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Hebrews chapter 13, as Pastor 
Cam mentioned today, is the international day of prayer for the persecuted 
church. I thought it would be good for 
us to look at the scriptures, specifically Hebrews 13 and verse 
3, and to see that this is not just a daily thing we do once 
a year, but we ought to remember those in chains. We ought to 
remember those who are suffering for the cause of Christ. The 
tense of the verb that is used by the Apostle, remember, means 
it's a continual action. So in many respects, one day 
a year is a crock. We ought to be, as God's people, 
mindful of our brothers and sisters who are suffering. So I'll pick 
up reading in Hebrews 13 at verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers. For by so doing, some have unwittingly 
entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if 
chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves 
are in the body also. Marriage is honorable among all, 
and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 
Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as 
you have. For he himself has said, I will 
never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, the Lord 
is my helper. I will not fear. What can man 
do to me? Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we praise you and we thank you for the written word 
of God. We thank you that all scripture is given by inspiration 
of God and that it's profitable. for doctrine, for reproof, for 
correction, for instruction in righteousness. We pray that you 
would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work. Help us, our 
Father, to take to heart the admonition here in Hebrews 13. 
Help us to remember your people who are throughout this world 
suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ. Help us, God, not to 
be so selfish and so self-centered as so often is true of those 
in the West. We just pray that You would forgive 
us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and cause us to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. We thank You, our Father, 
that the Word of God is going forth throughout the earth. We 
thank You that Your Word is running swiftly and being glorified. We thank You that men from every 
tribe and tongue and people and nation are coming to know Jesus 
Christ as Lord and Savior. We pray that You would embolden 
Your church cause them to reflect on that great promise of our 
Savior who said the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
her. We ask, Father, that you would just encourage your people, 
build them up in their most holy faith, and use them to propagate 
the glorious gospel of free and sovereign grace. We ask now, 
Father, that you would help us as we look to your Scripture, 
and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, in the 
particular context here in Hebrews chapter 13 verses 1 to 25 in 
chapter 13 are some concluding exhortations, some requests and 
some final greetings. So the bulk of this particular 
book is taken up with the glory of Jesus Christ as the high priest 
of the new covenant. The bulk of the book describes 
how we come out of darkness into marvelous light. And then these 
latter chapters apply that. Remember back in Hebrews chapter 
10, verses 19 and following, he says, Therefore, brethren, 
having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 
by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, that therefore 
follows an exposition of the priestly office of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. So the truth is, is that when 
we come out of darkness into marvelous light, Jesus has crown 
rights over us. Jesus commands us how we are 
to function in this world. He commands us how we're to think. 
He commands us how we are to live. And in Hebrews 13, the 
author is concluding with some very vital elements of biblical 
religion. As we look at the context specifically, 
we notice a general command in verse one. Hebrews 13, verse 
1, let brotherly love continue. That is an emphasis throughout 
the New Testament. We are to be lovers of the brothers. We are to love those for whom 
Jesus died and rose again. In fact, John the Apostle in 
his first epistle makes it very clear that this is one indicator, 
one way that we know we have passed from death to life if 
we love the brethren. If we don't love the brethren, 
than we haven't passed from death to life. His logic is simple. How can we say we love God who 
we can't see if we don't love our brother who we can see? So the broad text or the broad 
command in chapter 13 of Hebrews is to let brotherly love continue. 
And then he gives two specific applications. Notice in verse 
two, he applies this to strangers. Verse two, do not forget to entertain 
strangers for by so doing, some have unwittingly entertained 
angels. I believe the reference there 
is to Abraham with those three men who were ultimately angels 
of the Lord. The idea is that we are to be 
benevolent. We are to be kind. We are to 
be compassionate and loving. We're to be others minded. So 
let brotherly love continue with a specific application to strangers, 
to those who are outside of our normal circles. And then he applies 
it to sufferers. Let brotherly love continue for 
the stranger, and then in verse three for the sufferer. Verse 
three, remember the prisoners as if chained with them. Those 
who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also. We're going to take up this command 
under three considerations. The first, the duty to remember. It is a command. It is an imperative. You don't have the right to live 
your life as if Hebrews 13.3 doesn't exist. You don't have 
the right to be selfish and self-centered. You don't have the right to be 
negligent of the fact that our brethren are suffering throughout 
the world for the cause of Christ. So the duty to remember, the 
objects we are to remember, and thirdly, the reason we are to 
remember. And then we'll conclude with 
some application. But notice, remember. The verb 
used means this. It means remember to care for 
them. Remember with a view to taking 
action. It's not just an assent. Yeah, 
I think somewhere out there, somebody is having it bad for 
the Lord Jesus Christ. No, you remember with a specific 
reason, with concern. Remember them for their good. 
