Pleasing God Hebrews 13:1-19

Good morning FE, some of you may not have known, but Nomi and I were on vacation for the past few weeks, we went and seen God’s amazing creation in Alaska, but it is great to be back worshipping with you this morning. We missed being with our FE family in person.

We are coming to the end of our series in Hebrews, I hope you have grown and learned from the book of Hebrews. We have today’s message and Pastor Alfredo will close us out next week. But today, I have a question for you, how many of you want to please God? How many of you have thought about how can I please God? God through the person and work of Jesus has done so much for us:

forgiven our sins

became our priest forever

provided access to the Father

calls us brothers and sisters

redeemed by the blood of Christ

Jesus Sacrifice is once for all

His grace is freely Given

He promises something better than this life on earth.

He disciplines us out of love to conform us to the image of His son.

When I think of all he has done for me, I can’t help to think, Lord out of the gratefulness of my heart for what you have done for me, I want to live a life that honors you and pleases you. Now we are not doing these things to earn our salvation, we know based on what we have learned in Hebrews is our salvation is through grace and was purchased for us through the finish work of Christ. Now we are in the faith, we are to pursue holiness because our God is holy. Wehere did Hebrews 12 end last week?

Hebrews 12:28-29

Hebrews 12:28–29 (ESV)

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

28 Por lo cual, puesto que recibimos un reino que es inconmovible, demostremos[y] gratitud, mediante la cual ofrezcamos a Dios un servicio aceptable con temor y reverencia;29 porque nuestro Dios es fuego consumidor.

How do we offer God acceptable worship to God? How do we please God? Hebrews 13:1-19 lets us know how.

Hebrews 13:1–19 (ESV)

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Permanezca [a] el amor fraternal. 2 No os olvidéis de mostrar hospitalidad[b], porque por ella algunos, sin saberlo, hospedaron ángeles.3 Acordaos de los presos, como si estuvierais presos con ellos, y de los maltratados, puesto que también vosotros estáis en el cuerpo. 4 Sea el matrimonio honroso en todos, y el lecho matrimonial sin mancilla, porque a los inmorales[c] y a los adúlteros los juzgará Dios. 5 Sea vuestro carácter sin avaricia, contentos con lo que tenéis, porque Él mismo ha dicho: Nunca te dejare ni te desamparare, 6 de manera que decimos confiadamente:

El Señor es el que me ayuda; no temeré. ¿Qué podrá hacerme el hombre?

7 Acordaos de vuestros guías que os hablaron la palabra de Dios, y considerando el resultado de su conducta[d], imitad su fe. 8 Jesucristo es el mismo ayer y hoy y por los siglos. 9 No os dejéis llevar por doctrinas[e]diversas y extrañas, porque buena cosa es para el corazón el ser fortalecido con[f] la gracia, no con alimentos, de los que no recibieron beneficio los que de ellos se ocupaban[g]. 10 Nosotros tenemos un altar del cual no tienen derecho a comer los que sirven al tabernáculo[h]. 11 Porque los cuerpos de aquellos animales, cuya sangre es llevada al santuario por el sumo sacerdote como ofrenda por el pecado, son quemados fuera del campamento. 12 Por lo cual también Jesús, para santificar al pueblomediante su propia sangre, padeció fuera de la puerta. 13 Así pues, salgamos a Él fuera del campamento, llevando su oprobio. 14 Porque no tenemos aquí una ciudad permanente, sino que buscamos la que está por venir. 15 Por tanto, ofrezcamos continuamente mediante Él, sacrificio de alabanza a Dios, es decir, el fruto de labios que confiesan[i] su nombre. 16 Y no os olvidéis de hacer el bien y de la ayuda mutua[j], porque de tales sacrificios se agrada Dios. 17 Obedeced a vuestros pastores[k] y sujetaos a ellos, porque ellos velan por vuestras almas, como quienes han de dar cuenta. Permitidles que lo hagan[l] con alegría y no quejándose, porque eso no sería provechoso para vosotros.

Bendición y saludos finales

18 Orad por nosotros, pues confiamos en que tenemos una buena conciencia, deseando conducirnos honradamente[m] en todo. 19 Y aún más, os exhorto a hacer esto, a fin de que yo os sea restituido muy pronto.

Pleasing God With Our Actions

Pleasing God by looking out for others.

One of the encouragements in the book of Hebrews has been don’t give up, do not leave the faith, do not forsake the gathering of the church. It is no surprise that when the author comes to speak towards the holy actions of a believer life he begins with brotherly love. Love is the mark of Christian, Jesus said: “they will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.”

The word used here is philadelphia which is translated brotherly love, implying that we are to love one another like brothers and sisters. Love one another as family. This is an important to understand because Hebrews 2:11 lets us know that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers, if Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and loved us sacrificially we should not be ashamed to call each other brothers and sisters and love one another sacrificially.

