you should follow and the fruit of their life is worthy of emulation because it demonstrates to you the truthfulness of their walk with God. And that's what it's all about isn't it? It's getting in the word of God, it's loving the things of the Lord and it's carrying on to the very end. Then he moves on into verse 8 and he says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. Leaders come and leaders go. But the one to be remembered and followed always will be Jesus Christ and that's the key isn't it? The day is going to come and I'm not hastening that day but the day will come when I'm just not going to make it to this pulpit and I know that. I know that the day is going to come when the Lord is going to take me home and if Jesus hasn't returned somebody else is going to occupy this pulpit and that's fine with me as long as they're godly as long as they love the Lord and they love the church and they have a vision that's wonderful, that's exactly what I want should the Lord tarry and I realize that the day is going to come when I step out but people are not following me anyway people can observe my lifestyle and they can say well the pastor has a passion about certain things and that has affected my life to the good and all of that but pastors come and pastors go but Jesus remains forever and that's the point he's making Jesus is the one who remains forever and that's because he's the same yesterday when he says he's the same yesterday he's the mediator who offered up prayers for us on our behalf and petitions who continues to do so he is the same today because he's the one who continues to offer up prayers on our behalf and he's the same forever because his priesthood never ceases he has offered up prayers in the past he offers up prayers in the present and he continues for us and so he's the same yesterday, today and forever essentially the same now here's a warning in verse 9 do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines it's good that the heart be established by grace not with foods which have not profited those who've been occupied with them so now he gets into a practical realm and he speaks about strange doctrines strange speaks of that which is foreign unheard of or alien these strange doctrines are teachings that are being introduced into the church by traveling evangelists who would come into the cities seek out the believers then enter into their congregation their house churches and would begin to impart to them things that they said came from God which in reality were what are called alien or strange teachings it's interesting to note that very early in the history of the church deception began to find its way into the church there is an essential truth that Jesus Christ gave to us you find it in the gospel but from the beginning there were people who entered in who would bring in stranger alien doctrines and Paul speaks about this in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 when he says in verses 13 through 15 speaking of them that they're false apostles they're deceitful workers that they transformed themselves into apostles of Christ and no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light therefore it's no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose ends shall be according to their works so from the very beginning false teachers false apostles who were inspired by Satan began to creep into the church and infect it with error in 2 Peter 2 1 Peter said there were false prophets also among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you who secretly shall bring endamnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction that's why in 2 John verse 10 John said if anyone comes to you and doesn't bring this teaching do not take him into your house or welcome him now when he says somebody comes and brings a strange doctrine don't introduce him into your house don't bring him into the house it is not sane and I say this quickly because some people sometimes have asked this question to this patient if somebody might asking that question somebody says and I've heard this before well pastor is John saying that if somebody who is not a Christian comes to my door preaching a false doctrine is he saying that I should not welcome them in sit down with them and dialogue with them and no that's not what he's saying and I'll tell you why in a moment but first I'll say it this way if a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness comes to your door and you're equipped to be able to share the gospel with them and you do so and you welcome them in and you offer some cold water to them as they're seated there because they're out there in the heat and all you're doing a charitable deed you're doing a good thing you're caring for people that's what the Lord would have us to do just because I give them a glass of water doesn't mean I agree with their doctrine because I don't and so if I have them in my front room seated with me and I'm talking with them and I offer them something to drink I'm actually just being charitable to them so have I and would I offer them a drink or bring them into my house and the answer is yes yes I have many times and I would do it if time permitted and I was able to do so with no hesitation why because it's a great opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them okay then if you're saying that you've invited them into your house then what is John talking about when he says do not take them into your house or welcome him what is he saying all you need is to remember the context of the church and it's beginning where did the church meet the church met in houses what is he speaking about as a pastor teacher if I have somebody who's bringing a false doctrine I'm not to welcome them into my church to spread their message to the people who are seated there to welcome them in in our fellowship I have people who on a monthly basis at least sometimes it comes more often than that who will say well we're coming through the area and we have this message and we'd like to bring it and it's a message of error they want me to welcome them into this pulpit I try to be as careful as possible with any guest speakers that I bring in here because I don't want them to bring something false to you and in doing so I'm actually following on verse 10 when I do that I'm not welcoming them into this to bring their strange doctrines to you so that's what he's speaking about and he says do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines don't be getting away from the grace of God notice verse 9 it is good that the heart be established by grace and not with foods so