To remember in a way which will benefit the person concerned 
in some way or other. This was the verb or the word 
used by the thief on the cross when he said to Jesus, remember 
me when you come into your kingdom. He was not hoping that Jesus 
would be in his kingdom and say, you know, I met a man while I 
was on the cross. He was a nice fellow. No, he 
meant remember me with the thought and the intention to do good 
to me. The same thing is brought out 
in Galatians 2 and verse 10, when the apostle Paul highlights 
his meeting with the Jerusalem leaders. And he says that they 
described, or they said to Paul, they desired only that we should 
remember the poor. Again, not just the idea that 
there's poor people out there. If I asked all of you, you could 
say that. Yes, I have a mental ascent. I know enough. I read 
the papers. I see the streets. And I understand 
that there's poor people out there. No, Paul says that we 
remember the poor, and then he says the very thing which I also 
was eager to do. Probably in view was the poor 
in Judea. Remember that Paul busied himself 
going to several Gentile churches, collecting monies so that he 
could go back to the churches in Judea and bring them tangible 
aid. So it wasn't just a remembrance 
that they were suffering. No, it was a remembrance with 
a desire to do good to their souls, to do good to their bodies. Remember to care for them. It's already mentioned. It's 
a present tense, which indicates continual action. That's why 
the whole idea of having one day out of the year when we, 
you know, sort of submit ourselves and we give time to think about 
Brethren in North Korea or in India or in Sudan or China is 
really a crock. It's almost as bad as having 
one day out of the year that in that one day we remember aborted 
babies. Brethren, these things ought 
to be in our hearts and our minds. You have to find our vent and 
our prayers to God. Remember that scene in Ezekiel 
chapter nine, when the prophet has a vision. He sees six men 
with slaughtering weapons appear before him. And then there's 
one man clothed in linen. He's got a writer's ink horn. 
Then he hears instruction from the throne room that one man 
with the writer's ink horn is to go around and mark the foreheads 
of those in Jerusalem who sighed and cried over the abominations 
in the land. He's told to go out and find 
people who care. Go and find people who are perplexed 
about the idolatry and the bail worship and the apostasy and 
defection that is going on. And then he sends those six men 
with slaughtering weapons behind them to do what? To kill them. Those who didn't, not them who 
had the mark, but those who didn't bear the mark. Those who had 
no mark on their foreheads. Those who didn't sigh and cry 
over the abominations in the land. Those six men with slaughtering 
weapons were to destroy And then perhaps most penetrating in that 
vision is that the prophet hears God's instruction to begin at 
my sanctuary, begin in the church. Could it possibly be the case 
that the church cares little to nothing about aborted babies? They care little to nothing about 
prisoners? They care little to nothing about 
those who are suffering for the cause of Christ? Those living 
under communistic regimes? Those who have to fear for their 
lives for simply professing faith in Christ? It's not doing God 
a favor when we have one day a year where we say, oh, yeah, 
I'm going to remember those four people and I'm going to feel 
bad for them. This needs to be in your heart. 
It needs to be in your mind. It needs to be in your life. 
It needs to be an expression of who you are as Christ's people. Remember them. You remember all 
kinds of other things. You remember everything that 
makes you happy. You remember everything that makes you healthy? 
You remember everything that makes you joyful? You need to 
take to heart these brethren who are suffering for the cause 
of Christ. It's simply inexcusable that 
we are not more conscious of what's going on in this world. 
Jesus, our Lord, taught us to pray that God's will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven. Well, in heaven, they're not 
cutting the tongues out of professing Christians. In heaven, they're 
not lopping off feet from preachers. In heaven, they're not butchering 
little babies in their mother's wombs. And if Christ taught us 
to pray this way, then certainly wants us to remember that and 
to care for that and to do what we can in order. call upon God 
to render justice. So there is a duty. It is not 
enough to simply give a verbal assent that we know somewhere 
in this world Christians are suffering. We are to remember 
them with a view to doing something about it. And secondly, the objects 
we are to remember, the prisoners, those who are mistreated. The 
original audience that the apostle is writing to would know something 
about this. Turn to Hebrews 10 for just a moment. Hebrews chapter 
10. This audience was no stranger 
to suffering. Hebrews 10, verse 32, but recall 
the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured 
a great struggle with sufferings. partly while you were made a 
spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly 
while you became companions of those who were so treated. For 
you had compassion on me in my chains and joyfully accepted 
the pondering of your goods, knowing that you have a better 
and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore, 
do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you 
have need of endurance so that after you have done the will 
of God, you may receive the promise. So they were no strangers to 
suffering themselves. They were no strangers to the 
reality that people they knew were in trouble. And so he calls 
upon them, remember the prisoners, and I like this, as if chained 
with them. Why? Because we're so selfish 
that we need to imagine that it's us that is being brutalized. Wouldn't you want somebody, if 
you were being brutalized, to imagine they were right there 
with you, as if mistreated with you? That lends itself to an 
urgency. It lends itself to a seriousness. It lends itself to actually remembering 
them. To identify with your brothers 
and sisters in such a way that you don't think, well, next November, 
I'll get ready for the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted 
church. Next November, I'll do a little 
research and see just how bad it is for the brothers and sisters 
