So beginning in Hebrews chapter 13 at verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.

I will not fear. What can man do to me? 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, 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.

Opening Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it's given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for doctrine. for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

And this morning, God, give us ears to hear and hearts to receive this truth. Cause us to reflect upon the reality that there is a much greater concern in this world than often meets the eye. We know that our brothers and sisters in various countries are severely oppressed and persecuted for the faith. We know there are those in prison.

We know there are those facing death penalty charges. And yet, Father, at times we live as if that isn't the case. So help us as individuals, as families, help us as a church to maintain fidelity in the manner of remembering those in prison. We ask that you would forgive us now for our sin and cleanse us in that blood of the Lamb.

We thank you for the liberty that we enjoy. We pray that you would strengthen us, God, for any eventual difficulties that may come our way. We know that troubles do assail us. We know that ultimately you do provide.

And we see it fleshed out in the life of the people of God throughout the earth that you've not abandoned your church. that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, that Christ is gathering from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation a glorious church to worship and serve the living and the true God. So forgive us and cleanse us and guide us by your Holy Spirit, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Introduction

Well, today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. And as a church, we try to remember those particular needs. We have a prayer meeting every other Sunday. We sort of use the alternating Sunday to study our confession of faith.

So this morning, we started the confession. Next Sunday morning at 9.30, we will have a prayer meeting upstairs. We've been doing this for many, many, many years now. And in that prayer meeting, we try to remember the persecuted church.

We read requests from brethren that are in other parts of the world, and we give our time to pray for them. We do this hopefully on Wednesday night as well. We try to keep Myanmar in our focus as there's great suffering there, great turmoil there, but it's not. confined simply to Myanmar, all throughout the earth. And in the Bible we see that there is this enmity against the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact, Jesus' statement in Matthew 16 assumes or supposes, presupposes, that the gates of hell are going to launch an offensive against the Church. The gates of hell shall not prevail. they're going to try, they're going to try to advance, they're going to try to stop the increase of the kingdom of God on earth. So when we witness that, or when we see that, it ought to elicit from us a prayerfulness on behalf of the people of God.

Context of the Command

Hebrews chapter 13 verse 3. It's a very simple verse. We're just going to unpack it and then make some practical observations concerning it. But in terms of Hebrews chapter 13, the doctrinal section is completed and now the apostle is bringing some concluding exhortations to the people of God.

So there are these general exhortations in verses 1 to 6. There's an instruction or instruction on community relationships with leaders guarding against heresy, suffering for Christ, and the believer's sacrifice in verses 7 to 17. There is then a request for prayer in verses 18 and 19, his prayer for them in verses 20 and 21, and then a final appeal and salutation in verses 22 to 25. So that's just an overview of this particular context.

And

The Command in Context

I want to look first at the immediate context of the command. So verse 4, or verse 3 rather, is a command. We are commanded to do something. We're to remember the prisoners.

So I want to look at the context of the command, and then secondly, the content of that command. Notice the general statement in verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Let brotherly love continue.

And then we see that that is applied in verses 2 and 3 specifically. But when he says, let brotherly love continue, he's assuming that there is brotherly love. He's not saying, you know, I've seen you guys and you're just a bunch of beasts and animals. really need to show love for one another. Note that he wants it to continue, argues that it was already present.

And even though there are things that are already present, we do what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4, we seek to abound more and more. So let brotherly love continue. Remember in the Upper Room Discourse, in John's Gospel, in chapter 13, Jesus says, by this all men will know that you are my disciples. if you subscribe to the Second London Confession of Faith of 1689. That's not what he says.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you've read Louis Burckhoff's Systematic Theology. That's not what he says. He says, by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. And so this particular exhortation, let brotherly love continue, implies that it's present, but also argues that it needs to continue.

It needs to increase. There never ought to be a time where the people of God aren't loving one another. That is absolutely paradigmatic for the people of God, so that we can demonstrate and adorn the Christian gospel. It is a wonderful testimony when persons from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation are gathered together under one roof and they have love for one another.

They engage in obedience to God's law relative to their conduct with one another. So the general exhortation is in verse 1, but then it's applied specifically to strangers in verse 2, and then to sufferers in verse 3. So let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." So the love command applies to strangers, or to be those people that are large-hearted.

Perhaps in the background is Genesis chapter 18, when those three men come to Abraham, and he shows them hospitality, he shows them love, he shows them kindness, he feeds them. We know that that was in fact the angel of the Lord Most High. Now it's applied to sufferers in verse 3. He says, remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also." So in terms of the content of the command, we ought to first notice the duty to remember, secondly, the objects we are to remember, and thirdly, the reason we are to remember them.

Now obviously, we're commanded to, but there's a reason why we're commanded to.

The Duty to Remember

Notice in the first place, the duty to remember. When he says, remember the prisoners, Not just saying, have some sort of a vague notion that somebody somewhere is suffering for the cause of Christ. Have some vague sort of understanding that in communist China, the people of God aren't necessarily treated well. That's not what he's talking about.

The particular word that he uses means to remember with a view to doing something about it. Remember with a view to actually taking action about it. And that action may be writing, that action may be praying, that action may be encouraging, that action may be instructing, that action has a multifaceted approach that we're going to end the sermon on this morning. But with reference to remember, it's 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.

We might say it this way. If you have a notion to remember somebody during the week, pray for that. Don't just say, hey, I remembered you during the week. What'd you remember?

Oh, that you were. that you existed, that you were out there somewhere. Great, I'm glad you remembered that. But it's remember with a view to do something good with reference to that particular memory. You see the verb used in Luke 23, 42.

The thief on the cross says to our Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Again, not just have some vague consciousness that there was another person that died on the cross. Remember me to show mercy to me and allow or permit access to me to that blessed kingdom of God. Galatians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul rehearses when he visited the leaders in the church in Jerusalem.