it would seem that these false teachers intended to bring them back to Jewish dietary laws they're saying that you're blessed if you eat certain things and not blessed if you don't know of course there are foods that we probably are not wise to eat I don't think anybody in this room would argue about that there are foods that I might enjoy that's probably not wise for me to eat anymore maybe it was never wise for me to eat these foods and I did when I was young thinking I'd live forever but now I have a doctor named Marie who is constantly forcing me to eat things that I normally would not on my own do and because she's trying to make me healthy for some reason I've told her you're better off with me dead than alive I'm much better because I've got insurance but she doesn't care she still gives me stuff you know the latest thing that I'm having to eat now let me complain for a moment if I may she's listening right now coconut I love coconut but it's like lard and she brings me a table spoon full of this coconut stuff and then she has some fish oil with lemon juice and she makes me eat that I am telling you you know I saw a fly holding its nose flying away from it he didn't want anything to do with it and that's the pain that I go through but she wants me to eat good foods and she wants me to be healthy and that's a good thing I shouldn't load up on the fats and I shouldn't load up on the various things you know I have to be careful with my cholesterol and all of that that's the truth we know that but does it make me more spiritual is the question am I less spiritual if I eat a ham sandwich am I less spiritual if I eat pork chops now some people won't eat pork with good reason and I have no argument with that more for me I have no argument with that at all there are some things though that really we have to be wise in but does it make me more spiritual because you can go into an airport you used to at least and there would be somebody wearing a robe and their hair with a little ponytail and Hare Krishna's and all they would argue with you that you should not eat meats and they would tell you that the vegetarian diet is the best and all and they'll argue from a spiritual standpoint is it spiritual for me not to eat certain foods the answer is in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 8 food does not bring us near to God we are no worse if we do not eat no better if we do food doesn't bring us to God you see our hearts are established not by food but by grace in Romans 14 verses 1 through 3 the Bible says accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters one man's faith allows him to eat everything but another man whose faith is weak eats only vegetables the man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does for God accepted him food is not going to make me better and it's not going to make me worse it's the grace of God that I am resting in it's the grace of God that I have been established by now he goes on and he says in verse 10 we have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat for if the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burnt outside the camp therefore Jesus also said that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered outside the gate and so he speaks of an altar notice that in verse 10 we have an altar this altar that he's referring to is the cross of Jesus Christ because an altar is a place of sacrifice and so he's speaking of the fact that our altar or that which we look at is the cross of Christ because the cross of Jesus is the place of sacrifice and the point he's making in these verses was sacrificed on Golgotha outside the city walls of Jerusalem and the Bible makes it clear that he carried his cross to Mount Calvary also known as Golgotha in John 19 verse 17 it says he bearing his cross went out to a place called the place of a skull which is called in Hebrew Golgotha and so that's what he's referring to the fact that Jesus Christ went outside of the camp carrying his cross but also in verse 10 he speaks of the fact that he is our spiritual nourishment notice he says we have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat he's speaking of the fact that we have a right to partake in him because he belongs to us he is our spiritual nourishment because we receive God's grace through Jesus Christ now in John chapter 6 verses 53 through 57 Jesus speaking says this he says I tell you the truth unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him just as the living father sent me and I live because of the father so the one who feeds on me will live because of me Jesus is the true bread from heaven we partake in him and he gives to us spiritual nourishment his blood is the real drink because in imbibing of his blood we are recognizing that we have been washed by him so Jesus Christ is the one who says if you eat my flesh you'll have life in you he's the one who says you will never hunger for anything again and that's why when I got saved that's why when I was a young man and I committed my heart to Christ that's why after coming to Christ though others began to speak to me which I found very interesting I had never had real religious conversations before until after I got saved and then it seemed like out of the woodwork people with different philosophies began to show up on my doorstep even to talk to me about what they believed and all up to that point I don't remember ever having anybody really speak to me about spiritual things outside of people in my own family who might occasionally say something to me about God and prayer and the Bible or something and yet after getting saved now I'm having people show up and beginning to share with me in things and telling me things people from religious science or people from Jehovah's Witnesses and they're beginning to share with me about Buddhism and all of this now that I have Jesus maybe I should look at Buddha for a while and see what he has and when I got saved I didn't say well now that I have Jesus that's great I'll put him into my religious bag that I have but maybe Muhammad has some things that I've never thought about so I'll check out what he has to say I never did that I never hungered or thirsted for anything else other than Christ that was it I encountered the one who said that if I have him that I'll never hunger one of the ways that I know that I'm born again is that I have this total satisfaction in following Jesus Christ I have no desire to follow Muhammad I'm interested in the things that he has to say simply so I can contrast that with the claims of Christ and I can point out that Jesus Christ is the