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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Hebrews chapter 13, taking a brief break from our exposition 
in the book of John. I'll read Hebrews chapter 13, 
and then our focus this morning will be on verse three. Hebrews chapter 3, beginning 
in 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? Remember those who rule over 
you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith 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 tabernacle have no right to eat. For the 
bodies of those animals, 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. 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. 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. 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. Pray for 
us, for 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 the sooner. 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, 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. And I appeal to you, 
brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I've written 
to you in few words. Know that our brother Timothy 
has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly. Greet all those who rule over 
you and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. Grace 
be with you all. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
God and our Father, we thank you for this opportunity to gather 
together on the Lord's Day. It's a blessed privilege to gather 
in God's house on His day with His people. And we pray that 
as we come to the Father through the Son and the power of the 
Holy Spirit, you would be enthroned upon our praises and glorified 
in our gathering together. Forgive us now for all of our 
sins as we come to Holy Scripture. We know that it casts a darkening 
influence over our minds and our hearts. But we know that 
blood of Jesus Christ, your Son, cleanses us from all sin, and 
we rejoice in that. As well, Father, for those who've 
come here this morning that are still dead in their trespasses 
and sins, may they see that Christ is altogether lovely and chief 
among 10,000, and may they, by grace, believe on Him for salvation. And Lord, fill us now with your 
Spirit and guide us and lead us and direct us such that we 
may indeed apply what is written by the Apostle in this section 
of Holy Scripture. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, last week was the 
International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church, so last 
Sunday, November 7th. I knew that then, but I wanted 
to finish up or tie up John chapter three. As well, in our church, 
we have tried to make it more than just one day out of the 
year. We try, not always successfully, 
but for the most part, we try at our prayer meetings, whether 
it be Wednesday night or Sunday morning, to take seriously the 
admonition to pray for the persecuted church. And the rationale for 
that is found here in Hebrews chapter 3 at verse 3. Notice what the apostle says. 
I hold the Pauline authorship of the epistle to the Hebrews, 
so if I refer to Paul, that's what I mean. Notice what he says 
in verse 3. Remember the prisoners as if 
chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves 
are in the body also. So we'll look at that particular 
passage in just a moment, but we need to appreciate the larger 
context. The doctrinal section of the 
book of Hebrews has concluded. The primary emphasis of the apostle 
is to stress the superiority, the supremacy, the preeminence 
and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He does that by showing his supremacy 
over Moses, his supremacy over Joshua, his supremacy over the 
angels, over the Old Testament prophets. He shows his supremacy 
by being the God-man, that blessed Savior, the second person of 
the Trinity, who took on our humanity, came into this sin-cursed 
world, lived for us, died for us, and was raised again for 
us. So he sets that forth, and now 
he comes to make practical application to the people of God who have 
been conquered by sovereign grace. In other words, we're saved by 
grace through faith in Christ. It's not of ourselves. It's not 
of works. It's not because we're righteous 
or good, but it's solely and alone according to what God has 
done. But once we're saved, there are certain responsibilities, 
certain things that are incumbent upon us as God's people. And 
one of those responsibilities is that we don't be narcissists. that we lift up our eyes at some 
point in the week and consider the greater needs with reference 
to the kingdom of God. Very often at the throne of grace, 
we can tip our hand. If we go to God's throne and 
all we ever pray for is ourselves, again, I think that tips our 
hand. We need to be others-minded in the context of Christ's church, 
and I think that's the emphasis we find here in Hebrews 13 at 
verse 3. But in terms of the larger context, 
we see general exhortations in verses 1 to 6, and then we see 
instruction on community relationships with leaders, guarding against 
heresy, suffering for Christ, and the believer's sacrifice 
in verses 7 to 17. The author then makes a request 
for prayer in verses 18 and 19, and then indicates his prayer 
for them in verses 20 and 21. He then makes a final appeal 
in salutation in verses 22 to 25. So again, he's come to finish 
the epistle, he makes it very practical for the saints of Christ, 
and then he bids them farewell in the name of our blessed Savior. 
So I want to look first at the context of the command, verse 
3, and then secondly, the content of the command, verse 3. Notice 
the context. As I said, general exhortations. Verse 1 is a call to love. Notice, let brotherly love continue. And then there are two expressions 
of that love following in verses 2 and 3. Love with reference 
to those who are strangers. And then love with reference 
to those who are sufferers. So we are to express love vis-a-vis 
toward the stranger and as well toward the sufferer. And then 
he moves from love, specifically, and then hospitality and compassion, 
to fidelity in verse 4. Marital fidelity. The seventh 
commandment is binding today. You cannot be promiscuous. You 
cannot be an adulterer. You cannot be a fornicator. You 
cannot be, in the language of the old King James, a whoremonger 
and think that somehow it's going to work out okay for you. No, 
that is condemned by the Apostle under the inspiration and power 
of the Holy Spirit. And then in verses 5 and 6, he 
exhorts the people of God to contentedness. Contentment. There is a sense where oftentimes 
the people of God express discontentedness, and so we are called to contentedness, 
and the way He does that is by reminding us of the goodness 
and the graciousness of the God who provides profusely for us. Now notice verse 3 again, "...remember 
the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, 
since you yourselves are in the body also." We move to the content. There is first a duty to remember, 
secondly the objects we are to remember, and then thirdly the 
reason we are to remember. So that's where we're going. 
After a lengthy introduction, notice in the first place this 
duty. He says, remember, this is a command. It's something 
that you must do. You don't have the option to 
not do this. You can't say, well, you know, 
it wasn't my ministry to remember others. I just didn't feel left. 
to remember others. That is unacceptable behavior 
in the Christian Church. Again, not saved because we're 
good. We're saved by grace in order 
that we may serve others. In order that we may be concerned 
about others. So he gives this command, remember. This means remember to care for 
them. Remember with a view to taking 
action. Remember for good. To remember 
in a way which will benefit the person concerned in some way 
or other. So Paul's not saying, remember 
that somewhere out there, somebody is suffering. It's not just the 
cognition. It's not just the recognition. 