And they extended to Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. And he said, they desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. So Paul's not saying, I'm just gonna remember that there's poor people out there. No, he's gonna remember that there's poor people out there, and he's gonna strive to alleviate that.

You see that fleshed out in the book of Acts. There are instances where there's plague, or not plague, but rather famine in Judea. And so the apostle collects money from Gentile churches to bring to the church in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 21. So he remembered it, not just to know that something bad was happening out there, but he remembered it in order to alleviate it.

And in terms of the tense, it's not just for Wednesday night, and it's not just for Sunday morning. Remember the prisoners when the pastor reads a particular letter from Voice of the Martyrs. No, remember the prisoners. It's continual action.

It's something that you're supposed to emphasize. It's not something you're supposed to sort of tack on to your already busy prayer life. You're supposed to actually understand to pray that petition where God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We love our local church.

We pray for our local church. We try to encourage each other in our local church. Certainly at our prayer meetings, persons can express their petitions for prayer, but it doesn't stop at the local church. China is a reality.

The Muslim nations are a reality. The various places on earth where there is great hatred toward the people of God is a reality. So we remember them with a view to actually pray and with a view to actually alleviate their issues. John Owen said, it seems those that are at liberty are apt to forget Christ's prisoners.

Those who have liberty are apt to forget Christ prisoners. We don't really think about it. It's kind of out of sight, out of mind. I've always thought that about abortion.

Most people in Christian churches aren't out engaged in abortion. And so it's largely out of sight, out of mind. If you don't pay attention, you don't see what's happening, you don't see that major political parties are arguing their platform based on that one particular act of wickedness, you're just not going to think about it. That's why it's important for us to rehearse that.

It's important for us to call out these prayer requests. It's important for us to keep these things before us. So he 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. He says, usually more fall in neglect of their duty towards sufferers and so fail from their profession than do so fail under and on account of their own sufferings.

In other words, this is a failure on the part of the people of God to not remember the prisoners. My purpose is not to lecture, my purpose is not to harangue, my purpose is not to browbeat, but my purpose is to expound this particular command and simply suggest to you to ponder it, to reflect upon it, to think through it. Can you be here on a Wednesday night? Can you be here on a Sunday morning?

That is a wonderful corporate expression of solidarity with the church at large. It is a wonderful time for us to do something about the things that we are remembering. We've often said that that Sunday morning prayer meeting is kind of like a tour around the world. We get six, seven, eight countries that we hear about.

We get glimpses into the various persons that are suffering for the cause of Christ. It's not abstract. It's not something that's just ethereal, but there's real names, real people, real problems, and real hardships. And we get the privilege to bring that to the throne of grace and to pray for these people, to remember them with a view to doing something about it.

So he says, there is this duty to remember.

The Objects to Remember

Now notice, secondly, the objects that we are to remember, the prisoners, those who are mistreated. Go back to chapter 10 in this epistle. This wouldn't have been a surprising statement for the original audience. They wouldn't have said, What do you mean, prisoners?

Who are you talking about? You mean there's actually suffering for the cause of Christ? There's actually going to be these trials? There's actually going to be these hardships?

There's actually going to be these difficulties? You mean there's actually a devil? And there's actually devilish people that hate Christ and hate His people so much that they don't just let them coexist, but rather they mistreat them? They put them in prison?

The crime of preaching the gospel means that you have to go to jail? Talk about a threat from freedom of speech. These people have absolute lunacy in their minds. Notice in Hebrews chapter 10, specifically at verse 32.

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on me in my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. And then over in chapter 13, specifically at verse 23, This just brief statement.

Well, pick up in verse 22. I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. Know that our brother Timothy has been set free with whom I shall see you or see you if he comes shortly. What had he been set free from?

He'd been set free from jail. He'd gone to prison. He, like the master who taught him, the Apostle Paul, and the master who taught both of them, the Lord Jesus Christ, were sorely mistreated for the cause of God and truth. That was a reality then and it has continued unabated into the present age.

Someone once commented that the 20th century was far more bloody in terms of Christian martyrdom than all of the centuries previous. Now for us, that's hard to entertain. For us, it's hard to get our minds wrapped around us. We all got up this morning.

We didn't pass armed guards on our way here. We didn't have to sneak in. We didn't have to give some code word. I remember during the COVID lockdown, we kind of toyed with the idea.

If somebody couldn't answer, what is the chief end of man, they weren't gonna come in. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. If you don't get that, you're not coming in. We didn't do that, obviously, but the point is, We don't have that threat to our liberty.

We have been blessed richly. And so therefore, when we hear statements like a bloody century in terms of Christian suffering, it often goes unnoticed. Or you think, wow, that's an interesting or curious fact. I'll just tuck it in my pocket and I'll forget all about it.

Brethren, this is a hardship and a reality that the people of God are presently facing. It is a hardship and a reality that we in the Western world may face also. And if we don't remember them now, then what possible expectation do we have of anybody ever remembering us? Wouldn't it be wonderful to receive a letter if you were in the pokey for the cause of God and truth?

Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear that there were churches praying for you? Wouldn't it be nice to know that people are writing letters to civil government saying or pleading with them to release these prisoners? That would be most encouraging. I've got to imagine, because I've never been in prison, I've got to imagine that the loneliness would be hard.

The thought that persons think you're in there because of something you did wrong. The thought that maybe you were a criminal instead of just being a faithful preacher of the gospel. It's probably a great boon for the people of God that are suffering in those particular circumstances to know that the people of God have not forgotten them. Remember the prisoners, the apostle Paul says. those who are suffering for the cause of God and truth.