truth by knowing some of the things that perhaps the Quran has written that's why I've looked at things that the Mormons have believed because I've had young Mormons at the house just recently I had a couple of young men who were at my house and as we were speaking concerning some of the events in the Book of Mormon and finally one of the Mormons looked at me and said you've read the Book of Mormon haven't you and I said I've read portions of it I'm familiar with the errors you know and so and so we have interest in conversations because I've done that I've read I've done my homework on some of these subjects but it isn't so that I can follow that I'm absolutely completely totally dedicated to Jesus committed to him full on forever that's what he's saying he's saying Jesus Christ when he died on that cross that's our altar that place of sacrifice and we partake in him through his grace and he fully satisfies us and we're established by the grace of God and the nourishment that we have that we partake of is spiritual in nature and it comes through faith in Christ so he says in verse 13 therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp bearing his reproach and so if this is true if we have a relationship with Christ and if Jesus died willingly for us then let us follow him willingly even when we need to suffer shame on his behalf in Matthew 16 24 and 25 Jesus said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it so follow me pursue me finally he goes on to say in verse 14 following here we have no continuing city but we seek the one to come therefore by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name but do not forget to do good and to share with such sacrifices God is well pleased we have no continuing city but we seek the one to come verse 14 says heaven is our home we are simply passing through as aliens and strangers on earth we don't want to get loaded down with the things of this world we can use them but we are not to abuse them because we are in the world but we are not of the world we here have no continuing city but we do seek the one to come Philippians 3 12-14 Paul says not that I have already attained or am already perfected but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended but one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus heaven is our home and we are just passing through here we have no continuing city but we seek the one to come that is the motivator the believer the Christian people don't automatically go to heaven people have to be born again to enter into the kingdom of God and so because of that we pursue him notice as he says in verse 15 by him let us continually offer the sacrifice what sacrifice? well the sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name we praise him we praise him continually notice as we praise him verbally it's the sacrifice that the redeemed give interestingly I don't know about you I'm probably speaking to myself but maybe somebody else does this I know that before I got saved my goal in life was to be a rock star anybody else want to be a rock star when you were a kid? and there was this ancient group of the for-profits called the Beatles and a friend of mine and I when they first came out just really loved that group loved them for years and we were kids 13-14 years old and so I would go into the den at home and turn on music real loud and he would sometimes be Paul McCartney and I'd be John Lennon and then sometimes I'd be John Lennon and he'd be Paul McCartney none of us wanted to be Ringo because it was ugly and I would get the hairbrush and I would just sing lead and he'd be playing the drums on the couch and I wanted to be a rock star and so even growing older I'd turn on the radio and it was just me and the radio and I would sing at the top of my lungs as I was driving down the street in the dark, I mean at night not during the day but during I'd just sing and I loved it, I loved singing I loved just doing that I would just sing out loud I still do that in the confines of my home and still in my car, I still do that I haven't stopped doing that but I don't want to be a rock star anymore but I'll tell you this it was kind of weird when I got saved because I could sing songs you know along with those guys that I like so much at the top of my lungs and I'd come to church and I got quiet and you don't want, well of course I mean if you can't carry a tune you don't want to bother the person in front of you and not everybody can be in the front row but I had to learn that I should praise the Lord openly that I should be praising him with my voice and singing to him songs of worship and I ought to make a habit of that that's what he's saying here the sacrifice of praise praise him out loud and praise him continually because that's the sacrifice redeemed people give in Psalm 34.1 the Psalmist said, I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth in 1 Thessalonians 5.18 give thanks in all circumstance for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus and so blessing the Lord and giving thanks is just what we as believers do and so we should be people of all people who are willing to sing openly and out loud to the Lord especially in groups like this where it's a good thing to do because we're together with family and all and then finally in verse 16 he says do not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifice as God is well pleased we don't just sing our songs of praise but we also do good works in a very real sense we offer up our praise and our property in Galatians 6.10 it says as we have opportunity let us do good to all especially to those of the household of faith and so not only do I sing unto the Lord but I look for ways through my financial provisions help somebody if they're in need that's how it works in Christianity do not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifices God is well pleased interestingly in the early church Acts chapter 2 verses 44 and 45 the Bible says all who believed were together had all things in common sold their possessions and goods divided them among all as anyone had need when I had something that I could if I sold I could benefit somebody else that are doing so and helping them as an early church Christian that's what I did I helped them I gave to them so I could minister to them that was just a generous of people who understood that the family cares for itself so don't forget to do good and to share well why, well for with such sacrifices God is well pleased because that's what we've been created to do is to share, to praise to love and just trust Jesus with all of our hearts