It's not just the, oh yeah, I think that somewhere, someone might 
be suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ. No, it's remember 
that to be sure cognitively, but remember it in such a way 
as to try and alleviate it. Remember it in such a way as 
to try to do something about it. Remember it in such a way 
so that you respond in a way that is consistent with your 
calling as God's people. The verb is used by the thief 
on the cross when he says, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 
Certainly the thief didn't mean that when Jesus gets to his kingdom, 
oh yeah, there was a fellow sufferer on the cross. I'm glad that I've 
remembered him. No, he says, remember me with 
a view to doing something about it. Remember me in such a way 
and manner that when you arrive in your heavenly kingdom, you 
will receive me unto yourself. The verb is used in Galatians 
chapter 2, verse 10. The apostle says, Again, not 
just cognition. Oh yeah, there's poor people 
out there. No, remember them in such a way 
as you take your wallet out and you give them money, or you go 
buy them something, or you seek to deprive yourself of something 
and give it over to them. So the remember that's in view 
in Hebrews chapter 13 at verse three calls us to action, calls 
us to act, calls us to function in a responsible manner as God's 
people and fellow citizens in Christ's kingdom. Now before 
we move on to the objects we are to remember, notice what 
the text says. Remember the prisoners as if 
chained with them. As if chained with them. Now 
this morning, probably all of us got up. We got out of our 
beds, we wandered into our bathrooms, we did our whatever thing we 
needed to do, we then ventured into our kitchens, we turned 
on our coffee makers, we got a nice hot cup of joe, we perhaps 
found the heater and we went and stood next to it. Well brethren, 
if we had woken up this morning in a prison cell, If we had woken 
up this morning without coffee, if we had awoken this morning 
without a heater, we would certainly be conscious of that, wouldn't 
we? We would certainly be mindful of that, wouldn't we? That's 
why I think the Apostle says, remember the prisoners as if 
chained with them. Because the tendency is to forget 
them. We have all the blessings, we 
have all the provisions, we have all the good gifts, we have the 
hot joe, we have the warm heater, we have the blankets, we have 
the books, we have the cars, we have a heated facility, we 
have many benefits. So what's the tendency? It is 
to forget those who don't have that. And that's why the apostle 
underscores this duty to remember as if chained with them. Imagine 
for a moment you're in their predicament. Imagine for a moment 
that you're in a jail cell out in the middle of a hot Middle 
Eastern summer day and think about the persons that are experiencing 
that. John Owen in his commentary makes 
the observation. The fact that it has to be told 
us to remember them is somewhat Unfortunate, isn't it? We should 
not have to be told to do this, but alas, we are told to do this 
because the tendency is there for us to forget them. Owen says 
it seems those that are at liberty are apt to forget Christ's prisoners, 
that they had need to be enjoined to be mindful of them. In other 
words, The Apostle had to remind them. The Apostle had to administer 
command. The Apostle had to do so with 
such a standard as if chained with them to call you back from 
all of your health, all of your wealth, all of your prosperity 
to the suffering faced by Christ's people on the face of the earth. 
Owen goes on to say, usually more fail and neglect of their 
duty towards sufferers and so fall from their profession than 
do so fail under and on account of their sufferings. In other 
words, he says those suffering for the cause of Christ don't 
have this tendency like those not suffering for the cause of 
Christ. They're more mindful, they're more conscientious, they're 
more appreciative of the fact that there are suffering people 
on the face of the earth who've done the crime of choosing, by 
grace, as we're reminded in the reading in 1 Thessalonians, to 
side with Jesus. You see, that is criminal activity 
today. If you look at our society, I'm 
not talking about the ones we read about this morning, and 
we will talk about them, Nigeria, and India, and China, and the 
various sorts of things where God's people are persecuted. 
It's happening here, brethren. Do you actually think in the 
Western world the woke really hate Dr. Seuss? It is the Bible. It is God's Word. It is the worldview 
produced by the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments 
that they're at war with. In other words, there is an antithesis 
between the light and the dark. And this goes all the way back 
to the Garden of Eden announced by God Most High, and it's something 
that the people of God throughout the ages have experienced. So 
the duty to remember is clear. Notice, secondly, the objects 
we are to remember. Notice, remember the prisoners. And then he goes on to define 
them further, those who are mistreated. Go back to Hebrews chapter 10 
for just a moment. This would not have been a surprising 
concept for these Christians that the apostle is writing to 
in the first century. Notice in Hebrews chapter 10 
at verse 32. Again, brethren, think about this crime. The crime 
is that you look to Christ in faith. The crime is that you're justified 
freely by God's grace. That means you receive a forgiveness 
of sins, and that means you receive a righteousness given to you 
by a gracious God, and it's received by faith alone. And then, by 
God's grace, you live in light of that, and therein you've become 
a threat to those who are not converted. You have become a 
threat, an enemy, to those who are still dead in their trespasses 
and sins. You have to appreciate. the reality 
that there are unseen forces operative in this world. You 
have to appreciate the reality that the devil is a murderer 
from the beginning, that there is no truth in him. He only speaks 
lies and deception, but he moves the hearts of his minions to 
engage in a rejection of Christ's people. Back to our texts. Notice, you recall the former 
days in which, or 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 and my chains, and joyfully accepted 
the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better 
and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. So here 
in Hebrews 13, 3, when he says, remember the prisoners, those 
who are mistreated, they don't have to scratch their heads and 
say, what are you talking about? What do you mean? Of course they 
understood. Look at the passage in chapter 
13 relative to Timothy. Verse 23, know that our brother 
Timothy has been set free. I don't think he's talking about 
his conversion to Christ. I don't think he's talking about 
his, you know, break from his wife. I think he's talking about 
Timothy, like his mentor Paul, ended up in the pokey as well. 
And now Timothy had been set free. Again, read the book of 
Acts. Read the New Testament documents. 
Did the children of God, did the believers in Christ, go out 
and preach and see revival? Yes, to some degree on the day 
of Pentecost, there were 3,000 added to the church, but they 
met with great opposition. They met with great resistance. They met with the whip. They 
met with the chain. They met with the crucifixion. They met with being hanged to 
death. They met with a whole host of issues, not least of 
which was imprisonment. The apostle Paul knew what it 
was to be in prison. So the original audience would 
have known who this is, but in terms of the objects we ought 
to remember, I mentioned. This goes back to the Garden 
of Eden. After the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve, rather, 
take the forbidden fruit, Eve takes it, hands it to Adam, he 
eats and rejects his creator. They want that, you know, satanic 
lie. They shall be as gods. You go to Genesis chapter 3, 
and what happens? You see complete inversion of 
the created order. God made man to love and lead 
his wife, and they were to exercise dominion over the creatures. 