And in terms of those objects, we have in the first announcement of gospel salvation by Jesus Christ, the expectation of what's an antithesis. In Genesis 3.15, God Most High 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. That's an announcement concerning the Lord Christ.

That's an announcement concerning the gospel of salvation. It's an announcement that it will be through suffering and death that this man born of woman will suffer or will deliver the death blow to the devil himself. There's a collective seed as well. Those in Christ will also suffer the way that Christ did.

He tells the apostles that in the upper room. Don't marvel if the world hates you. They hated me. You think they're going to like you any better when you come with my message?

Do you think they're going to say, oh, well, yeah, they're not actually Jesus, but they represent Jesus. They preach Jesus. They tell others about Jesus. That's enough for the devil and his minions to eradicate, to liquidate, to put in prison, to try to stop that kind of thing from going on.

And as you move through scripture,

Biblical Examples of Suffering

you have all these examples of godly people suffering under persecution. You've got Genesis, Genesis chapter 39. Joseph escapes the misery of his brothers, only to end up ultimately in a cell because he didn't go into Potiphar's wife. So he is in prison, a godly and upright man, nevertheless went to jail. 1 Kings chapter 22, Ahab's gonna go into battle.

And Ahab invokes the presence of Jehoshaphat to go into battle with him. They wanna go against the Syrians. And Jehoshaphat has the wherewithal to say, well, what's the prophetic word say? I don't wanna go out into battle against the Syrians without a word from on high that we're gonna win.

So Ahab says, well, all the prophets say we're going to win. Every single one of them. And that's a bit fishy to Jehoshaphat. He says, all of them?

Every single prophet says we're going to win? Well, there is this one. His name's Micaiah, and he just bugs me. This is Ahab.

I mean, that's a bit of a translation, but that's what's happening. He drives me nuts. He doesn't tell me what I want to hear. So what happens?

They call for it, Micaiah, and he is in irony at the beginning. Oh, sure, you go right ahead and you march into battle. You're gonna win. He's doing that tongue in cheek.

He's not changing up. He's not capitulating. He's not telling Ahab what he wants to hear. He's being ironic.

Yeah, you go right ahead. If you just wanna rubber stamp this decision, go ahead and rubber stamp it. And then he gets to the hub of the argument. He says, you're gonna go into battle and you're going to lose, Ahab.

So what does that get Micaiah the prophet? It gets him put in prison. It gets him put on bread and water. It gets him suffering because he dared to tell the truth to power.

He spoke truth to power and power said, you're going to jail. That happened to Jeremiah the prophet also. Jeremiah the prophet, the weeping prophet, that man who ached over the situation that he faced in his own generation ended up in jail. Why?

Again, not because he was a criminal, but because he preached the truth. He testified concerning God's holy words. In the New Testament, many passages. You can turn to Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew chapter 5. One of our heroes had this particular passage hanging in a picture above his bed. His dear wife had it made for him because he was the target of much persecution and opposition and oppression. His name was Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

But if you look specifically at Matthew 5 at verse 10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Persecuted for righteousness sake, not because you're a thief, not because you're a murderer, not because you're a criminal, not because you embezzle things, but you are persecuted for righteousness sake. That's the prisoners we're talking about. The persons that don't deserve to be in prison, for what the state has called a crime.

It's not a crime to preach the gospel. They don't like it. They hate it. It threatens them.

It's their structure and system that is ultimately going to be tottered if enough people actually believe that truth. So you see why they want to silence it. You see why Ahab is upset with Micaiah. You see why the power structures in Jeremiah's day would rather have him languish in a pit That's the obvious implication when you're seeking to be faithful to our Lord.

Notice in verse 11, Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. How wonderful of the Master to give us this encouragement. How many of us, if persecuted, if reviled, if suffering for the cause of Christ, would actually count ourselves blessed?

Would actually rejoice? I dare say we'd probably not, at least initially. And so that's why passages like these are most helpful. What's to be our attitude?

What's to be our disposition? What are we supposed to conduct ourselves like when they put the handcuffs on? and put us in jail for the cause of God and truth. Well, as Jesus says, blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you. Notice again, falsely for my sake.

It's not because you're, you know, a thief. It's not because you're a criminal, but it's for the sake of Christ. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Turn over to the book of Acts.

Acts chapter 5, and again, many instances in Acts show us this rage of the unbelievers against the church of Christ. Acts chapter 5, specifically at verse 40. Acts 5 at verse 40, Gamaliel intervenes and he says, look, leave the Christians alone. If this is of God, your fighting against them isn't gonna help anything.

But if it's not of God, they're gonna fizzle out. They're gonna just go the way of all flesh. So on the heels of that good advice given by Gamaliel, verses 33 to 39, look at how the Sanhedrin responds in verse 40. They agreed with him.

And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, why'd you beat them? Why would you do that? Why would you inflict that kind of punishment and pain on persons who aren't a threat? Only they are a threat because of the message involved.

The proclamation of Christ and Him crucified arouses the tyrants in the ecclesiastical realm and in the civil realm. And we see that coupled in the Sanhedrin. So they 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, notice, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Brethren, they had their backs opened. They were hurting.

And yet they were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. What passage perhaps did they have in their minds? Well, Matthew chapter five and Christ's instruction that they rejoice when they are mistreated for righteousness sake, for his sake, it weighed on their consciences in such a way that when they met the whip, they rejoiced as a result. Turn over to chapter 12 in the book of Acts.

Chapter 12, specifically at verse 1, Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, 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. Brethren, this passage illustrates something that I know that is a tough nut to swallow or pill to swallow, but sometimes governments sin. Sometimes governments sin. Why would he arrest Peter?

Or why did he? To please the mob? Is that any kind of decent behavior? Is that how a civil magistrate should function?

What does the mob want? I will give it to them. That's never the reason why somebody should be delivered up. Somebody should be arrested.