who are suffering. No, imagine that you're being 
mistreated. Remember that statement that 
Jesus said, treat others as you want them to treat you. You need 
to consider the fact that brethren are suffering and you need to 
remember them as if you yourself were chained with them. This 
speaks to the unity of the body as well. It speaks to the fact 
that Jesus Christ is head of a universal church of which we 
are all members. And if one of us suffers, we 
all suffer. Christ identifies in that manner 
when he comes to Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9, when Saul says, Who 
art thou, Lord? He says, I am Jesus, whom you 
are persecuting. What an amazing statement. When you persecute the church, 
you are persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you're persecuting 
our brethren in North Korea, you are persecuting the church 
of Jesus Christ. So remember the prisoners as 
if you were chained with them. And then as well, we need to 
remember that there's a great big antithesis that occurs between 
the believer and the unbeliever. Start out in Genesis 3, 15. God 
said there would be enmity between the seed of the woman and the 
seed of the serpent. And we see that enmity fleshed 
out throughout history, don't we? Don't we? We see it in Genesis 
4, when that murderous, wretched, ungodly Cain destroys his brother 
Abel. We see it with Lamech, we see 
it with men throughout history, warring against the seed of the 
woman, warring against Christ's people. This is what we are to 
expect in this current world. But the apostle doesn't say, 
well, just expect it, but don't do anything about it. No, remember 
that as if you were chained with them, pray for them, care for 
them, love them. The children of the devil hate 
God. So what Edward said, God is on his throne, the children 
of the devil hate him, but they can't get to him to rip him off 
of his throne. Don't think for a moment, brethren, 
if unbelievers had their opportunity to ascend into heaven, they wouldn't 
take God off the throne and dash him down. That's what they do 
now through his people. They can't get at God and choke 
him out. They can't get at God and cut 
off his limbs. They can't get at God and gouge 
out His eyes, so they do it to His people. You are foolish to 
think otherwise. You are living in a fantasy world 
if you do not see this antithesis that exists between the seed 
of the serpent and the seed of the woman. By that, I mean the 
wicked and the righteous. Can somebody turn on this fan, 
please? Thank you. Anyone? The controls are right 
over there, up high. The one on the right, I think, 
is this upper fan here. So there's an antithesis. Remember 
the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated. And then notice, thirdly, the 
reason we are to remember. Remember the prisoners as if 
chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves 
are in the body also. Isn't it a Christian response 
to do this? Isn't it just sickening and wicked 
not to do this? What does Paul say in Romans 
12, 15? We're to rejoice with those who rejoice. Somebody comes 
marching into church on a Sunday and says, I got a promotion at 
work, and we've been praying for that. We all rejoice, don't 
we? If somebody comes marching into 
church and they say, I lost an arm, or I lost a limb, or I lost 
a loved one, or some bad calamity happened, we weep with those 
who weep. It's not just our local church 
here. You need to weep with those who weep in other parts of the 
world. There are fathers being executed for their profession 
of faith in Christ, leaving wives and children. There are being 
or there are those being brutalized, young girls being raped and brutalized 
because they're from Christian families. It is a difficult Christian 
response to weep with those who weep, to care about these things, 
to take notice of these facts. To realize we live in a world 
wherein the heavens declare the righteousness of God, but the 
streets manifest the brutality and the sinfulness of men. Are 
we those who sigh and cry over the abominations in the land? 
If those six men came in right now with slaughtering weapons, 
would we have to run and hide? Would we have to go get guns 
and defend ourselves against these men sent from God to execute 
us because we don't care? How many times can a man turn 
his head and pretend he just doesn't see the suffering that's 
going on? Remember them. It is a Christian 
response to identify with our suffering brethren and to consider 
what it means to be separated from family. Isn't that the argument? Remember the prisoners as if 
chained with them. Remember the prisoners as if 
now their wives and children are on their own. Remember the 
prisoners as if now they have to function without feet. Remember 
the prisoners who have to function without a tongue. Remember the 
prisoners who have to function in a manner that we know nothing 
about. Remember that. Enter into that. Understand something about it. Again, this isn't just Jim Butler 
on a rant. This is Hebrews 13, 3. It is 
a continual activity. You are to remember the prisoners. Notice the clause. He says, you 
yourselves are in the body also. Again, the idea being the unity 
of the body. When one suffers, we all suffer. 
When one rejoices, we all rejoice. There is that solidarity. You 
know, I think it goes even further than that. Goes even beyond that. since you yourselves are in the 
body also." Suffering hurts, doesn't it? Losing a limb for 
the cause of Christ, I don't know because I have mine, must 
hurt. These brethren who are suffering 
are not disembodied spirits. They're not just sort of floating 
around trying to do good for the cause of Christ. They are 
men and women, boys and girls, who have blood, who have veins, 
who have pain nerve endings. They have all these things. They're 
in the body and they suffer atrocity. I mean, some of us, brethren, 
let's just be honest. We get a little bit of a head 
cold and we are just done. We get a little bit of a turmoil 
and we fall apart. We hear anything that loves us 
just a little bit the wrong way and we just stress out. Imagine 
losing your husband or your father. Imagine having the news that 
your daughter was raped because you're Christians. Imagine somebody 
you know and love that was beheaded because they were faithful unto 
the end. You need to think about that. You need to realize also 
you're in the body and these things can happen to you too. 