And then this cunning serpent comes along and turns the whole 
thing on its head. Now you've got the serpent talking 
to the woman who gives the fruit to her husband. It is an inversion 
of the created order. That's what sin brings. It brings 
chaos. It brings destruction. It brings 
pain, misery, and death. But on the heels of that, God 
makes the first gospel promise in Genesis chapter 3. It is the 
promise of Jesus in Genesis 3.15. God says, I will put enmity between 
you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall 
bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. You see that? It's a promise of the Savior. 
The Savior or Deliverer would be born of a woman. The Savior 
or Deliverer would be one who accomplishes victory through 
his own suffering and death. That's the emphasis in the text. 
But something that goes unnoticed is what happens in redemptive 
history. God says, I will put enmity between you and the woman. That enmity began then and continues 
now. Though Christ has dealt the death 
blow to the devil himself, there is nevertheless that enmity. 
Christ speaks to it. He says, they're going to hate 
you just like they hated me. The master, or those who follow 
the master, are treated like the master. This is symptomatic 
of a sin-cursed world. We live in a world that is in 
rebellion against God Almighty. And as Edward says, they can't 
get to God, so what do they do? They come after us. They come 
after his representatives. They come after those who shine 
his lights in a crooked and perverse generation and hold forth the 
word of truth. Again, brethren, when we read 
these prayer letters on Sunday morning and on Wednesday night, 
what's their crime? Blasphemous texts. You know what 
blasphemous texts mean? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. You know what a blasphemous text 
is? 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and its application to Islam. You 
were turned from your useless idols to serve the true and living 
God. Imagine voicing that in Saudi 
Arabia and making the application to Islam as being a useless idol. You think they'll have truck 
with you there? You think you'll have freedom of speech there? 
You think you'll get to express yourself there? I remember back 
in the 80s, way back then in the 1980s, I was stationed in 
England. And those who got temporary duty 
assignment to Saudi Arabia were given a list of objects they 
could not bring with them. And the Bible was on that list 
then. Do you think it's gotten any 
better? Do you think it's gotten more easier to be a Christian 
in these states that are opposed to our blessed Yahweh and his 
Christ? So you've got this antithesis and then you see the Old Testament 
examples. You see it with Joseph, the patriarch. How do his brothers 
deal with him? You think you've got family problems? 
You think you've got issues? You think you've got hardships? 
This is the point of Genesis chapter 11, I'm sorry, Hebrews 
chapter 11. That hall of faith surveys the 
various persons that have populated the kingdom of God on earth and 
shows the various trials and difficulties, the hardship situations 
they face, and nevertheless, by faith, were able to persevere. 
Joseph's brothers sat and had a bologna sandwich while Joseph 
was in the pit screaming for their help. Joseph's brothers 
were wretches. They were operating according 
to the kingdom of darkness. You've got Micaiah the prophet, 
1 Kings chapter 22. What was his crime? He tells 
Ahab the truth that when you go into battle, Ahab, you're 
going to lose. And so he gets a slap in the 
face. He gets thrown into a prison cell and he's ordered to eat 
bread and water for the rest of his life. Jeremiah the prophet, 
Jeremiah the prophet. We'll get into other characters 
as we move through the exposition. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, 
what do you get for your remorse? What do you get for your lamentation 
over Israel? What do you get for actually 
telling the truth if you're a prophet in Israel? Well, you get jail, 
you get prison, and if you're lucky, and I say that, you know, in the manner of men, if you're 
lucky, Ibn Malik will come along and actually try to help you 
out. A non-Israelite will come to render service and aid to 
you. The New Testament examples, it's a beatitude, isn't it? It's 
a beatitude, pronouncement of blessing upon you when you are 
reviled, when you are persecuted, and when men say all manner of 
evil against you, what? For my name's sake. In other 
words, when you identify with Jesus, and when you have solidarity 
with Jesus, and then you suffer with Jesus, He says, blessed 
are you. Not in the papist sort of way, 
as if our suffering somehow commends us more to God. That's not it. Our suffering that we find in 
the scripture is simply because we have that identification, 
we have that solidarity with the Redeemer, and we are called 
upon to do likewise with reference to His life and His issues. The book of Acts, Acts chapter 
5, what do we find there? The religious leadership at the 
time tells the disciples, tells the apostles, forbids them, you 
cannot speak this man's name in this city. Do they say, okay, 
well, yeah, you're right, we should never do that. No, this 
is the context where they say, we must obey God rather than 
men. Brethren, insofar as the magistrate 
doesn't tell us to sin, we do exactly what they say. But when 
they cross that line and tell us to sin or tell us to not preach 
Christ and Him crucified, that's when we invoke the higher power. 
That's when we say, I must obey God rather than men. It's a very 
simple principle that the church operated accordingly for 20 centuries. 
Now when we go through the book of Acts continuing on there, 
you see the Apostle Paul. Not just his sufferings, but 
one of his sermons that he preached. In Acts 14, in verse 22, with 
reference to the first missionary journey, he says, through many 
tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. Again, what's 
the crime? Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The acknowledgement, not of a pantheon, not of a polytheistic God system, 
but of the one true and living God. Do you know what's intriguing? 
That in the Roman Empire, the Christians were atheists. The 
Christians were branded as atheists because they rejected the pantheon. To subscribe to one true and 
living God was faulty. That was criminal. That would 
bring down the charges of the empire upon your head. You see, 
you could confess Zeus, you could confess Hermes, you could confess 
Mars, the whole whack of them, and nobody would ever say anything 
other. But they understood quickly that 
a confession of Christ as King brought upon you great state 
persecution. In other words, when you confess 
Christ as King, you are also confessing all these other things 
ain't. They are, in the language of 
the Puritans, dunghill deities. They are nothing. They are a 
fabrication of the mind. They are vanity. And so when 
you confess faith in Jesus, there was going to be hardship. There 
was going to be persecution. Paul embodies the principle in 
2 Timothy 3. He tells us very clearly, all 
who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will what? Will enjoy health, 
wealth, and prosperity? No, they will suffer persecution. Now turn to 1 Peter chapter 4. Peter as well acknowledges the 
reality that there will be suffering in this world if you are a Christian. But I want us to see what Peter 
is talking about in this particular context. Because I think at times, 
persons can misidentify their suffering. Oh, I'm suffering 
for Jesus. No, you're suffering because 
you're just not pleasant. You're suffering just because 
you're a malingerer or lazy at work. The Apostle Peter gives 
us a grid by which we deal with suffering in the church. Notice 
in the first place, he tells us to expect it. Verse 12, Beloved, 
1 Peter 4, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery 
trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened 
to you. What's he saying? God put enmity between the seed 
of the woman and the serpent. There's going to be this antithesis. 