But again, you go all the way back to the very beginning book of the Bible and you'll see that there is this in man, a tendency as an individual, tendency in families, tendency in churches, tendency in civil government to actuate sin against God. Now Acts 12 is fascinating because look at how bad it starts. I mean, come on, James is dead and Peter's in jail. J.R.

Stott made this observation. The chapter 12 opens with James dead, Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing. It closes with Herod dead, Peter free, and the word of God triumphing. Skip over to verse 20.

Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king's personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace because their country was supplied with food by the king's country. So on a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, the voice of a god and not of a man. Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died, but The Word of God grew and multiplied.

It starts bang on. The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison, and Herod triumphing. It closes with Herod dead, Peter free, and the Word of God triumphing. Such is the power of God to overthrow hostile human plans and to establish His own in their place.

Tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing the church and hindering the gospel, but that will not last. In the end, their empire will be broken and their pride abased. Amen, brother. That is absolutely spot on.

And that's what Acts 12 indicates. We start the chapter going, oh no, James dead, Peter in prison. The chapter ends with the word of the Lord prevailing. The arch enemy of the church at that time, Aaron, being eaten before everybody with worms.

Imagine that, a politician giving up, going to give a speech and he's on, you know, CTV and right before everybody's eyes, he's eaten with worms and dies. That would be quite amazing, wouldn't it? I would think we'd all be like, wow, that's a Herod-like moment. I guess you shouldn't exalt yourself as if you're a God.

You shouldn't exalt yourself as if you own the world and everything in it. I guess you shouldn't be a rival God to the living and the true God. Notice in chapter 14, chapter 14, verse 19, then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there. and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe." You've heard about man's sick, right?

Man gets a cold, a sniffle, and he has to lay on the couch while his wife brings him you know, saltine crackers and 7-Up. That was what it was for my... When I was a kid, my mommy would bring me 7-Up and saltine crackers, seemed to heal every malady, every woe. You know, man-sick.

I mean, women give birth. We get a sniffle and it just ruins our day, ruins our week. You have to get what's happening in the passage. Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there.

Now, Pisidian Antioch was about 80 miles from Iconium. Iconium was about 18 miles from Lystra. So the god-haters traveled long and far to get Paul. They traveled long and far to get Paul.

Well, why is that? Is he a criminal? Is he an axe murderer? No, he's a preacher of the truth.

Then they stone Paul and they drag him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. That's not man's sake.

He's not like, give me 7-Up and soda crackers. Derbe was 60 miles from Lystra. He's stoned to the point where they actually think that he's dead, and yet the next day he makes a 60-mile trek in order to preach the gospel. Boy, I wonder what part of his experience he's going to include in this gospel presentation.

Of course he's going to preach the righteousness of Christ. He's going to preach justification by faith. He's going to preach forgiveness of sins. He's going to preach the imputation of Christ's righteousness received by faith alone.

He's going to preach that cross. But he's also going to preach the effects of those or on those who embrace the cross. In other words, just because you're a believer in Jesus doesn't mean you're going to live a life of pain-free happiness. Again, might blast some bubbles here, but that's my job.

Now notice his text. Notice his message. Verse 21. When they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, We must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God.

Nobody has to say, what are you talking about, Paul? What do you mean by that, Paul? What's your point, Paul? Galatians 6, he says, let no one trouble me.

I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus. He wasn't tatted up. He didn't have 1689 all over him. That's not the point.

His back had been opened up. Isaiah 53 speaks of the suffering of the Savior, and it says, by his stripes, we are healed. Paul gives a litany of his pain and torment at the hands of not only civil tyrants, but ecclesiastical tyrants in terms of the unbelieving Jews. You can turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11.

Specifically, verse 22. I've told you before that in 2 Corinthians, the apostle is engaged in apologetics. Well, he's not defending the Christian faith per se, he's defending his own ministry. And he's defending his own ministry because he knows that if his ministry or his character is called into question, then that will shipwreck the faith of those who have believed his message.

So Paul, in another place, says, I don't care if men have envy toward me. I don't care if men don't like me. Philippians 1. Insofar as Christ is being preached, I rejoice.

It's not that Paul was about Paul. Paul was about Paul to the degree that if you didn't listen to Paul, you would go to hell because of rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ. So much of 2 Corinthians is a defense of his apostolic ministry. Because these fake apostles, these supercharged men came to the church and said, oh, he's only in it for the money.

He's only in it for his own renown. He's only in it for his own prestige. He doesn't really have a dog in this fight. It's all about him.

So that's why he defends himself. And contrary to the super apostles, contrary to the alpha male that always has everything go perfectly for him, Paul says, I've suffered. I've been hurt. I've been beaten.

I've been abused. I've been tormented. I'm not doing this for money. I'm not doing this for prestige.

There's certainly gotta be a better way to make a living, certainly better way to get prestige than to be beaten within inches of your life on several occasions. So that's kind of the context in which he says what he says, beginning in verse 22. Are they Hebrews? So am I.

Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they in the seat of Abraham? So am I.

Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more. In labors, more abundant. In stripes, above measure.

In prisons, more frequently. In deaths, often. From the Jews, five times I receive. Forty stripes, minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been in the deep.

In journeys often. In perils of waters. In perils of robbers. In perils of my own countrymen.

In perils of the Gentiles. In perils in the city. In perils in the wilderness. In perils in the sea.

In perils among false brethren. In weariness and toil. In sleeplessness often. In hunger and thirst.

In fastings often. In cold and nakedness. Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak and I am not weak?

Who is made to stumble and I do not burn with indignation? You see the point there? I'm not in this for money. I'm not in this for prestige.

