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.

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13

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.

Opening Prayer

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.

Introduction

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.

Context of the Command: Hebrews 13:1–6

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."

Content of the Command: Hebrews 13:3

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.

First: The Duty to Remember

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.

Second: The Objects to Remember

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.

Objects Defined: Prisoners and Persecuted

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.

The Antithesis from Genesis to the Present

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.

Peter's Grid for Suffering

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.

Third: The Reason to Remember

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.

Old Testament Calls to Intercession

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?

The Hall of Faith on Suffering

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.

Application: Grace for Sufferers

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.

Closing Prayer

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.

Scripture References

• Genesis 3; 3:15
• Deuteronomy 28
• 1 Kings 22
• Ezekiel 6; 9:1; 9:3; 22; 22:30
• Isaiah 62:6-7; 63-64; 64:1
• Song of Solomon
• Matthew 5:10-12; 6
• Luke 18
• John 15; 16:33
• Acts 4; 5; 5:40; 12; 12:1-2; 14; 14:22
• Romans 8:28; 12
• 1 Corinthians 12
• Galatians 2:10; 6
• Ephesians 4:6; 6
• 2 Timothy 3
• 1 Thessalonians 1
• Hebrews 10:32; 11; 11:32-33; 11:35; 13; 13:3; 13:23
• James 2
• 1 Peter 4; 4:12; 4:13-14; 4:15-18; 4:19; 5
• 1 John 1:9