There's going to be the Ahabs ordering the exclusion of the 
Micahs. There's going to be the whole 
host of Israel throwing Jeremiah down into a pit. You're going 
to have these issues. Jesus says in John 16, 33, in 
this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I've 
overcome the world. John 15, he tells the disciples. That 
if they hated me, they're going to hate you. It's just the way 
that it is. So this idea that, wow, I can't 
believe we're actually suffering. Now I get that sentiment to one 
degree, but in the theological sense, no. In the biblical sense, 
no. It's going to happen. You side 
with Christ and all of his enemies are going to hate you. Notice 
in verse 13, so you expect it, verse 12, and then in verses 
13 and 14, you're to exult in it. Exult here is E-X-U-L-T, 
not exalt it, but exult. That means to rejoice in it. 
This is another way to alliterate. I've got four E's here. So you've 
got expect it, verse 12, and then exult in it, verses 13 and 
14. Notice, but rejoice. Rejoice to the extent that you 
partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, 
you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for 
the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory 
and of God rests upon you. On their party is blaspheme, 
but on your party is glorified. What do you think Peter has in 
his mind? Sounds a lot like the Beatitudes, doesn't it? Sounds 
a lot like Matthew 5, 10 to 12. Sounds a lot like what he heard 
his masters say in terms of blessing for those who suffer, shame for 
his name. And then notice the third E. 
You're to evaluate its cause. Evaluate its cause. Look at verses 
15 to 18. He says, but let none of you 
suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody 
in other people's matters. Here's the illustration. A guy 
at work doesn't do his work. He spends the whole time talking 
about the temple. And then his counterparts say, you know, you're 
really annoying. You're a real pain. And then 
he comes to the prayer meeting. He says, I'm suffering for Jesus. 
I'm suffering for the cause. No, you're rightly being ridiculed 
by your fellows because you're lazy and not doing your job. 
I'm sorry, I don't want to trigger anybody or make anybody unhappy, 
but this is what Peter says. Evaluate its cause. Maybe you're 
just a jerk, and that's the way people treat jerks. That could 
be a reality as well. So notice what he says. Verse 
15, let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, 
or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers 
as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify 
God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment 
to begin at the house of God, and if it begins with us first, 
what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of 
God?" That's a sermon, an observation, a point in and of itself. There 
is a sense, brethren, where the things that we experience, it's 
not because we're just innocent participants. Now, it could be 
the case that when the wicked prevail, everybody suffers as 
a result. But when the church forgets the 
doctrine of the Trinity, when the church can't define justification 
by faith alone, when the church doesn't remember the prisoners, 
When the church doesn't seek to alleviate the hardships of 
those in her midst, when the church is aberrant in terms of 
her theology, when the church preaches justification by works, 
you ought to expect some degree of judgment. You ought to expect 
some degree of chastisement. And at that point, we cry with 
the prophet Habakkuk, in wrath remember mercy, Lord God. But the fourth E is entrust yourself 
to God. Notice what he says. So verse 
18, now if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will 
the ungodly and the sinner appear? Now notice in verse 19, therefore 
let those who suffer I'm going to skip that next part for just 
a minute. Let those who suffer commit their souls to Him in 
doing good as to a faithful creator. In other words, entrust yourself 
to Him. When you've got issues, when you've got challenges, when 
you've got hardships, when you've got burdens, what do you do? You entrust yourself 
to a faithful creator. 1 Peter chapter 5, what does 
the apostle tell us that we're supposed to do with our burdens? 
Internalize them, build up an ulcer, chew your fingers down 
to the nub, get to the point where you're so stricken with 
paralysis you can't even get up out of your bed. No, cast 
your burden upon Him. Why? Because He cares for you. Brethren, if you don't exercise 
that privilege, you're gypping yourself. You're cheating yourself. God takes the burden from us. He doesn't necessarily deliver 
us from it, but He certainly is a sympathetic ear when we're 
in the midst of it. But then notice they're couched 
in the middle of that verse. Therefore, let those who suffer, 
notice, according to the will of God. According to the will 
of God. Oh, I can't believe this is happening. 
Oh, God is in control of it. See, Romans 8, 28 means nothing 
if it doesn't mean everything, right? We would never be awed 
or dazzled or impressed by God causes all things to work for 
good if we only understood it to be good things, right? Oh, 
God worked this in my life for great things. I got a great raise. 
My raise is actually a little bit higher than inflation, so 
I might be able to buy milk this week. We don't have to say, oh, 
you know, God delivered me from this wrath. No, it's the bad 
things that are in view. God causes all things, bad things, 
to work for good, to those who love him, to those who are the 
called according to his purpose, even sitting in a prison cell. 
Even going through what the Apostle Paul went through. Even going 
through what Micaiah the prophet went through, or Jeremiah the 
prophet. See, God is not abandoning his people in the midst of their 
distress. Rather, God is the orchestrator of their distress, 
such that they will express that dependence upon him, cast their 
burdens upon him, and try and prove him as their faithful God. That's what Peter tells us. Now go back to Hebrews, Hebrews 
chapter 13. So we've got the duty to remember, 
we've got the objects we're supposed to remember, and then we've got 
third, the reason we are to remember. Notice in Hebrews 13.3, duty, 
remember, the prisoners, as if chained with them, those who 
are mistreated, that's the objects. And then notice what he says, 
since you yourselves are in the body also, It's beautiful, isn't 
it? We're not an island unto ourselves. I'm always a bit sort of wary 
of the Christian who functions, at least in his own mind, very 
well without the church. Thank you very much. Brethren, 
the New Testament doesn't envisage maverick Christianity. It doesn't 
envisage independent Christians. It doesn't envisage persons saying, 
well, I'm just going to go it on my own because the church 
is filled with hypocrites. You know what I say? to that? 