I'm not in this because I have some sick twisted fascination with exalting myself. I'm in this for the cause of God and truth. And in a world that hates God and hates truth, those purveyors of it will oftentimes meet with great enmity, with great oppression, and with great persecution. And that's the particular lesson he teaches Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

He commends Timothy that Timothy had carefully followed his example, his example of being persecuted, his example of having been in prison, his example of suffering for the cause of God and truth. And then he draws this principle out in 2 Timothy 3.12. He says, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will what? Will suffer persecution.

It's an inevitability. Genesis 3.15 teaches that the history of mankind will be marked by an antithesis. The children of the devil will hate the children of God. The children of God will try, by God's grace, to preach to those children of the devil, to see them plundered from that kingdom by the power of the Christian message.

But when they are not plundered, when they dig in their heels, more often than not, they are persecutors of the church. And consider, not the irony, but the contrast in terms of Paul. How did he start on the pages of Holy Scripture? Was he leading Sunday school?

Was he doing, you know, tent meetings? He was persecuting the Church of Jesus Christ. In fact, that's what Jesus says to him, or to Ananias. I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.

So the apostle was at one time the persecutor, but now as he sided with God and his grace, he is the persecuted. And he writes a lot about that so that we'll understand the nature of Christian faith. One other passage, and then we'll return to Hebrews 13. 1 Peter 4, which incidentally outlines a strategy for how to deal with trial. Imagine that, an inspired apostle writing an epistle to the people of God actually includes a strategy on how to suffer.

Again, they're reflecting on the Savior's words in Matthew 5. Blessed are you when men revile you. Blessed are you when men persecute you. Blessed are you when you take a stand for righteousness, when you take a stand for Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you. Rejoice in that. So it's no strange thing that Peter would include this strategy. Notice in verse 12 of chapter 4.

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. See Peter's logic? It's not strange to suffer. It's not strange to be persecuted.

It's not strange, as one who stands for God and truth, to suffer under the hands of godless men. You need to expect it. That doesn't mean go out and court it. It doesn't mean, hey everybody, I'm a Christian, spit on me and beat me and hurt me, because then I'll rejoice.

That's not it. We're not masochists. We're not told to be unreasonable or unrational. But for Peter, there's an expectation built in to the Christian life that means suffering, that means trial, that means hardship.

Notice he says we should exalt in it and not exalt. Exalt with an A means to exalt or lift up high. Exalt with a U, E-X-U-L-T means to rejoice. He says, 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 aim of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part, He's glorified. Again, that's Matthew 5. That's the beatitude.

He's imitating the Savior. He said, rejoice, be blessed, and count yourself as one of God's saints. Then he says, we're to evaluate the cause for our suffering. Notice in verse 15.

But 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. See, Christians do this, I'm persecuted for the faith. No, you might be persecuted because you have a big mouth.

You might be persecuted because you're a busybody. You might be persecuted because you're a gossip. You might be persecuted because you're a murderer. You might be persecuted because you're a thief.

You see what Peter's saying? Just because you're in a jail cell doesn't mean that that's because of Christ. Don't say, woe is me, I'm in jail because of my commitment to Jesus. What about that $300,000 you embezzled from your business?

Oh, well, you know, it's about Jesus. No, Peter says evaluate its cause. If you're a busybody and that offends people, don't claim Jesus' victory. Don't say, well, it's because I'm a believer.

No, Paul wasn't in jail. Paul didn't have his back opened up because he was a busybody or he was a thief or he was a threat to the empire. He was a preacher of the truth as it is in Jesus. And then notice, he says, entrust your soul to the faithful creator.

Verse 17, 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? Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Now notice, therefore let those who suffer, look at this next phrase, according to the will of God.

Why am I suffering? It's according to the will of God. Tough pill, brethren, but it's one we need to internalize. It's one we need to ingest.

It's one we need to swallow. We're not islands unto ourself. If we end up in jail, that's not reflective of the fact or the thought that God's off the throne. No, he says you suffer according to the will of God.

So therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God, notice, commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. So going back to Hebrews 13, specifically at verse 3, remember the prisoners, those who are mistreated. They're the people of God that are hated by the godless. They're the people of God that are mistreated by the godless.

That doesn't mean if your friend gets thrown into jail for murder or for theft, you don't pray for him. Sure you do. You remember him and you pray for him. But that's not the point in this particular passage.

The people of God were suffering under the hands of the Godless, and so the Apostle says, you need to remember them. They're actually in chains. They're actually being mistreated.

The Reason to Remember

And then finally, in terms of exposition, the reason we are to remember. Notice how he links us with them in verse 3. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them. See, we forget them, or I shouldn't indict you, I forget them from time to time.

I don't think it would be possible to forget them if I was in the cell with them and I was chained to them. If I couldn't, you know, scratch my forehead without coordinating with this fellow, I wouldn't forget him. There's no way, right? The point or what he says here underscores the gravity of the command.

Remember them as if chained with them. It's not hit and miss, it's not spotty. Oh, this was the international day of prayer for the persecuted church. I'm glad we prayed for them this morning and then we forget them till next year.

And again, take the analogy, Sanctity of Life Sunday. Do we just preach sermons or just think about abortion or just, you know, remember to pray on that one day? No, that highlights it, it underscores it, it bolds it, it calls us to further reflection upon it. But if we were chained with, you know, these people that are suffering in a prison cell, we wouldn't forget them.

There's no way you could forget that. If you were eating together, you were sleeping together, you were living together, you would not forget that. That's the argument from the Apostle Paul. It underscores the gravity of the command.

Remember those prisoners as if chained with them, as if you yourselves are in that prison cell. And he even goes on to underscore the solidarity of the church. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated. Notice, since you yourselves are in the body also.

Now this could probably be interpreted one of two ways. You're in the body. You know what it would be like to be deprived. You know what it would be like to be in a cold cell.