Hebrews tells us how we are to love one another.

Pleasing God by Being Hospitable to all

Hospitality was a vital characteristic for the Christian church because Christians were being persecuted, they could not stay at the local inns because of the risk for their lives, but the inns of the first century was not like the Hilton, they were rough places, unsanitary. Apostles and missionaries traveling would hope to stay with hospitable Christians that would open up their homes. Christians should be hospitable to those in the faith, in their church. Tertullian, a 1st century theologian said of the early church.

“Look,’ they say, ‘how they [Christians] love one another’… ‘and how they are ready to die for each other’

Christians are to be hospitable to those outside the faith as well, to strangers because it is a door way to share the gospel. There are walls that fall when you open your home and share a meal with one another, they get to know you and you get to know them. Hospitality builds a trust with people, it shows that you care about them. Hospitality is a doorway to sharing the Gospel with others.

The author reminds them when they are being hospitable, they never know when they may be entertaining angels. Which should remind us of stories like Abram in Genesis 18 or Gideon in Judges 6. The fact that we may entertain an angel wasn’t the authors way of motivating hospitality in the church, but it was his way of showing how much God values hospitality, that he may send an angel.

Pleasing God By Remembering Those in Prison

The call to remember those in prison and our mistreated, was important to the early church because there were many who were imprisoned and mistreated for their faith. The prison system in the first century was much different from the modern day prison system, for example when Paul was imprisoned, he was dependent on the churches for his food, blankets to keep warm, writing supplies to continue his writing ministry. If you did receive support in the first century it was a death sentence.

The call to remember the prisoner in this passage is a call to remember believers who are in prison. We may not face this persecution here at home, but there are many Christians who practice their faith in secret and underground because if/when they are caught they are imprisoned for their faith. In 2022, from those they were able to count, there were more than 6000 people detained for their faith across the world. We need to remember to pray for therm, to help ministries that help them.

For a big picture view on Prison Ministry, you can go to our Gospel and Culture sermon we did on Prison Ministry on our website.

Pleasing God by Looking Out For Ourselves

We please God by looking out for others, we also please God by looking out for ourselves. How do we please God by looking out for ourselves?

Pleasing God by Honoring Your Marriage

When we talk about honoring your marriage, honor means value, how much value do you place on your marriage? Marriage is an institution created by God all the way back when he created the world. Marriage is God’s design, when Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce he went back to Genesis 2 and explained that marriage was created by God and designed for men and women to covenant with each other to Love God, Love Each Other, and to take care and fill the earth. Christian Marriage is a picture of the church, where the husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church and women respond with respectful submission. Christian marriage gives us a picture of the Gospel, which is why we as Christians should place a high value on our marriages.

We should value our marriages, but we should also value the marriage bed, husbands/wives this is call to remain faithful to the one you have covenanted with in marriage. Our minds, eyes and hearts should not be looking at other women or men. We should not be watching porn, if you are watching porn, you are cheating on your husband, you are cheating on your wife. You are defiling your marriage bed.

For those who are not married, honoring marriage starts when you are single, honoring God by refraining from sexual immorality. When you have sex with someone you are not married to, there is something that happens in the body, a one flesh union that 1 Corinthians 6 talks about, and Paul says you are sinning against your own body. There are consequences that come with sexual immorality. When we think of God’s commands we should not think that God is trying to keep us from something but that God’s commands are there to protect us and provide for us. Notice that the author says God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Pleasing God With Your Finances

When it comes to money we need to look at our finances as a blessing from the Lord. Everything we have is because he has given it to us, and we need to manage our finances well. Money is not evil, money is a-moral, it isn’t good or evil, how you use it is what makes it good or evil. Notice the sin isn’t having money but the love of money, we are to keep our life from the love of money. The love of money is not just a problem for the rich, it is a problem for the poor as well. The Lord gives us the answer to keeping free from the love of money, be content with what you have. Content is the key to being free from the love of money, when we are content we are not pursuing to have more and more just to have more.

The ket to being content is trusting in the Lord, which is why the promise is there that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. The Lord is our helper, we shall not fear.

Pleasing God by remembering Your Leaders

There are 3 men that have invested in my life as a Christian. These 3 men poured time, prayers, tears, love and so much more in my life when I desperately needed it. I will be forever grateful for these men that God put in my pathway to help me in my growth as a Christ follower. This is what it means to remember your leaders, consider the outcome of their life, imitate their faith. But also remember that the leaders, Alfredo, Dave, John and I, we are not perfect, we are human just like you. We still battle against sin. But there is one who is perfect, his name is Jesus, and Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever, which rings comfort because the Jesus that never changes is extending grace to help us live the Christian Life. Jesus our Head Shepherd he was perfect yesterday, he is perfect today and will be perfect tomorrow and we can trust in him.