Amen. Where else would we want the hypocrites than in the place 
where they're going to hear the gospel, repent from their sins, 
and find forgiveness from God Most High. That's got to be the 
lamest excuse to not enter a church. It's like saying, I'm not going 
to go to the hospital, there's sick people there. That's precisely 
why you go to the hospital, because there's sick people there, there's 
doctors there, there's remedy there, there's Treatment there, 
that's what happens in the church, that's what the means of grace 
are ordained for. And when it comes to hypocrisy, 
hypocrisy isn't the guy you don't see in his closet crying out, 
oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body 
of death. You don't see the man agonizing in light of 1 John 
1, 9, confessing his sins, fetching out forgiveness. That's not hypocrisy. That's biblical Christianity. 
But back to that whole idea of independence. I can do it all 
on my own. No, you can't. You need the church. Solidarity, there is connection, 
there is community, there is all the stuff that God affords 
for his people for their safety. You know as well as I do, I'm 
not the big mighty hunter, I'm not the guy who's been out in 
the plains of Africa watching the hunt, but I know this much, 
that the predator tries to isolate the weak one from the herd. Why 
does he do that? Because the predator's smart 
and the predator wants to eat. And he understands that if he 
isolates the weak, then he's able to take the head off. Actually, 
they attack him from the other side in order to cripple them 
and then eat them. Well, do you think the devil 
has a kind of a similar approach? What does Proverbs, what does 
Solomon tell us? He says that a man who seeks his own desire 
rages against all wisdom. There is a sense wherein, if 
we are not fans of the church, we need to repent. We need to 
forsake that sin. It may be we may need to find 
another church, one that doesn't have as many hypocrites, but 
this idea of a churchless Christianity is simply not scriptural. Again, 
if you're saved out in Thule, Greenland, and there's no church 
there, that's a different story. But you're not in Thule, Greenland. 
Brethren, you're in Chilliwack, British Columbia. There are plenty 
of churches. I get it. This church isn't everybody's 
cup of tea. That doesn't offend me. It doesn't 
make me cry. It doesn't make me just sit in 
my office and, oh, I can't believe it. Find another church. Find a herd that you can attach 
to such that you won't be isolated and easy prey for that predator. Now back to the text. Notice, 
he tells us, you yourselves are in the body also. The Apostle 
tells us in Romans 12, we're supposed to rejoice with those 
who rejoice and weep with those who weep. One of the blessings 
of prayer meeting, isn't it? When you hear a brother or sister 
express a blessing, the Matthais today announced that she is pregnant 
with their fifth child. We rejoice in that. That is a 
blessed thing. That is a wonderful thing. But 
there are times and instances where we have news that isn't 
so happy. So what do we do at that point? 
We weep with them. We express grief with them. We 
enter in because we are in the body. The apostle tells us in 
1 Corinthians 12, he develops this body imagery with the specific 
intent to show the operation of spiritual gifts. In other 
words, your gift isn't for you. Again, that may just blow your 
mind. Your gift is for the body. Your gift is for others. God 
doesn't give you a gift so you can sit in your bedroom and say, 
wow, I'm wonderful. No, he gives you the gift so 
that you bring it to the church, so that you encourage the brethren 
and you do what God has gifted you to do. But in that particular 
context, in 1 Corinthians 12, he tells us, if one member suffers, 
all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, 
all the members rejoice with it. See the rationale or the 
reason for the command? You yourselves are in the body 
also. We need to ponder what our brothers 
and sisters face in other parts of the world. Again, Nigeria, 
China, North Korea. We don't even really know what 
goes on there. I mean, it's so closed airtight. You've got the 
Middle East. And again, they're not friendly 
to the people of Christ. They're not friendly to believers 
in Jesus. They're not friendly to those 
who proclaim the gospel of free and sovereign grace. They don't 
say, oh yeah, you go ahead and have a street corner and you 
just do your thing. They're not like us. They don't just let 
us come over there and do our thing. We need to be mindful 
that our brothers and sisters suffer in other parts of the 
world. They're separated from family. We just read this morning 
and one of our brothers mentioned this morning about a girl being 
kidnapped. Thankfully, The kidnapping was thwarted. The report was 
that somebody had a gun shot up in the air. You don't do that 
here, but I guess in Nigeria it's perfectly acceptable. Well, 
the report of that gun, the persons that were kidnapping, and it 
was Emmanuel, a guy in South Surrey Church, his sister. Well, 
thankfully, a couple hours later, she was released, but that's 
commonplace. You've heard of Boko Haram? You've heard of Leah, 
who we pray for frequently? She was abducted at 14 by Boko 
Haram. All of those other captives were 
finally released, except for Leah. Why? Because she engaged 
in that most wretched crime. She's a confessor of faith in 
Jesus. She's had two babies in captivity for Muslim men. Two 
babies from Muslim men in captivity. Why? Because she's a believer. That's why she is suffering. 
Not because she's a criminal, a busybody, a murderer, a thief. No, it's for the foul and wicked 
crime of confessing faith in Jesus in Nigeria with Boko Haram 
around. And then you've got the suffering 
of deprivation and temporal goods. Again, brethren, it's not wicked 
to get up in the morning and go to your coffee maker. That's 
not evil. That's not bad. Whatever they're 
telling us today, that's not bad. If you work hard and you're 
able to buy coffee, it's not bad. You know, when there's actual 
scarcity in the world's resources, then I'll accept we need to do 
without. But leftist policy and mismanagement is no reason to 
do without. But there are those doing without 
because of their faith in Jesus Christ. as well to undergo the 
infliction of physical harm. I just referred sort of, you 
know, incidentally. I remember prayer letters. We're 
going, you know, we've been here for a while, you know, praying 
for, you know, the voice of the martyrs' concerns. Guys in cells 
in Middle East in 40-degree days. And these aren't cells that have 
insulation and an air condition. I mean, I can imagine in Canada 
or in America, I'm not going to that cell. It doesn't have 
AC. What? Are you kidding me? OK, we'll 
put AC. We don't want to offend you. 
We don't want to make you feel bad. I mean, come on! There are brethren out there 
that are suffering great distress. Why? Because they've confessed 
faith in Jesus. They have suffered imprisonment. 
And then, of course, they have died as martyrs for the cause. One book, By His Blood, suggests 
that the 20th century saw far more martyrs than all of the 
centuries before it combined. We don't think that way, do we? 