You know what it would be like to not have three hots and a cot. You would know what it would be like because you're a bodily physical existence, have that bodily physical existence. You know what deprivation is? You miss a meal and, wow, I can't believe it, I'm so hungry.

You're in the body. You know what it's like to suffer. You know what it's like to hurt. You know what it's like to be harmed.

But I'm not sure that's what he's talking about. I think he's underscoring the solidarity of the body of Jesus Christ. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them because you're in that self-same body. In other words, the local church gets attention in the context of, you know, Matthew and the Word of God.

We need to be local church-minded. But that's not to the neglect of the universal church and the reality that outside of our four walls there are people deprived. There are people in prison. There are people waiting death sentences.

There are people that are suffering. And we are in that body with them. There's two passages that I think corroborate this particular interpretation. Romans 12, 6, 12, 15.

The apostle says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Certainly we ought to be weeping with those who weep as they're facing the executioner's sword for the cause of Jesus Christ and his gospel. And then in 1 Corinthians 12, 26, and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

So you see, the argument in terms of the particular command to remember the prisoners, those who are mistreated, it's twofold. And it stresses, first, the constancy necessary to remember them, as if chained with them. If I was chained with them, I wouldn't ever forget them. It's an impossibility.

We just couldn't do that. You know, sometimes wives, you think your husbands are ignoring you. They might be. I hate to give you some bad news here, but they just might be.

Hard to ignore somebody you're handcuffed to, right? That's a real practical sort of illustration. But then the solidarity of God's people, since you all, you yourselves are in the body also. You're part of the church.

Your particular part right now gets great liberty. You didn't have to pass checkpoint Charlie and, you know, show your papers in order to get in. You didn't have to recite, you know, what is the chief end of man in order to get it. We have that, that blessed liberty that God has given us to freely convene, to freely meet.

Brethren in our body don't have that elsewhere. And so what does Paul say? Well, you know, count yourself blessed, count yourself fortunate, forget all about that. No, remember them too.

Remember those people, remember those who are suffering and remember in a way that you can try and alleviate it. If it means seeking grace for them at the throne of grace, praise God. Sometimes people say, well, I really can't do a lot. So they do nothing.

I can't get on a plane and go to China and take, you know, baskets of food to the persecuted Christians. But you can pray, can't you? You don't even have to get on a plane for that. You don't have to go to China for that.

You don't have to give out food for that. You don't have to do anything like that. I mean, it would be great. Those of you who have lots of money and lots of ability and lots of time, absolutely positively do that sort of thing.

But for the rest of the slobs that can't do that or afford it, we should at least be praying for them. I hope under God this church will never relinquish that emphasis in terms of the persecuted church. This is a commanded activity from the master himself who said that in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. For those not presently tribulated, for those presently not afflicted, for those presently not tried to forget about those that are, It's really a betrayal of the master's calling upon us in terms of remembering them to do something for them.

And I think as well, when we imbibe the command, remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also, we need to understand, we need to identify with the reality involved. We've often mentioned that Leah in Kenya, right? Leah is in Kenya, so the Fulani and herdsmen Boko Haram that took Leah, they took all those girls and they ended up releasing a bunch of those girls except for Leah. Why didn't they release Leah?

Because Leah professed faith in Christ and won't recant. 18-year-old girl now with two babies from a Muslim man. She wouldn't recant. She wouldn't say, no, I'm not a Christian. She wouldn't let go, like all those other prisoner girls.

You just, you know, say you're not a Christian. We'll let you go. Isn't that amazing? And yet she's there.

We don't always think about her. I think the text calls us to think about her, to pray for her. to seek God that she might get some of this suffering alleviated. I think what it does is that it calls the members of the church to be concerned with the church as a whole. I love our church.

I do. I love you. I love the fact that we love each other. But I also love the fact that we're part, a small part of a much bigger whole.

Every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation, okay? Not just us in Chilliwack in the 21st century. We need to be concerned with the bigger kingdom of God Most High. We need to be concerned with the church of Christ throughout the earth.

And I'm not making this up. I already cited the petition in the Lord's Prayer. Pray that God's will be done where? In our little church.

God, just may that will be done in our little church, amongst our little flock, amongst our little people. Let's just do the will of God. No, on earth as it is in heaven. See, this is where we rail against the social justice warriors.

I rail against them because they're Marxists. They're commies. They've just got the wrong thought concerning social justice. But in terms of abortion, and euthanasia, and the larger concerns affecting the kingdom of God, we pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

That means something, I think. There's not all that in heaven, and if God says, pray this way, or Christ says, pray this way, then it behooves us to pray that way. Not to say, well, it'll never happen, so we're not going to bother. Our Lord taught us to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And so this hopefully will promote in us more of a global perspective. Again, we're very parochial, very much consumed with the right now and the right here. There are many passages of scripture that call us to get our eyes off of self, off of immediacy, and outward. Isaiah 62.7, I love this passage.

It says, and give him no rest. The text means give God no rest. Well, Pastor Benton, you preach the doctrine of impassibility. God doesn't rest.

He can't rest. He's pure act. It's metaphor, brethren. It's metaphor.

Give him no rest till he makes Jerusalem a praise in all the earth. That's not geopolitical Jerusalem. That's the church. That's the people of God.

Give him no rest. What does that mean? Pray once a year? Pray once a week?

Pray once a month for concerns outside of our local body? No, give him no rest. Give him no rest until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isaiah 63 and 64.

The prophet says, rend the heavens and come down. Why? Because everything's a mess. We need God.

Do we pray that? Everything's a mess, brethren. I was about to say out there. It's a mess in here too.

This last little while has been hard for everybody. All of us have tension. All of us have trial. All of us have hardship.

