Chapter 13: 18-25

^{18 “}Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. ¹⁹ But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. ²⁰ Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²² And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. ²³ Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly. ²⁴ Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. ²⁵ Grace be with you all. Amen.”

Many of us have a hard time with having a purpose in our lives. We live in a sense of ambiguity, and we are unable to settle on a life goal and purpose. However, our Lord God has a way of distilling things down to their simplest forms and making it so that we have no excuses as to why we do not obey Him.  Over the almost 40 years that I have been in ministry, one of the things that I have tried to learn myself and to help others to learn is that God does not ask us to do things that cannot be done. The Christian life is a practical life that can be lived in obedience to the Lord, and in this passage, the apostle Paul gives us some insights as to how to live to please the Lord.

• Remember what Jesus did for you, verse 20

This may sound too simple to be true, but it is that simple. Each and every day, our motivation to live pleasing to God is that we recall how we were saved. We were not saved by our own power, by our own accomplishments, by our own ability, and certainly not by our own righteousness. Jesus did it for us. We were lost, damned to Hell, the flames licking at our feet, and then Jesus joyfully came and redeemed us. He paid my price for my sin; He and He alone satisfied the righteous judgment of God, and I am now a child of God according to 1 John 3:1. This should motivate us to live to please God.

Not only did He redeem us, but it is an ‘everlasting’ redemption; no one can take it from us. We are preserved and protected by God. Jesus is our High Priest who never stops pleading on our behalf in Heaven, our Advocate and our best friend. Take the time each day to remember what Jesus did. Read about the payment that is made and begin every day in awe that you are a child of God and no longer under His wrath because of Jesus and what He did and is doing for us. As a thankful people, we should, out of rabid gratitude, live to please God in any and all ways that we can. When we fail, when we sin, and we will, we have forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9) promised to us from God.

• Complete to do His will, verse 21

God makes us able to do His work and His will. We are not able to please God in and of ourselves, even when we are saved. We still need His help every second of the day, and this is why He sent us the Holy Spirit to live in us and to empower our churches. This is so we have the leadership and the power to obey Him. He has left us without excuse. This is not about legalism and following rituals. Ours is a relationship that is as individual as any other relationship. God will lead you in ways that He will not lead another. There are fundamental things like being baptized, being a faithful member of a local church, and making a deliberate regiment of Bible study and prayer (we explored this last week).

But being religious is not a part of the walk we have with Jesus. Ours is a walk of relationship where we trust in the goodness of God and not in our accomplishments. We trust that God always has our best at heart even when it hurts and when we don’t understand, and we trust that God is our Friend and One in whom we can trust our darkest and deepest fears; God is good.

In Jesus, and only in Jesus, we have the power to ‘do His will’ and to live ‘pleasing in His sight.’ What will our life look like if we are to live pleasing to the Lord and in His will? The prophet Micah laid this out for us hundreds of years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)

These things seem too easy to read, but they are lifestyles based on desiring to please God. They are lifestyles that we can only have if Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is moving us to live. The whole complaint of God in Micah 6:1-7 was that the people were ‘serving’ God ritually but did not truly form a loving devotion to Him. They were going through religious motions and not living out in relationships. Notice that living to please God has a lot to do with how we treat others: live justly, walk humbly, and love mercy. This is all about others and how we treat them.

If we remember each day, recall as often as possible what it took to redeem us and save us, we will walk humbly, we will love to extend to others the mercy that we receive from the Lord each day, and we will live with personal integrity and live justly. These things please God, these things are His will, and these things show a true gratitude for the salvation that was so expensive to God but that is freely offered to us. May we never forget how great a salvation we have in Jesus.

1 Peter 1:18-21 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:18-21 NIV).

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook (live broadcast of Sunday’s Message at 11 am): https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Join us on Zoom every Sunday (10:30 am) for Sunday Service AND every Tuesday at 8:00 pm for Bible Study: Meeting ID: 700 794 460 Passcode: 032661; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/700794460?pwd=M3NFRG91ZW5Sa2Z3amVyWkFnYXd6QT09

Online: https://www.mmbchurch.ca

Email: support@mmbchurch.ca

Chapter 13: 7-17

⁷ “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.