We don't think that there's actually people right now in this world, 
either in prison, or they've lost a business, or they've lost 
a family, or they're going to lose their lives. We don't think 
that way. That's why Hebrews 13.3 is a 
necessary sermon every few years or so. Remember the prisoners 
as if chained with them. Those who are mistreated, why? 
Because you yourselves are in the body also. You're with them, 
they're with you, there's solidarity that we possess together. And 
then real practically, not only identify with them, but to express 
that solidarity. The members of the church should 
understand that there is one body, Ephesians chapter 6. I'm 
sorry, Ephesians 4, verse 6, along with 1 Corinthians 12, 
this one body aspect. As well, the members of the church 
should enter into the joys and difficulties of their brethren. 
Now certainly that's at the local level. Certainly that's at 9.30 
on Sunday morning when we gather for prayer. Certainly that's 
operative. When one brother shares a joy, 
the other brother shares a distress, we enter in at that local level. 
But there ought to be an appreciation that our church isn't it. Our 
church doesn't exhaust the kingdom of Jesus on the face of the earth. 
We need to lift up our eyes, as Jesus told his disciples. The fields are white unto harvest. 
In other words, this navel-gazing approach by the church in the 
West simply has to stop. We've got to quit being myopic 
and start being others-minded in terms of our approach to global 
Christianity. And then the members of the church 
should be concerned with the church as a whole. Just have 
a few texts here. They're not specifically, remember 
to pray for the brother who's in prison texts, but they are 
texts under the category that we as Christians in a smallish 
church in Chilliwack, British Columbia, should be concerned 
with the larger whole. We should be concerned with the 
kingdom of Jesus Christ. And again, these aren't passages. 
And if you go study them in their original context, you're going 
to say, well, it doesn't mean there that you're supposed to 
remember the prisoner. I know that. But it does mean you're 
supposed to remember that Christ's kingdom on earth is not simply 
represented here. There are a whole lot of other 
churches, there are a whole lot of other missionary agencies, 
there are a whole lot of other Christians, there are a whole 
lot of other people that are facing the onslaught of godless 
government or of false religionists who are after them for their 
crime of confessing faith in Jesus. The prophet Isaiah, chapter 
62. Prophet Isaiah is lamenting. 
In fact, you could turn there. Go back with me. See some of 
these passages that emphasize a larger concern than just ourselves 
or perhaps our local church. Notice in the prophet Isaiah 
62 at verse 6. I have set watchmen on your walls, 
O Jerusalem. They shall never hold their peace 
day or night. You who make mention of the Lord 
do not keep silent. Now notice verse 7, and give 
him no rest till he establishes, until he makes Jerusalem a praise 
in the earth. That's Old Covenant language 
for being concerned for the church. That's Old Covenant language 
for being concerned with the advancement of the church. This 
is Old Covenant language suggesting that we are to give God no rest. That we are to implore Him, we 
are to entreat Him, we are to be like that importunate widow 
in Luke's gospel. Remember that woman? She went 
to that judge, that judge who neither feared God nor did she 
care, you know, one way about this woman. but she kept coming 
to him. She was incessant, or as we say, 
importunant. So she keeps coming to him and 
she says, you know, give me my verdict. So the judge, who Jesus 
rightly identifies, didn't fear God, nor did he regard men. He 
gave in to her requests, lest she weary me with this constant 
intercession. What does Jesus say? Does he 
say, be like that judge? Does he say, be like that importunate 
widow? He says, be like the importunate 
widow. He says, shall not God avenge his own elect who cry 
to him day and night? What's Jesus saying? You don't 
just pray once, throw it up there, and then, you know, if it doesn't 
come true or doesn't come to pass, you just say, well, prayer 
doesn't work. No, no, incessant, importunate, keep praying, keep 
asking, keep knocking, keep seeking, keep going to the throne of grace. 
Weary God, as it were, speaking as a man, give him no rest. Give 
him your ear, or give him your tongue rather, to his ear. Notice 
in the next chapter, Isaiah 63 and 64. Look at 64, for instance, 
verse 1. O that you would rend the heavens, 
that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at 
your presence, as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water 
to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, that the 
nations may tremble at your presence. Now, in 63 and 64, the prophet, 
on behalf of the remnant, goes before God, and he says, we are 
waiting for you, God. We are longing for you, God. 
We are repentant over our sins as a result of your just judgment 
over us. But the emphasis in the heart 
was, rend the heavens and come down. We want more of God. We 
want the nations to tremble in the presence of God. Turn to 
the prophet Ezekiel. Again, this is just a sampling. 
You go all through the prophets and you'll see this emphasis 
on the greater good in terms of the people of God. Ezekiel 
chapter six, I have shared my thoughts that it's one of the 
most chilling and terrifying visions in all of the Bible. 
One of the most chilling and terrifying visions in all of 
the Bible. Notice in chapter nine at verse one, that he called 
out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, let those who have 
charge over the city draw near. each with a deadly weapon in 
his hand, a slaughtering weapon. And suddenly six men came from 
the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with 
his battle axe in his hand. One man among them was clothed 
with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. They went 
in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God 
of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to 
the threshold of the temple. The scene is simply that. It's 
the withdrawal of the special presence of God from the temple. 
Why? Because Israel was in sin. because Israel was covenant breaking, 
because Israel was not faithful to the terms of Deuteronomy chapter 
28. So they're bringing upon themselves the covenant curses. 
And now by way of vision, God is demonstrating through the 
prophet his withdrawal from the temple. Notice what it goes on 
to say. And he called to the man, verse 
3b, he called to the man clothed with linen who had the writers 
in corn at his side. And the Lord said to him, go 
through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem 
and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over 
all the abominations that are done within it. That's a beautiful 
thing, isn't it? Go and mark out those who sigh 
and cry over all the abominations that are committed in the land. 
You know what the next instruction is? It's to those with the battle 
axes. Go out and kill every single one who doesn't have the mark 
on his head. In other words, those who don't 
sigh and cry over the abominations in the land, those who are at 
peace with idolatry, those who are at peace with blasphemy, 
those who are at peace with Sabbath-breaking, those who are at peace with second-table 
violations of the law, kill them, destroy them, remove them from 
the Holy City. And then as we read on, it just 
gets more terrifying, because God says, start or begin at my 
sanctuary. What's the implication? There 
were persons, perhaps priests and prophets, that were in Old 
Covenant Israel that didn't care? that God was withdrawing, as 
it were, from the temple. They didn't care about gross 
idolatry. They didn't care about blasphemy. 