All of us have suffering. All of us have affliction. I think at times, you know, if we had a prayer meeting, and I'm not saying if we were honest as if we're not honest, but if the call went out, hey brethren, does anybody have anything to pray for? Yeah, I'm a mess.

I sometimes don't even want to get out of bed. I feel crippled by what's happening in the world. I've got this issue with my child. I've got this issue in my family.

I've got this thing heavy upon me. Our prayer meetings would breathe a different sort of sigh of relief at that point. You mean I'm not the only one that's a mess? I'm surrounded by other people that have mess too?

Yeah, we're all a mess. And this is what Isaiah says, ran to heaven and come down. Who fixes messes? Not us.

Whenever I try to fix a mess, it gets messier. I don't know what that is. You know, if I tried to take apart a car engine, it would probably not turn out well. I would have a bunch of parts sitting on the ground and probably calling somebody, hey, can you come over here and help me sort this out?

God is in the business of fixing messes. That's why the prophet says, rend the heavens and come down. Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel 9, one of the most terrifying passages in the Bible.

If you ever ask me, what is your most scary passage in the Bible? I think I'll usually say Ezekiel chapter 9. If you're not familiar with the passage, it's a vision. And the prophet sees six men with battle weapons, six men with slaughtering weapons, and then another man with a rider's ankhorn.

Kind of an interesting thing. You got six guys jacked and ready to go with their battle axes and ready to put the heave-ho on everybody that gets in their way. Well, who's the guy with the writer's ink pen? Well, who's the guy in the linen?

Well, God interprets the vision for Ezekiel. The man with the writer's inkhorn is to go around the city of Jerusalem and mark the foreheads. It doesn't mean across, that's not the point. Mark the foreheads of those who sigh and cry over the abominations in Jerusalem.

And then the six men with battle weapons, guess what their job is? Go destroy everybody that doesn't have a mark on their head. It gets scarier because he says, begin at my sanctuary. What do you think happens?

Do you think it's, oh, there's, you know, one or two that got slaughtered? No. Oh, no, no, no, no. The bulk got slaughtered.

What's the point? In Ezekiel's day, there was no regard for sanctuary. There's no regard for Jerusalem. There's no regard for people of God.

And God doesn't say, well, you know, that's okay. You're busy. You've got your own things going on. You know, you've got burning the candle at both ends.

You can't really be expected to think about, to sigh about, or cry about anybody else's issues except yourself. Read Ezekiel 9 this afternoon, brethren, after soup. Maybe that'll sober us up to the grim reality that we need to be those who sigh and cry over the abominations in the land. Ezekiel 2230, 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, but I found no one.

No one in the covenant people was going to stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of the covenant people. Brethren, intercessory prayer ought to be something that we just do. It ought to be something that just exudes from us. I'll pray for you.

Yes, take that ethic, that ethos, take that pattern and pray for those that you don't even know. Why? because you're one in the body with them, and remember them as if you're chained with them, and sigh and cry over the abominations in the land.

Application

In conclusion, I wanna get through this, because I don't wanna not get through it. I preached this passage last International Day, a prayer for the persecuted church, and I don't think I finished, and I wanna finish. The examples of those who suffered, Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11. So go back two chapters, Hebrews chapter 11.

We like triumphant saints. We like victory. We like when our guy wins. No, not me, Pat.

Of course we do. We want our guys to win every single time. You don't join a race or battle to lose. You join to win.

That's the point. So we like the victory stories. We like the winners. And certainly the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 holds out to us a lot of winners, a lot of people that by faith did this, by faith did that, by faith did this.

But it didn't always work out. Notice in 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 remained strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised to life again. There's your winners!

There's your victors. And they did that not because they were savvy or strong or better than the average bear, but because they had faith in the living and true God. But see, the passage doesn't stop there. It's not just triumphant saints that mark the Hall of Faith. but it's suffering saints that marked the Hall of Faith as well.

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, 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, in 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." You see the point? You look at the history of the church, it's not all just triumph. It's not all just victory.

It is, because even in suffering and in death and in martyrdom, there's victory, because Christ never loses. But in terms of the earthly people of God, there's hardship, brethren. There's lias. And we're being told by the Apostle, under inspiration by the Spirit as he puts pen to paper, to remember her.

To remember them, to pray for them, to think about them. Getting eyes off of self is always a good idea. And this is a wonderful means by which we can do this. The practical benefits of remembering those who suffer.

I've got several things here.

Practical Reasons to Remember

First, remember the prisoners because they're easily forgotten. Like I said before, out of sight, out of mind. The abortion situation, they're easily forgotten. If you're not going to abortion clinics, you're not protesting at abortion clinics, you're not paying for abortions, then you don't really think about it.

I mean, it's a grisly subject. Who likes to think about abortion? It's horrific. But it falls into that category of out of sight, out of mind.

When something's out of sight, it's out of mind. It just is. Same with the prisoners. Secondly, remember the prisoners because Jesus commends such activity.

In Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25, verses 36 and 40, I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

I was in prison and you visited me. Again, you can't get on a plane and fly to China, but you can write a letter to some prisoner that you know of there. I mean, hope and pray that it gets there. I remember we did that.

Somebody mentioned earlier that we need to do stuff we used to do. That's something we used to do. We'd write letters to civil government, to magistrate. Always felt weird writing to the chairman of the commie party in China.

I mean, yeah, he's gonna get my letter and go, oh yeah, Jim, you're right. We're gonna free all these prisoners. Well, you know, it was one smooth stone that fell David. Why?

Because God, right? God is God. And I'm not suggesting every letter you write is going to take out a commie dictator, but it's certainly not going to happen if you never write the letter. If you don't employ the one smooth stone, you're not gonna fell Goliath to the ground.