You need to pray for them, hoping and praying that they in turn 
will pray for you. So that's the command. It's very 
simple. It's very easy. It doesn't take 
a lot of exegesis to understand what's involved here. Remember 
the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, 
since you yourselves are in the body also. By way of application, 
I want to look at a few examples of suffering and then some practical 
benefits to obeying this command. First of all, some examples in 
the Bible. In the Bible, Hebrews 14, we 
alluded to, I'm sorry, Acts 14, verse 22, the apostle Paul took 
as his text in preaching in Derbe, we must through many tribulations 
enter the kingdom of God. Now, for any of you have been 
here for any time, you know what I'm about to say. The people 
that he was preaching to didn't have to say, hey, Paul, what 
do you mean? Hey, Paul, what are you talking 
about? Hey, Paul, we just don't understand. Oh, they understood 
because Paul bore in his own body the brand marks of Jesus. In fact, just prior, the day 
before, Paul gave that sermon on Acts 14.22. We must, through 
many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. He himself had 
been stoned. Not in the 21st century North 
America version. He didn't go out for an all-nighter 
or for a bender. He was stoned with stones. Men 
picked up big rocks to throw at him to try and kill him. This happened at Lystra. Such 
to the point that his companions and the others thought he was 
dead. They dragged his body outside of the city, supposing him to 
be dead. It's an amazing statement. It says the next day, or actually 
that day he went back into the city. I'm no strategist, but 
Paul, that doesn't seem prudent to me. They just stoned you with 
stones and you're going to go back into the city? Yeah, I am. And then the very next day he 
set out for Derby. Now, Derby, mind you, was about 
60 miles from Lystra. That always amazes me. We get 
a cold and we can't walk to the sink to get a glass of water. 
Again, I can only reflect on what a baby I am. If I am sick, 
I ask my wife, could you please do this for me? Could you please 
serve me? You adopt the sick voice just 
to be convincing. You put on the act. You're really 
sick, but you want to make sure you gain from this exchange. This man was stoned to the point 
where people thought he was dead. The next day, he's up. He's walking, 
not on a bike, not on a skateboard. He's not rollerblading his way 
to Derby. He's not taking a little plane. He's not taking a train. He's 
not on the Derby bus. He's not on a trolley. He walks 
to Derby. So when he hobbles up there and 
he takes us his text, we must, through many tribulations, enter 
the kingdom of God. No one, I guarantee you, said, 
what's he talking about? They saw it in his limp. They saw it in his bruises. They 
saw it in the fact that he himself had experienced tribulation. 
Isn't that what he says at the end of Galatians? From now on, 
let no one trouble me. He doesn't say it in a proud 
way. He says, I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus. How 
do you know that Paul was a Christian? He bears in his body the brand 
marks of Jesus. Sinclair Ferguson, in his little 
exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, says, did you imagine 
the day when Paul, the great missionary and apostle, came 
to visit the churches in Galatia? And some of the kids said, hey, 
Paul, let's go for a dip in the lake. Paul takes off his outer 
garment. There you see Galatians 6 emblazoned 
in his flesh. You don't have to ask him, what 
does that mean? Don't let anyone bother me anymore, 
for I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus. It was not uncommon 
in those days to suffer for the cause of Christ. In fact, Paul 
lays down this principle in 2 Timothy 3.12. Yes, and all who desire 
to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But 
turn back to Hebrews chapter 11 for just a moment. Hebrews 
chapter 11, a passage we looked at on Wednesday night. We saw 
in this passage the realism of the Christian life. The honesty 
of God in relating these things to us. Notice in Hebrews chapter 
11, verse 32, and what more shall I say? For the time would fail 
me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also 
of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, 
worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths 
of lions, clenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of 
the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in 
battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received 
their debt, raised to life again." That's great, isn't it? Isn't that amazing? The amazing successes of faith. Don't you love reading that? 
I do. It's beautiful. It's wonderful. Look at what 
these brothers did. God takes unlikely people like 
Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah. He takes unlikely David 
and Samuel and the prophets, and he raises them up, and he 
does mighty things with them. The operative word here, of course, 
is faith. By faith, they subdued kingdoms. 
By faith, they worked righteousness. By faith, they obtained promises. 
By faith, they stopped the mouths of lions. Remember that, Daniel? 
And the angels did. Right? We like to think of it 
as Daniel in the lion's den, but the angels were in there 
protecting Daniel from these vicious lions. Hungry lions, 
too. It's an amazing picture. Let 
me just gloss over that. It's in our memory bank. Yeah, 
that's cool. It's amazing. I don't want to get near a hungry 
dog, let alone a den of lions. Lower me down in there. I'm going 
to be freaking out. Daniel goes in there and God 
preserves him. This is the amazing successes 
of faith. You read through the Bible, you 
see those mighty exploits. You see the Apostle Paul going 
from city to city, victorious and triumphant. No. Weak, trembling, 
fearful. but preaching and God blessing 
and saving sinners. You know, faith isn't just demonstrated 
in the amazing successes. Faith is operative in the sufferings 
as well. This is why the health, wealth, 
prosperity gospel is garbage. It's heretical. It is sinful. It cannot justify Hebrews 11.35b 
to Hebrews 11.38. Notice, others were tortured. 
Not the non-faith havers. No, it's by faith they were tortured. 