¹² “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. ¹³ Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ¹⁴ For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. ¹⁷ Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

This past week I had the opportunity to participate in a meeting in our regional church association that met in Indiana. We had more than 25 churches – missionaries and churches represented. We heard from missionaries who served in Thailand and Indonesia; we heard from a mission work that hands out Bibles all over the world at sporting events like the Superbowl and the Olympics, and they had reached the milestone of having given out the Bible to more than 1,000,000 people over the years. They were still planning projects and recruiting people to go do the work.

We were simply blessed to hear all that God is doing, both near and far away. God’s Gospel is being taken to the ends of the earth, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Today we will jump back into the Book of Hebrews and see what we can learn today.

The Sacrifice of Praise to God, verse 15

I am reminded daily of my sin, my failures and that the price to pay for me and redeem me was priceless. I could not have done it on my own. This fact should humble us every moment of every day, and we should live in a constant mode of praise to the Lord for all He is doing, did, and will do. If He never did anything good for us ever again, He would have already done too much. There is never a time when we should not be praising God. We should be constantly in awe of His love, grace, mercy, kindness, provision, and on and on we can go.

I continue to be astonished by the number of thankless people I meet who claim to be saved. Now, all of us are human and frail; there are times when we lose sight of all we have, and we can become mired in pity. But pity should not be a lifestyle in the Christian’s life. We are blessed beyond all measure, and as such, we should be in a constant time of praise.

Do you have food to eat? Praise God! Do you have the security of knowing you have eternal life in Jesus? Praise God. Do you have friends and family who love you? Praise God. By the way, as a child of God, you can never be alone, so if you think you are, you are wrong. Praise God for that too. Do you have access to the Bible? Praise God. Do you have a roof over your head? Praise God. Can you see God moving in your life and the life of your family? Praise God. Do you attend a Bible-teaching local church that takes the Great Commission seriously and challenges you to serve the Lord? Praise God. Do you have a home prepared by Jesus awaiting you? Praise God.

I can go on, and so can you. Praising God should be as natural and as often as the sacrifices at the Temple, all day from sun up to sun down. Praise God in the small things like getting home in your car, waking up, and just about anything that you can think of.

Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”

Sharing and Doing Good, verse 16

When we live our lives praising God, He will provide opportunities for us to live out that praise and that thankfulness by helping others. As children of God, we should always be ready and willing to help our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We should not count anything we have as our own, especially in reference to material things. All that God has given us is for His glory and use.

Acts 4: 32-35 “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.”

Sometimes we are called upon to give sacrificially; maybe something we have cherished God has asked us to give away or use for Him. We are not to begrudge God or the person we are helping. Thankful people are always looking to help others and, in so doing, point them to Jesus. Notice that this kind of generosity pleases God. It makes Him happy, and this is how we should live, always looking to please God.

In verse 16, we are reminded to ‘do good’ to others. This is more than giving your stuff; this is also giving yourself. Loving them, going out of your way to serve, to help, to listen, to forgive and be forgiven. This means treating God’s people with dignity and honor, esteeming each other ahead of ourselves, and living to serve each other solely for the purpose of pleasing God our Father, for no other reason.

What if our churches were filled with people who praised God a lot, praised Him often, open and unashamedly? What if our churches were filled with people who sought to do good to each other and to share what we are blessed with sacrificially? What if our homes were lived out the same way? How would we change the world close to us? How would God’s name and fame be shown to the people watching us, and how clear the character and ways of God would be to others? How would you and I be different if we lived like Hebrews 13: 15-16? Maybe some of you already are; that is awesome. I pray the rest of us will catch on and live praising, giving, and sacrificing for the sole purpose of pleasing God.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook (live broadcast of Sunday’s Message at 11 am): https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch

Join us on Zoom every Sunday (10:30 am) for Sunday Service AND every Tuesday at 8:00 pm for Bible Study: Meeting ID: 700 794 460 Passcode: 032661; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/700794460?pwd=M3NFRG91ZW5Sa2Z3amVyWkFnYXd6QT09

Online: https://www.mmbchurch.ca

Email: support@mmbchurch.ca