Remember the prisoners to pray for them. Remember the prisoners to give tangible aid to them. Remember the prisoners to visit them. Remember the prisoners to demonstrate Christian compassion.

By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. But it's not just the one another within the context of the local church, but it also extends to the rest of the body. That is a demonstration of compassion with reference to our body. Remember the prisoners to help them to persevere.

Right? Again, if I was sitting in a prison cell and you wrote to me, I'd be great. I'd be happy. Wow, they remembered me.

That's great. I mean, they probably get letters from wives and kids and family and all that sort of thing, but, you know, some rando in Canada, hey, we're praying for you at our Wednesday morning or Wednesday night prayer meeting. I'd like that. I think you would too.

Remember the prisoners to pray for their persecutors. Pray for the persecutors. Pray for the commie government in China. That, God willing, they'd be converted.

I mean, that would be awesome, right? We have an example in Acts 9. The apostle Paul was breathing threats about the church. He had extradition papers in his hands.

He was going to Damascus, again, not to teach a Bible study. He was going to seize men and women, and he was going to bring them back to Jerusalem so that they would be further punished. So he was the chief persecutor of the church at that time, and what happens? Jesus meets him on the road to Damascus in answer to someone's prayer.

Whose prayer? Stephen. We're gonna see Stephen tonight. Lord, do not charge them with this sin.

Wow, he just threw that up there, didn't he? God heard it and God saved the man that was guarding the garments of those who were executing Stephen. Brethren, we have example in scripture of God doing these very things. Pray that they'd be saved or pray that they would be stopped.

It's not good for them to bash heads in of Christian people simply because they're Christian people. The people of God are to have an attitude of righteousness and justice. That is to image God. It is to long for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Remember the prisoners to express the love that is ultimately the identifying mark of the believer, and remember the prisoners ultimately, finally, to get our eyes off of self. A.W. Pink made this observation. Most reprehensible and unchrist-like is that selfish callousness which says, I have enough troubles of my own without concerning myself over those of other people.

Putting it on its lowest ground, such a spirit ministers no relief. The most effectual method of getting away from our own sorrows is to seek out and relieve others in distress. Wow, that's amazing. No, you know this.

We all know this. Every one of us could have written this list at some level in our Christian consciousness. We know that Hebrews 13, three is in the Bible, and we know that we should remember them more. Again, I don't want to harangue, I don't want to lecture, I don't want to be your mother today.

I want to simply encourage you to think in light of Hebrews chapter 13, verse three, and remember the prisoners. And

Christ Is Worth Suffering For

I want to end on this happy note, this very happy note. Remember Acts 5? We just read it 20 minutes ago. What happened when they were whipped?

What happened when their backs were opened up? What happened when the Sanhedrin meted out to them stripes? They went rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Here's the take-home message.

If you're not a believer, I want to encourage you. Christ is worth suffering for. This brief survey of Scripture showing that the people of God oftentimes have trials and have hardships, and have suffering, and have affliction, and can be persecuted, and can go to jail, and can have, you know, a myriad of horrible things happen to them. Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs sometime.

Read books about martyrdom. I mean, brethren, there's little kids here. I'm not going to get too detailed or graphic on how the Christian people have been treated in history. But all of them would testify, if I had to do it over again, I'd do it over again.

Why? Because Christ is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. He's worth suffering for. You're gonna see it tonight with Peter, or Stephen.

He's filled with the Holy Spirit. He gazes into heaven and he sees the glory of God and Jesus Christ standing at his right hand. Do you understand that? He's being pelted with stones.

He's within inches of his death. He is going to die. And yet God floods him with this vision of the glory to come. That's our God, beloved.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent from your sins and you'll have everlasting life. And if called upon to suffer, if called upon to be afflicted, to be persecuted or oppressed, it'll be a badge. You get to rejoice.

You get to count yourself blessed for having suffered for the cause of Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Closing Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for our blessed savior. We thank you for the reality that he is worth suffering for. And I praise you that we are enjoying liberty at this present time. but I pray that you would help us to be thinking in a global mindset, to be thinking of brothers and sisters throughout the world.

We do pray for Myanmar and we do pray for China. We pray God for the Middle East and the antipathy of the Muslim religion against the people of Christ. We ask God that you would bless your church, bless your saints and grant them grace and health and strength to persevere in the midst of such hardship and help us as the people of God to rally around, to pray, not just corporately, but privately and as families. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Well, you can take your hymn book and turn to 564. 564, we'll stand as we sing praise to our triune God. Oh And blessed be his foretaste to all eternity. The whole earth let his glory fill, a blessed soul let it live. The whole earth that is for me will, Amen, solemnly be honored.

Hebrews, I'm sorry, Numbers chapter six, we have that benediction. Hopefully God makes it good to us and to his suffering church as well. So the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. God may that be the experience of each of your people in this present evil age. May you encourage our hearts and strengthen us with might in the inner man. And may you do likewise for those suffering for the cause of God and truth.

We know there are countless multitudes that are under that kind of persecution, even as we meet. And we pray that you would be gracious and merciful to them. Grant that faith necessary to persevere in the midst of hardship and affliction. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen. Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Genesis 3:15; 18; 39
• Numbers 6
• 1 Kings 22
• Ezekiel 9; 22:30
• Isaiah 53; 62:7; 63-64
• Matthew 5:10-11; 16; 25:36-40
• Luke 23:42
• John 13
• Acts 5:33-40; 9; 12:1-20; 14:19-21; 21
• Romans 12:15
• 1 Corinthians 12:26
• 2 Corinthians 11:22
• Galatians 2; 6
• Philippians 1
• 1 Thessalonians 4
• 2 Timothy 3:12
• Hebrews 10:32; 11:33; 13:1-3; 13:23
• 1 Peter 4:12-17