You see, that same faith that wins great successes under God 
is the same faith that garners torture under God. That same 
faith which shuts the mouths of lions is the same faith that 
leads one to the death by lions. That same faith that goes into 
the fiery furnace and is not burned up is the same faith demonstrated 
by Thomas Hotz when he was burning to death for the cause of Christ, 
and he raises his stumps and he bangs them together and he 
says, Christ is Lord of the fire. I defy anybody to stand there 
and say, well, he doesn't have faith. Butchery. It's vicious. It's wicked. It's 
ungodly. By faith, others were tortured, 
not accepting deliverance. Notice that they might obtain 
a better resurrection. Well, just change your mind. 
Just recant. Luther, just tell us you didn't 
write these books and everything will be just dandy. Here I stand. I can do no other. Unless I am 
convinced by Holy Scripture, my conscience is held captive 
by the word of God. These men were offered deals. 
They were offered plea bargains. You just relax on this worship 
of Yahweh and we'll let you go. No, they didn't accept deliverance 
that they might obtain a better resurrection. Notice in verse 
36, still others had trial of mockings and scourgings. Boy, 
if we're out on the road and someone gives us the finger or 
says anything untoward to us, we're offended forever. They're 
being mocked for the cause of Jesus. They're being scourged. That means having their backs 
whipped or the rest of their bodies whipped. You know it says 
in Isaiah 53 with reference to Jesus, by his strikes we are 
healed. You know what the strikes are? 
They're scourge marks. When Paul says, I bear in my 
body the brand marks of Jesus, they're scourge marks. Our brethren 
have suffered these things throughout the ages. Notice, yes, and of 
chains and imprisonment. We reflected on a few of these 
men on Wednesday night. Remember, Micaiah the prophet. 
Ahab wants to go into battle. Jehoshaphat says, check with 
the prophets. He checks with all the prophets 
on the payroll who tell him exactly what he wants to hear. Jehoshaphat, 
being a bit more careful, said, well, isn't there anyone else? 
Isn't there another prophet? Ahab says, yeah, there's this 
guy, Micaiah, but I don't like him. He doesn't tell me what 
I want to hear. So he calls for him. What's Micaiah 
say? You've got to get it, brethren. 
There's irony. There's joking in the Bible. Micaiah said, yeah, 
the Lord has told me that you're going to go into battle and be 
victorious. He's probably going... at the time. Ahab has to reprove him. Didn't 
I tell you? Tell me the truth. Yeah, here's what's going to 
happen. You're going to go into battle and lose. You're going to be the 
loser. You are going to be defeated. 
So what's Ahab do? Send someone over there, smack 
him in the face, put him in the prison and feed him bread and 
water until he dies. Micah says, well, that's the way it goes. 
It's by faith. This is what people get serving 
Christ. If you signed up just to stop 
the miles of lions and quench the violence of the flame, if 
you signed up just to subdue kingdoms, if you signed up just 
for the triumphalism and all the victory that you see played 
out in the Scriptures, there's another angle that you need to 
be aware of. Notice in verse 37, they were 
stoned. Zechariah the priest, 2 Chronicles 
24. History and tradition says Jeremiah 
the prophet. God forbade the people of Judah 
to go into Egypt. The prophet told them, do not 
go into Egypt. What did they do? They went into 
Egypt. And they took Jeremiah with them. 
And tradition tells us Jeremiah kept preaching to them, so they 
stoned him to death. We don't want to listen to what 
he has to say, so let's stone him to death. Notice the next 
one here. We're tempted. We're slain with the sword. They 
wandered about. I'm sorry. Verse 37. They were 
stoned. They were sawn into. Mentioned on Wednesday night, 
just having done a bit of study tradition again in history tells 
us you ready. This is Isaiah, the prophet. 
Under King Manasseh. I hope that hurts you like it 
hurts me. The author of Isaiah 53, the one who penned the servant 
songs of Jehovah, the one of whom this world certainly was 
not worthy because he preached Jesus Christ with utter clarity, 
was sawn in two. That's heartbreaking. By faith. were tempted, were 
slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins 
and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom 
the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and 
mountains and dens and caves of the earth. Hughes says the 
language is vividly descriptive of the savage indignities and 
severe hardships which men and women of faith have been willing 
to endure rather than deny the truth by which they have been 
liberated. It depicts, moreover, the fierce hatred of the unbelieving 
world and its guilty hostility to the truth as it ruthlessly 
hunts and assaults those whose trust is in the immutability 
of the divine promises. Brethren, that is just a few 
examples in the Bible. You know, many scholars have 
called the 20th century the most bloody in the history of the 
Christian Church. Martyrdom was not confined to 
the first century or confined to the several centuries B.C., 
but rather it is operative today. It is going on right now. Any 
given Wednesday night or Sunday morning prayer meeting, we try 
to read these things. We try to learn about people 
in various parts of the world suffering for the cause of Jesus 
Christ. Again, women being butchered, 
men being butchered, children being butchered for the cause 
of Christ, being imprisoned, being chained, being tormented, 
or perhaps they're being ejected from their houses or their businesses. You know, they raise our taxes 
a little bit. I'm not here to advocate, you know, arbitrary 
tax raises. I can get just as worked up about 
some of that stuff, too. But you know, our taxes go up 
and everybody freaks out. They haven't taken our houses 
away. They haven't taken our businesses 
away. We're not living under some Muslim 
regime that tries to extort us for the faith in Jesus. Brethren, 
that's what people get today. North Korea is a place where 
you don't want to be. But there's Christians there. 
