Conclusion of a Masterpiece (Part A)

Word of God. Prayer other believers. Walking with Jesus Christ. Section 242.

You know the Hindus and Muslims. They will tolerate you bringing junk into their religion junk that they called the will tolerate. Christians will Christians will tolerate anything you bring in. Often times makes them feel good.

This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston.

Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Hebrews. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Hebrews chapter 13 as he begins his message. Conclusion of a masterpiece.

We are continuing and concluding the letter to the Hebrews.

We are in chapter 13 verses 18 through 25, pray for us. We are confident that we have a good conscience in all things desiring to live honorably, but I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you sooner. I 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 make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you it is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen. And I appeal to you, brethren there with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in a few words know that our brother Timothy is been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly read all those who rule over you and all the saints, those in Italy greet you.

Grace be with you all.

Amen we have our 13 year old and up in the sanctuary with us for reason we want you to be exposed to the word with your parents. There are things you don't understand. You need to ask want you to know what's going on in here not just be sitting with the adults you're every bit a part of this assembly you are to receive the word to be held accountable to it, to rejoice in it to use it as a sort of God. We encourage you to get understanding. Broaden your vocabulary keep up with what's being preached lay hold on eternal life and ministry God has for you. Well, this morning's consideration out of Hebrews 13 is the conclusion of a masterpiece whose masterpieces. It is the masterpiece of God through the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. This writer is the scribe he is inspired by the spirit of God's knowledge has been imparted to him, both directly and through study and through experience and exposure and he is finalizing what we know as Hebrews letter to the Hebrews in verse 18 he says, pray for us. We are confident that we have a good conscience in all things desiring to live honorably. Now he would only ask believers to pray for him we would not say to an unbeliever, could you pray for me because they have nowhere to pray to know whether we would respect her honor. It is Jesus that I am the way the truth and life no man comes of the father except through me. So how could we make such a request. So we have to remember them whenever we read this Hebrew letter that is written to believers prayer as we know it in our lifetime.

It is not fully explained to us to man mankind. We have enough information explained to believe and to practice prayer and prayer is a practice development as you.

The more you pray the better at it you get if you praying according to the Scripture. If you're praying with understanding which the Scripture insists that we do.

We know that prayer has resident forces within it to change outcomes. It is not just this exercise in speech is going right to the presence of God's throne and talking to him directly.

Otherwise, why would Satan put so much effort into keeping us from praying. Why would our sinful nature without effort.

Always tried to keep us from praying because accounts there are consequences to neglected prayer not only in life of the individual. But in those whom he or she could have been praying for the consequences of neglected prayer shallowness is one just here are a few of them being irritated, irritated by a sense of guilt because as believers you know what you're supposed to be doing and when you don't pray when you have no prayer life kinda sticks with you, regret, guilt, sense of underachievement in the spirit low-grade faith, low-grade service, these are the consequences of not praying the just some of them, but there are victories to be gained by praying also those of you who have developed your prayer life.

You know this full well know you do not get everything you asked for goal is to be in the will of God to get what God wants in the lives of whomever it is we are praying for, whether it is the assembly are individuals or ourselves. Prayer is not an excuse for disobedience and it is sad to report that there are many who feel that prayer is an excuse that they get a pass to be disobedient because they prayed about something, praying, singing, claiming to love the Lord Jesus Christ.

All of those are canceled out. If you embrace heresy if we entertain heresy entertain an incident in the first and second definition of our language.

If the picture picture having a party for heresy and fighting it in serving making it feel comfortable interacting with it chuckling with it dialoguing with it, hugging it goodbye hello, whatever it may be.

There are great many in Christianity that think that they when they saw pray about it as though that covers everything.

Often times they they live in complete opposition to the Scripture.