Yeah, that's exactly what it means. And as a result, Yahweh 
says to get rid of them. We've got to purge. We've got 
to cleanse. We've got to purify. That's one 
of the reasons why the exile. That's why they went to Babylon. 
It was because of them and their covenant breaking and their transgression 
against God. And the prophet Ezekiel, look 
at chapter 22. Chapter 22, again, another condemnation, sins of 
Israel. And then specific condemnation 
of Israel's wicked leaders. But look specifically at verse 
30. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and 
stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, that I should 
not destroy it. I looked for one. I looked for 
one particular man that would actually stand in that gap and 
he would, as it were, say, no, God, please, please don't do 
this. Please don't execute the wrath 
or the vengeance of the covenant. Please stay your holy hand. What 
does he say? I found none. There were none, 
nothing, no one that was agonizing against idolatry and blasphemy 
and second table infraction. No, there is that emphasis. And 
then you turn to the New Testament. What does Jesus say in Matthew 
chapter six? In terms of our prayer to God, before we pray 
for our food, before we pray for our protection, or our forgiveness 
and our protection, God says, or Christ says specifically with 
reference to prayer, pray that God's name be hallowed, pray 
that God's kingdom come, and pray that God's what? God's will 
be done on earth as it is in heaven. You see, Jesus tells 
us actually to do that. You mean we need to be so concerned 
or at least somewhat concerned to pray for the earth? Yes, Jesus 
says so. Pray that God's will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven. God's will is not abortion. God's 
will is not euthanasia. God's will is not disenfranchisement 
of persons. God's will is Law, order, sixth 
commandment. And so we pray that God's will 
be done on earth as it is in heaven. You turn to the book 
of Acts, you see the same thing, the same emphasis, with reference 
to their prayers that God would intervene in a powerful way and 
display His glory. Acts chapter 4, but then notice 
in Acts chapter 12, specifically, a prayer consistent with what 
we're looking at in Hebrews 13. Acts chapter 12, beginning in 
verse 1. Now about that time, Herod the king stretched out 
his hand to harass some from the church. Again, what's their 
crime? Were they murderers? Were they 
thieves? Were they busybodies? No, they 
confessed saving faith in Jesus. They had by grace received forgiveness 
of sins. They had by grace received a 
righteousness that would avail with God. They by grace were 
seeking now to live faithfully with the law of God and let their 
conduct be worthy of the gospel. But that was a threat to Herod. 
That was a threat to unbelieving Jews. That was a threat to the 
civil order at the time, such that a civil magistrate stretches 
out his hand to harass some from the church. Let's see what the 
contours of that harassment look like. Then he killed James, the 
brother of John, with the sword, verse two. And because he saw 
that it pleased the Jews. That's a good way to govern, 
isn't it? It's a good way to rule, whatever pleases the mob, 
that's what I'm gonna do. No, you're supposed to actually 
function according to law. I realized that that's a revolutionary 
concept, but you're supposed to function according to law. 
But it says, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was 
during the days of unleavened bread. So when he had arrested 
him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads 
of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people 
after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, 
but, Look at this, constant prayer was offered to God for him by 
the church. The Geneva Bible has this, the 
prayers of the godly overturn the counsel of tyrants, obtain 
angels of God, break the prison, unloose chains, put Satan to 
flight and preserve the church. That is a wonderful comment at 
this point in the study notes in the Geneva Bible. You get 
the point, don't you? This isn't hard, is it? In conclusion, 
time flew. It's one of those mornings we 
walked into the vortex and it just flew right by. A few thoughts 
and then we'll close. Look at Hebrews 11. Look at Hebrews 
11. I mentioned that in passing earlier. 
It bears a bit more scrutiny before we close. Look at Hebrews 
chapter 11. As I mentioned, the hall of faith. 
The apostle takes the people of God into the various halls 
of the church throughout its history. He goes to the patriarchs. He goes to Moses. He goes to 
Israel. He goes to the kings. He goes 
to the judges. He goes to those who by faith 
did what they did. And then notice what he goes 
on to say. Verse 32 is a great place to 
pick up. What more shall I say? For the 
time would fail, would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and 
Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets." 
You know what he's doing here? He's endorsing these people. 
If you make it into the hall of faith, even if you're Rahab 
the harlot, God loves you. God is good with you. Isn't that the grand lesson in 
James 2? Whether you're the patriarch 
Abraham or you're the prostitute Rahab, salvation is by grace 
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Now notice what 
he says, verse 33, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked 
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
quenched 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. There's a group of fools called 
health, wealth and prosperity preachers. And they say that 
to be a believer means you'll only ever be healthy and wealthy 
and prosperous. That was actually Ben Franklin. 
That's not, you know, what it means to be a believer in Jesus 
Christ. I would imagine they love this section. Look at what 
faith does. Look at how these men operated 
according to faith. Men and women, they operated 
according to faith and they did wonderful things. You see, the 
apostle doesn't stop there. See, the Christian life isn't 
just triumph and victory. It is ultimately because Christ 
has overcome. But with reference to us boots 
on the ground, are we able to say, oh yeah, every single day 
is like a Friday to me. Every single day is my best life 
now. No, it's not, brethren. You know 
that. You don't even need to continue 
to read on in the passage. But let's read on in the passage. 
Notice, verse 35, women received their dead, raised to life again. 
That was supposed to go at the previous section. Now notice, 
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might 
obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings 
and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. 
They were sawn in two. They 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. And all these, 
having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive 
the promise, God having provided something better for us, that 
they should not be made perfect apart from us." It's quite a 
list, isn't it? What about a potential category 
of options that may be available to us? What would you like? Would 
you like to be sawn in two? Brethren, I used to think sawing 
in two meant you laid the person down and you sawed them right 
here, like the magic act, the sleight of hand act. No, they 
would hang them up by their legs and saw this way. You know who 
he's talking about? You know who Jewish tradition 
tells us he's talking about? The prophet Isaiah. The man who 
wrote Isaiah 53 was treated that way. So this whole idea of health, 
wealth, and prosperity, and the big hairdo, and the big car, 
and the big whatever, it's nonsense. Isaiah was a godly and a faithful 
man. And what was he greeted with 
at the end, under the reign of Manasseh, by the way? You had 
people that were mocked and scourged. You had people that were chained 
and imprisoned. You had people that were stoned. The Apostle 
Paul, Acts chapter 14. That's why when he says, through 
many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God, nobody said, 
what are you talking about, Paul? He was probably hunched over 
and limping. He had just been stoned, you know, stoned not 
to death, but his disciples, after he was dragged out of the 
city, thought he was dead. And yet he, you know, steps up 
and the next day walks, I think it was like 60 miles to Derby 
so that he could preach. Think about that. He's stoned, 
and they think he's dead, and the next day he's up walking, 
and he's on his way to continue preaching. So that when he says, 
through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God, 
nobody's saying in the audience, hey, what do you mean there, 
Paul? It's like he says in Galatians chapter 6, from now on let nobody. 