The oppressive hand of Islam. They're not peace loving. It's 
not like they all just want to sit around and sing Kumbaya. 
Wherever they have the dominance, the people of God suffer. Same 
with Rome. They don't just want to get together 
and sing Kumbaya here in North America. When they have supremacy 
of dominance, Protestants suffer. Hindus. I always thought Hindus 
and Buddhists just bang their tambourines and sung, you know, 
whatever love songs in their orange sheets. That's not true. It's an amazing 
thing. Remember what the scripture says 
concerning Herod and Pontius Pilate. Formerly, they didn't 
like each other. But when it came to targeting 
Christ, they were at one with one another. What does Psalm 
2 say? Why do the nations rage and the 
people plot of vain things? All these nations who can't get 
along with each other are unified in their aggression to God and 
the land that sits upon His throne. Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus 
in India are seeking to destroy the people of God every day. There was a video that went around 
recently that showed something of what our brethren in India 
get being beaten with sticks to death. It's not something 
we see. We see some brutal crime, there's 
bad things, there's a lot of wickedness even in our part of 
the world. But for the most part, you're not walking to Walmart 
and seeing some Christian being beat to death for being a Christian. Right? So let's be very careful 
about how much we complain about our woes, our sorrows, our trials, 
and our difficulties. In many respects, brethren, we 
have it very Very good. So what's some practical benefits? 
I know this is going to blow your minds. I don't generally 
like to do this, but I have 10. Don't shut down. Don't say it's 
hot. I want to get out of here. No, 
no, no. Just stay with me. If this is a command in the scripture, 
you need to pay attention. Remember the prisoners. 10 practical benefits. The first, remember, because 
prisoners are easily forgotten because they are out of sight. 
Right? I'm convinced it's this way with 
abortion. I'm convinced that when you hear about abortion 
on a Sunday morning, you say, man, it is bad. It is horrible. 
It is wicked. But then Monday through Saturday, 
it's easy to forget. You don't go to the abortion 
clinic. You don't read the literature. It's not in your mind. It's not 
in your sight. It's easy to forget about those 
silent sufferers. Well, the same is true with some 
poor brother living in North Korea who is in prison because 
he got caught with the scriptures. We just don't think about it. 
I'm not saying we're Satan. I'm not saying we're the Antichrist. 
I'm simply saying we need to consciously stir ourselves up 
to remember them. Because out of sight is out of 
mind. Secondly, remember them because 
Jesus commends such a mindset. Remember in Matthew 25, when 
the Son of Man comes, He'll gather the nations before Him. He'll 
separate the sheep and He'll separate the goats. One of the 
items of commendation, not condemnation, He says in Matthew 25, 36 and 
40, I was naked. And you clothed me. I was sick 
and you visited me. I was in prison and you came 
to me. Assuredly, I say to you, in as 
much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, 
you did it to me. Right, Jesus commends it. Don't cut it short. I never think 
about the poor or about the suffering. Jesus commends it. He speaks 
well of it. Thirdly, remember them in order to pray for them. If you're not remembering them, 
you're not praying for them. It's an interesting way that 
our psychology is. If I don't remember something, 
I'm not going to pray for that something. If I don't remember 
the fact that there are brethren suffering throughout the earth, 
I'm not going to pray for them. Chances are we'll remember them 
and still not pray, but having that information and knowledge 
will hopefully move our souls to go and pour out before the 
throne of grace on their behalf. Fourthly, remember them in order 
to give tangible aid to them. Remember them in order to give 
tangible aid. That means money. That means 
time. That means energy. It means resources. Remember the old story with George 
Whitefield. Him and Benjamin Franklin were 
quite good friends. Benjamin Franklin, a convinced 
deist. That means he did not believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. He rejected Christianity, but 
he had a good friendship with Whitefield. There was a time 
that Whitfield was going to preach, and at the end of his sermon, 
Whitfield was going to ask for money for the orphans. Whitfield 
started orphanages in America. He would take ship rides, come 
over to America, he would visit these orphans, he would bring 
money to them, and he made sure that everything was going according 
to plan. So Benjamin Franklin went into 
that meeting resolved, not to believe the gospel to be sure, 
but not to give a cent to Whitfield's orphans. And so as Whitfield 
preached, and then as Whitfield made his plea on behalf of the 
orphans, Benjamin Franklin just starts emptying his pockets, 
just starts dumping the money out. He said, I couldn't resist. 
I couldn't resist. I think in some respects, Benjamin 
Franklin puts a lot of us to shame. He wasn't a Christian. 
He did it with wrong motives. But he gave. We as Christians, 
hearing about these things, ought to think about ways to seek to 
alleviate some of the suffering. I know many years ago, when our 
church had a youth group prior, we had a letter-writing night. 
That's what I'd like to see more of with the young people here. 