So we read the Scripture verses concerning these matters. Paul writing to Timothy's is always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth, there were such people in the church. There were always so tell me more. What's the latest fad. What's the latest teaching was the latest Bible study, but never going out and entering into it practicing the faith genuine love, genuinely loving and kind. Second Corinthians 11 four review comes preaches another Jesus, whom we've not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received or a different gospel which you have not accepted you may well put up with it. I wrote that Christians Christians who were exercising gifts of the spirit or speaking in tongues who were administering all the other gifts he said to the church and kind of you lack no spiritual gift and yet he was very concerned about them because they were putting up with those who were bringing in false teachings teachings. Contrary to Scripture to the foundation that is been established through Christ by the apostles and the prophets, and then there is the Galatian letter whole region of believers. I marvel is better said, probably. I'm amazed that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel which is not another. There are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed for do I now persuade men, or God do I seek to please men riff. I still please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ that last line if I still please may I really don't care who doesn't like the truth that I'm preaching. But this truth that I am preaching has careful you but if you rejected all that's what he said to the Galatians. That's what he preached to the Corinthians, and that was that's what he told the preacher to preach, always learning, never coming into the knowledge of faith that we claim must be genuine, it must be real to us in spite of our shortcomings encouragement to pray is necessary not because God is reluctant to give us what we asked for but Satan is out for blood and nothing less. In our line of defense the perimeter around us.

The word of God. Prayer other believers.

Walking with Jesus Christ.

Section 242. You know the Hindus and Muslims. They will tolerate you bringing junk into their religion junk that they called you that will tolerate Christians will Christians will tolerate anything you bring in. Often times, if it makes them feel good.

If it's something new and bubbly is what we have churches singing secular softens the day we assembled to worship God. Worship is not entertainment those who lead us in song and an with music instrument. It's not a presentation. It is worship. It is falling down before a holy and righteous God who loves us and wants to be loved in return will fully and so when we see these things happening in churches what is going on and this is spreading everywhere in India that just reading one of our newsletters from one of the missions that we support. They are chasing the Christians out now. The orphanages all the Christian care for those who are suffering and in need physical needs as well as spiritual, the Hindus of the ones that are driving this you know that they have orphanages in India for towels because they view them as sacred. If a street cow is sick or old and dying can take them to the orphanage where they can get care nevermind human beings. This is madness but is not know. Maybe a new brand with the same thing in Egypt. They worship cats and reptiles and other wacko crazy things like read the last four chapters of the book of Judges and see what sin can do to human beings. So I threw them my concubine as I didn't want them to get me men are supposed to protect women not to throw them away as though they were chattel or Patterson possession and then he chopped her up and sent her out to the tribes, how grotesque, how revolting sin is serious business where to be serious about how we worship God because were left here to deal with sin and for really no other reason. Otherwise, take us home we worship there in heaven with Original Sin.

We are here with their where it exists in manifold forms. So when he starts out closing up this letter, he says, pray for us. We need spiritual artillery.

We need to bombard the enemies embankments fortifications. He says for we are confident that we have a good conscience that word good, very important. It is in the Greek use also for honorable women honorable conscious pulsated this way, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there is anything praiseworthy if there is anything virtuous, meditate, think on develop in your head in your lives these things out when the bodices meditated in the mingled is 1/4 ago am try to contact some spiritual you is to put concentrated energy into what has been preached to think about what God has said to consume it to eat it to devour it to get it inside of us so that we can do something with it and so he says I'm in the will of God, pray for me to say I'm perfect saying I deal with my shortcomings, my sin, the way God would have me deal with it.

I'm striving for perfection with every step I take.

Please pray for me.

I'm not hounded by guilt. So many Christians are hounded by guilt one because they're guilty of something they're not dealing with impenitent sin. Blatant sin they want to sing away. Often times, or get somebody else to just wink at it support them nonetheless. But don't you hold them accountable, then there are other Christians homages guilt in the don't know why they guilty because they don't don't understand the grace of God is the touch of God on sinners as sinners. It is to say, I would touch you. I will love you. I will be your savior. Once you clean up your act is, as I will wait do it right away instantly. I'll put my hands on you, you will repent and own the sin that you're born into a good conscience, honorable conscience elsewhere, translated godly, that word if you refuse to deal with your sin to face it to bring it before the Lord, you will clog the lines of prayer. That's why he's connecting the to the Holy Spirit through the writer pray for us. We have a good conscience, went up to no good motives are pure and if you don't have pure motives and cleanup through repentance, that which is wrong before God clog up the prayer line. Proverbs 28 91 who turns away his ear from hearing the law. Even his prayer is an abomination. Those who settle.