Let nobody trouble me for I bear in my body the brand marks of 
Jesus. All he would have to do is take 
off his outer cloak at the church picnic before he gets in the 
lake to see what he meant by that. He bore the brand marks 
of Jesus in his back. He understood stripes and deflection 
and hardship and pain. Why? For the crime of being a 
believer in Jesus. So this is a catalog of what 
can happen to the people of God. I have a section of practical 
benefits. I'll skip that. I just want to 
end with two thoughts here. First of all, the grace of God 
available to sufferers. The grace of God available to 
sufferers. Sometimes I think people read passages like this. 
Well, no, not sometimes, all the time. We read passages like 
this and we ask the question, would I be able to do that? Somebody 
was actually tying me up and they were about to take a saw 
and make me in two. I don't know if I could do that. 
Brethren, honestly, I mean, stone, rocks hitting me. I don't know 
if I could do that. God gives grace at the time. 
God gives grace at the time. What do we see when Stephen is 
driven out of the city of Jerusalem, lest his wicked blood pollute 
that holy city? The mob chases him outside the 
city. They take up stones to throw 
at him. What happens to Stephen? It says, he being filled with 
the Holy Spirit, he gazed up into the heavens and he saw there 
the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. What does 
that tell you? It tells you in crunch time, 
it tells you in hard pressed time, the triune God is there 
for his people. The triune God rescues. The triune God delivers. The 
triune God protects. The triune God conducts his people. Intriguing, isn't it? The apostle 
in Hebrews makes much of the fact that Jesus wasn't like the 
priests before him. The priests before him, they 
went in, they made sacrifice, and they got out. Jesus makes 
sacrifice, and then what does he do? He sits down. It shows 
the finality of his sacrifice. And yet when Stephen looks up 
into heaven, and he sees the glory of God, Jesus what? Standing 
there. What's going on? I think it's 
significant for two things. One, Jesus showing his willingness 
to receive Stephen unto himself after he breathes his last. But 
as well, it is Jesus that is presiding over the situation. See, it's the Sanhedrin that's 
in charge of the Stephen debacle, but it's Christ who's in charge 
of that. And it's Christ who will ultimately 
bring them to subjection. So that's a thought, and then 
as well, the reference in Acts 5. Go there, we'll end here. 
We could probably go a bit longer, and that's not preacher talk. 
We really could. Notice in Acts chapter 5, one principle I want 
to bring out for somebody, anybody possibly here that doesn't have 
faith in Jesus. Look at Acts 5. Pick up at verse 
40. And they agreed with him. This 
is Gamaliel. Gamaliel says, leave him alone. If this is of God, 
you can't fight it. If it's not of God, it'll fizzle 
out. Good counsel. Good, good, good counsel. So 
verse 40, and they agreed with him. And when they had called 
for the apostles and beaten them, It was good counsel, but they 
had to still get their licks in on them. Why? Because the 
crime, they were confessors of faith in Jesus. We're not gonna 
just let you go. We're gonna open your backs before 
we let you go. But notice what happens. They 
agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and 
beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the 
name of Jesus and let them go. So they departed from the presence 
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer 
shame for his name. If you're not a Christian here 
this morning, you might be asking to yourself, why would anybody 
go through this for Jesus? Because there's a book in the 
Bible called the Song of Solomon, and it's about Jesus and his 
church. And the way that the church describes their Jesus 
is with two key terms that I love. They call him altogether lovely. Isn't that a wonderful description 
of our Christ? He's altogether lovely. Why do we suffer for him? Because 
he's altogether lovely. And then the bride says that 
he's chief among 10,000. How can a man have his back opened, 
leave from that particular place and rejoice? Why? Because he 
was counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus Christ 
our Lord. He is worth everything. He is 
worth life. He is worth joy temporal. He 
is worth temporal happiness. He is worth riches and prestige 
and and power, and whatever else this world may have to offer. 
Christ is worth everything. So when we look at passages like 
these, we don't say, oh no, this is the potential. We say, God, 
give me the grace, steal my soul, give me the faith necessary to 
persevere in the midst of this. But I'm happy to embrace it because 
of what Christ has done for me. He lived for me, he died for 
me, and he rose again. And the reality is, is that he 
did that in order to save his people from their sins. If you're 
not a believer here today, the way to salvation isn't to suffer 
for Jesus. The way for salvation is to believe 
in his name. It is to look to him, the one 
who is altogether lovely, the one who is chief among 10,000, 
and the one who says, come to me, all you who labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He is all that the 
Bible says. And as a result, those who are 
inflicted with pain, punishment, or hardship, they count themselves 
blessed because they suffered for his name. Well, let us pray. 
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word, and we thank 
you, God in heaven, that you give us instruction, practical 
instruction for individual Christian life and corporate church practice, 
and help us never to forget the prisoners. Help us to never forget 
those who are mistreated. Help us to see, even as if we 
were in chains with that, and knowing that we are in the body 
also. Help us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with 
those who weep. And God, give us grace to give 
you no rest until you make your name a praise through all the 
earth. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. 
We'll stand with me and we'll sing 568 to conclude our worship 
this morning. 568, doxology of praise to our 
triune God. Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow. Praise Him all creatures. ♪ Happy every host ♪ ♪ Praise God, 
His Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ 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, 
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. God, go with us now. Cause your face to shine upon 
us. Let us know that peace that does surpass all understanding. 
And may we see you. May we see the nearness of God 
as our good. Bless this day of rest. Encourage 
and strengthen our hearts and bring us together again tonight 
that we may worship you together as the church. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Please be seated for a 
brief time of meditation.