Write letters to these brethren. I mean, VLM oftentimes gives 
you names and addresses of where people are. I've got to imagine, 
if I'm sitting in a cell, you know, however many miles away, 
and some young Christian writes and says, look, we prayed for 
you on Friday night, and I wanted to write this letter to encourage 
you, man, I'm happy getting an email during the week. That's 
nice. I've got to imagine if I was 
over in a situation like that. Remember them in order to give 
tangible aid. Remember them, fifthly, in order 
to visit them. You may not be able to go to 
some of these places. You may not be able to go to 
North Korea. You might be able to do something, 
though, in some capacity, in some way or manner. Six, remember 
them, as I already mentioned, in order to write to them. Right to apostate government 
officials. Right to men who govern in regimes 
that are wicked and heinous to Christians. Why not? We have 
that freedom. We have that liberty. It's not 
subversion. It's not treason. We're able 
and free to do such things. Seventh, remember them in order 
to demonstrate Christian compassion. It's a great therapy involved 
in caring for other people. I know we think therapy is only 
about people caring for us, but that's not the case. Eighthly, 
remember them in order to help them persevere. Imagine that. Some poor brother suffering in 
a cell somewhere many, many miles away. You write him a letter 
and it says, brother, I'm praying for you. I want to encourage 
you. I want to persevere. I want you to persevere. I remember 
many years ago, it was one of the first couple of years that 
we were here. Somebody I never met wrote me 
a long letter calling me to persevere. They had heard of a reformed 
Baptist pastor who fell into sexual sin, who committed apostasy, 
and who was basically outside the church. This person heard 
of that. They took pen to paper and wrote me a lengthy letter. 
And the substance of that letter was persevere. Don't give in. Don't stray to the right. Don't 
stray to the left. Persevere. I'll tell you, that was a great 
boon, a great benefit, a great blessing to realize somebody 
I never, ever met took the time to write and say, don't do that. Ninthly, remember them in order 
to pray for their persecutors. Yes, pray that God will save 
their persecutors. Yes, pray that God will have 
mercy on their persecutors. Many are the stories where people 
have witnessed the suffering of Christ's people and that has 
spoken volumes to them such that they then ask questions. They 
come to know the Savior through that effective witness. So pray 
for the salvation of those who persecute them. But you can pray 
also. And I know there are wings of 
the evangelical world that disagree with this, but Scripture supports 
it. Pray for justice. Pray for justice. God either saved them or stopped 
them. God can stop a man by breaking 
out his teeth. Just like saving him. Oh, you 
can't say that. Psalm 58 does. It's an amazing 
thing to me that the souls of just men made perfect in Revelation 
6 are under the throne under the altar, and they cry out to 
God. Let me just read it for you. 
Again, I think this is such a foreign and contrary position to much 
of evangelicalism today, that we would actually pray that God 
would mete out justice upon his enemies. The Bible is full of 
it. Not in some vindictive, oh, this 
guy cut me off in the road. Get him, God. No, not at all. 
But when there's communistic regimes and there are persons 
that are persecuting the Church of Christ, God save them or stop 
them. Revelation 6, when he opened 
the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who 
had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which 
they held. And they cried with a loud voice 
saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and 
avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. Isn't that 
incredible? I don't say, Lord, just do good 
things to them. Smile, persecutors. God loves 
you. Avenge them. This is not a foreign concept 
biblically. You remember that classic passage 
in Romans 12 where Paul tells us not to avenge ourselves? What 
does he say? Give place to wrath. How do we do that? One way is 
by singing the Psalms. That's why much of, I'm not here 
to say all of, but much of Christian music today does not reflect 
the biblical masculinity of the book of Psalms, where there is 
a clear demarcation between the righteous and the wicked, and 
where the righteous cry out to their God to vindicate his holy 
name. See, much There are many today 
who wouldn't want to sing Psalm 94 and dedicate it to the abortionists 
of this world. God of vengeance, O Jehovah, 
God of vengeance, O shine forth. Brethren, this is how we give 
place to wrath. And if you trace the argument 
in Romans 12, because you're going to say, if you've got this 
mindset, give place to wrath means you don't want it. No. Do not avenge yourselves. Don't 
get guns and go to the leader of North Korea, shimmy your way 
in, sneak, paint your face, go in there like an Ihad and take 
the knife off of your right side and plunge it into his belly. 
You're not supposed to do that. For Ihad, it was legit. For you, 
not so much. Not at all. Don't want to give 
you any wiggle room there. Not at all. Do not make yourself 
a knife if you're a lefty and, you know, put it on your right 
side, sneak your way into the king's quarters and say, I got 
a message from the Lord for you. But you give place to wrath. How do you do that? Well, you 
follow out the argument in Romans chapter 13, and God has instituted 
capital punishment in society for those who engage in evil 
works. Why? Because he is an avenger, the 
civil magistrate, to execute God's wrath. So it's not just 
stop thinking about it. No, it's give place to biblical 
wrath. Call upon the Lord God to execute 
justice and judgment upon those who would persecute the people 
of God. Imagine if somebody came into 
your house and brutally raped your wife or your children or 
committed some heinous crime. Would you just tell them on their 
way out, smile, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for 
your life? You wouldn't do that. You would seek to subdue them. 
for justice sake. And then tenthly, remember them 
in order to get your eyes off of yourself. Remember, this is 
a practical benefit. If I were to ask you in your 
most honest time, what's the biggest problem in your life? 