Pleasing God by Avoiding False Teaching

The church that Hebrews is writing to has been dealing with false teaching, returning to Old Testament Judaism or maybe a mixture of the Old Testament dietary laws with the Christian Faith. The author says if you are going to eat at the table of the OT priest, then they may not eat at the table of grace. Church do “not be led away by diverse and strange teachings”. I will be honest with you, they sound good sometimes and very believable, if you are not careful you could easily fall for false teaching, which come many different ways, which we have seen throughout history. We need to watch out that we are not deceived by false teaching and false teachers because there are many.

How can we watch out? Keep your heart strengthened by grace. What does this mean, keep your heart strengthened by Grace?

every aspect of false teaching will require something from you to try and gain favor from God. But if you are a believer, you already have God’s favor, this should strengthen you.

every aspect of false teaching will try and get you to work for something. But salvation in Christ is free, this should strengthen you.

Our strength should come from the truth the Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the Word made flesh. To be strengthened by grace is to be strengthened by the truths we find in the Bible about Jesus, the son of God and those truths will never change. The culture may come along and try to change them, they may try and redefine marriage, or say that Jesus never claimed to God, or say our identity is defined from within ourselves. But when you look in the scriptures, God defines marriage between a man and a woman, Jesus claimed to be the Great I AM, and our identity comes from God, who created us in his image. Church we must read the Bible, we must believe the Bible, and we must test every teaching by the this book which is the standard of truth, the rule of faith. If it does not agree with the Bible it is false teaching period.

Pleasing God by Following Jesus

Hebrews 13:12–13 (ESV)

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

12 Por lo cual también Jesús, para santificar al pueblomediante su propia sangre, padeció fuera de la puerta. 13 Así pues, salgamos a Él fuera del campamento, llevando su oprobio.

When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he did so outside the city, outside the camp, the place where they would take the sin offering sacrificial offerings to be burned, outside the camp. This is where Jesus died for my sin for your sin. He suffered outside the camp to sanctify his people with his blood, to make us holy.

Therefore let us follow Jesus outside the camp and bear the approach he endured. What does this mean? We must identify with Jesus, we must pattern our lives after Jesus, we must live out the Gospel we believe. We must share the Gospel we believe. We must not be ashamed to be called a follower of Christ, we must not be ashamed to live as a follower of Christ, even if it brings persecution, mistreatment, struggles because when we suffer persecution, mistreatment, struggles and suffering for the sake of Christ, we are bearing the approach he endured. Blessed are those who suffer for his name sake.

Pleasing God by Seeking the Celestial City

We can follow Jesus and endure persecution because this world is not our home.

Hebrews 13:14 (ESV)

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

14 Porque no tenemos aquí una ciudad permanente, sino que buscamos la que está por venir.

We are strangers and exiles in this world, our home is in heaven, we are to seeking the city that is to come. We are to live here on earth as if we are living in heaven. When we view life from this perspective, loving the church, being hospitable, remembering those in prison, honoring marriage, identifying and staying away from false teaching, following Jesus becomes easier because we are not seeking the applause of men, but we are seeking to please God because he has been so good to us.

Pleasing God by offering up a sacrifice of praise

We need to expand our view of sacrifice of praises to God, some may associate that with what we do on a Sunday morning when we sing praises to God. What we do here is just a fraction of what it means to offer a sacrifice of praise to God. Offering sacrifice of praise includes

The fruit of his lips that acknowledges his name - When we confess who God is in song, prayer, praise, confession, worship, we are offering God a sacrifice of praise.

When we do good - When we do good, loving the brothers, being hospitable, remembering the prisoner, honor marriage, when we are content, when we remember our leaders, keep away from false teaching, follow Jesus, seek the celestial city, we are offering up a sacrifice of praise to God.

When we share what we have with others - we are offering a sacrifice of praise to God.

What does Hebrews say, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Pleasing God by Obeying, Submitting, and Praying for your Leaders

Finally, the author of Hebrews commands his readers to obey, submit and pray for their leaders in the church. He gives a reason why, “for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” Alfredo, Dave, John, this is a word to us and all those who desire to be an elder. It is a high calling and one that we are accountable to the Chief Shepherd, who is Jesus. We must pray, teach, love and keep watch, guard the church against false teaching and false teachers. We must do this with joy, because we are serving the chief shepherd, Jesus who endured the cross for the Joy set before him, which is pleasing the Father and the redeeming his church. We must follow his example and serve with Joy to please the Father and keep watch over the church.

Church your role is to obey, submit and and pray for your leaders, we are human, we have our struggles, pray for us. Pray we have clear consciences and that we act honorable in all things.

May the grace of God strengthen us and empower us to please God in all things, may we continually offer a sacrifices of praise to God, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.