I had were God that the prayer life. God said what you don't want to hear my word I will hear your prayers goes both ways. A double-edged sword. Ungodly motives deflate prayer. God is looking for those who are genuinely interested in everything that he has a say so Jesus said to the woman God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth, not lots which Olivia's Bush Jesus have said it's okay to have lies about Christ.

Of course not. He says here in verse one and all things desiring to live honorably. There's that word honorably. How many Christians live comfortably without honor. How many honor is lost when truth is ignored, vilified, dishonesty is not honorable, it does it. Did we know that, but how many of us think about that. Some behave as though dishonesty is an honorable thing. It is not a virtue, nor is it an asset when honesty is cast away the control of good is compromised and we need we don't need that we do not need good compromised.

It's hard you young Christians. It's hard, but it is worth it in the way without the hard way of truth is even harder. The way of the transgressor is hard says the proverb, because it is true. All life is difficult because there are resisting forces as you grow as you mature you going to find drives and desires.

Pressing upon you to go the opposite way of Christ and you must fight against it. You are expected to fight against it. You are expected to win, you're not expected to excuse these things anymore than the adults and if you saw mom and dad give up on their faith, you'd be disgusted.

Why should you be allowed to give up on your faith simply because you're facing temptations in life.

So be ready for those things is your maturing.

If you are 13 1415 1617 years of you will be ready for these things that coming for you. You should prevail.

You should give those temptations a beat down, but you've got to do certain things to win. You cannot expect to win just because you are adored by your parents. You're going to have to get involved you want to be treated like an adult and you're going to have to start fighting like one.

Your many adults. However, they do not fight as though they are maturing faith. They don't fight at all. Verse 13 he says, but I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you. The sooner so he believed prayer yields victories and he emphasizes his prayer request. I want to be back with you wherever they were. We have some hints churches Jewish church for sure but it's more than likely in a Gentile environment, say, Antioch or Galatia region like that come back to that towards the end of the letter but is eager to see them. He wrote this to the church in Rome also. That church in Rome before he had visited them and he writes the Roman letter to them. Years later when he arrives in Rome in shackles to stand before Caesar Christians come out or 40 miles to greet him, no doubt carrying brought flowers and fruits and vegetables and water just to love on the apostle Paul as they marched him towards Rome. So when he wrote to that the Roman letter that the Christians in Rome they know you love them and that everything that he said to them was right spot on the left him back say things happening to these Jews. He was believe it or not, I'll save that for the end of Romans 15 he wrote to them, he says no I ask you, brethren through the Lord Jesus Christ through the love of the spirit that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me it was a man of God saying as much as God is use me all the revelations he's given me the Scripture he's allowed me to write I need prayer from you I need you to pray for me where part of a brotherhood. The brotherhood of faith.

Those who believe in Christ, not a universal brotherhood where everybody is God's child. Everybody is not God's child because they don't want to be God's child, you can only be his child on his terms.

You cannot live in his house as a rebel by Satan was booted verse 20 says, having made his prayer request to them is closing up this this Hebrew document and then he says 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 now is stop midway through this benediction's closing prayer on the people. That is every bit as valid as Moses being told to tell Aron when you dismiss the people blessed in this way, the Lord bless you. The Lord keep you Lord make his face to shine upon you. This New Testament blessing is just as valid eigenvalues to use. This is closing blessing little rusty on it. I might try it before we enter I don't know Adam.

He placed peace with his wife above peace with God story of Eden, so went the right analysis.

May the God of peace does God. God is also a warrior.

He is a warrior against his enemies, and that which would hurt his people's children, but he wants peace. Peace is disturbed by created beings first by Satan and those follow him and then by his beloved Adam whatever piece Adam thought he was preserving felt pieces move you've been listening to cross reference radio the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick asked Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply log on to cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick, you can subscribe cross reference radio.com or simply search for cross reference radio your favorite podcast to the next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of Hebrews right here on cross reference radio