I think you'd say selfishness. How dare you? I know that's my 
biggest problem. We live in terms of us. The world revolves around us. 
Remember, there was a Copernican revolution in the realm of science 
and ecclesiology. People thought that the earth 
was the center of the universe and that everything rotated around 
it. And then there was a man who came and said, no, the sun 
is the center of the universe and everything rotates around 
it. geocentrism or heliocentrism. That's the official language 
for those positions. We're all self-centrists. We like to think that the world 
revolves around us. And one of the best ways to avert 
such wicked, sinful, godless thinking is to put in our minds 
and hearts the needs of others. The concerns of others. A brother 
or a sister in another part of the world. The world does not 
revolve around you or me. Listen to what A.W. Pink says 
with reference to this situation. He says, most reprehensible and 
un-Christ-like is that selfish callousness which says, I have 
enough troubles of my own without concerning myself over those 
of other people. I have enough troubles of my 
own without concerning myself over those of other people. I 
don't have time to think about this. I don't have time to obey 
Hebrews 13, 3, because I'm much more important. My needs, my 
desires, my hurts, my pains, my agonies. I'm not minimizing 
that. I pray for all of you. You can't say, oh, this guy doesn't. 
I pray for everyone in this room. I actually care that you have 
hurts and pains and trials and issues. My encouragement to you 
is to stop thinking and focusing and obsessing about your trials 
and issues and hurts. Think about others. It's a blessed 
tonic. He says, putting it on its lowest 
ground, such a spirit ministers no relief. Now get this. This 
is pink. The most effectual method of 
getting away from our own sorrows is to seek out and relieve others 
in distress. Isn't that beautiful? You want 
help in life? Go help somebody. You want some alleviation to 
your suffering? Go alleviate somebody's suffering. See, what's going to happen is 
not that it's going to magically vanish. It's what you're going 
to see. Man, a lot of people have it 
a lot worse than I got it. Praise God. Forgive me for being 
such a whiner. That's what this attitude imbibes 
in the obedient one. Remember others. Care for others. Think about others. Paul was 
able to make a commendation about Onesiphorus. He said, everybody 
in Asia has turned away from me except Onesiphorus. He found me and He refreshed 
me. He cared for me. When everyone 
else was defecting from the Apostle Paul, this one man, Onesiphorus, 
that's a good name, ladies. That's a good name to consider 
for the fruit of your womb. I told my daughter the other 
day, Jael is a great girl's name. We've just been studying the 
judges in the book of Hebrews, right? Jael with the tent peg. 
When she's growing up, you get her own little tent peg. Just 
kidding. Everybody's going to go out of 
here. This guy is jacked. Onesiphorus. He found Paul and he refreshed 
him. Paul speaks on the inspiration of the spirit about that man 
and what good it did for him. Brethren, those are some practical 
benefits. And then in terms of the gospel, don't you see in 
this passage and what we read in Hebrews chapter 11, there 
is an implication that we must draw. The Christ of the Gospel, 
the Christ of the Bible, the one who lived in obedience to 
the Father's law, the one who died as a sacrifice and a substitute 
at Calvary, the one who rose again on the third day and ascended 
on high, the one who now currently reigns at the right hand of God 
Most High, this Christ is worth suffering for. You cannot escape 
the implication. This Christ is that glorious. If you're not a Christian this 
morning, you're reading these things, seeing people sawn in 
two, being destitute and afflicted, wandering around without any 
clothes, wearing sheepskins, living in dens, being thrown 
into lion's dens. You're wondering what's the attraction? 
It's the one whom Solomon says is altogether lovely and chief 
among ten thousand. It is the Jesus Christ who lived 
and died and rose again so that we might have everlasting life. 
He is worth suffering for. The apostles were beaten. And 
when they left that place, according to Acts 5, they rejoiced. Why? Because they were sadistic 
and they liked physical pain? No, they rejoiced that they were 
counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. They rejoiced because 
God had seen fit to give them something that He would give 
them the grace to endure. This Christ is worth suffering 
for. This Christ is worth living for. This Christ is worth dying for. So if all of this seems a bit 
weird and a bit odd, I call you today to believe on this Christ. 
To believe on the Lord Jesus as the Bible sets him forth as 
the only Redeemer of God's elect. Look to Him and look to Him only. and pray to God most high that 
you will delightfully serve him all your days. And remember, 
please remember the prisoners as if chained with them. Those 
who are mistreated since you yourselves are all are in the 
body also. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for the fact that 
it's speaks to every area of our lives. And we do pray that 
you would forgive us, God. So often we don't always pray 
for the persecuted church. So often we... are negligent 
to read these updates and these concerns about our brothers and 
sisters. Help us, Father, to truly remember, 
to engage in this activity, not just as a church, but as private 
individuals, as Christians in our homes, our families. And 
God, grant us the grace to do this for your glory and for your 
honor, to pray for these brethren, that they will persevere in the 
midst of great trial and great difficulty. And we ask through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.