Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. Here is Gideon Levitan.

Gideon Levytam: Okay, please turn with me to the book of Hebrews. We are going to talk today about the last chapter of Hebrews. We have arrived to the 13th chapter of Hebrews and I believe we going to take this chapter with dividing it into two sessions so we don't have to rush through this chapter and at the same time to kind of see the exhortations and the encouragement that the writer challenged and encouraged the Hebrew believers of first centuries. And I'm going to read today the first nine verses which deals with some very practical things that applied not only to them 2,000 years ago, but also for you and I as well today.

And this is very interesting, beloved brothers and sisters, because you can see how applicable it is for you and I today in this period of time in which we live in. And so let me read those verses first of all and please follow with me. Hebrews 13 verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers. For thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them and them with suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Let your conversation or let your manner of life be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what men shall do unto me. Remember them that have the rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation, the end of their manner of life. Yeshua the Messiah the same yesterday and today and forever. Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrine for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace not with foods which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Let me read two more verses in this same chapter, verse 17. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourself, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is profitable for you. Verse 24. Salute them that have the rule over you and all the saints, they of Italy salute you. And I'm stopping here with these verses. I read verses 17 and 24 together with the first nine verses because actually they are belong to the same thoughts that we have here in this chapter.

Now let's just pause for a moment before we going to go into the actual verses and remember where we came from in our study of Hebrews. When we have ended chapter 12 of this book, we have seen that the apostle wrote to these Hebrew Christians, Messianic Hebrew believers in the Lord. He wrote to them in chapter 12 and he showed them the elevated position that they have been brought into. He showed them that they did not only come to the Jerusalem which then have existed as we have it today, but they have come to the heavenly Jerusalem.

They have come by faith in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. They have entered into a relationship with God through the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and they have come into this heavenly Jerusalem, this special and unique relationship that they have been brought into because of the work of the Messiah. But he did not want them to think in their mind, okay, I've been brought into this relationship, into this heavenly relationship with the Lord. He did not want them to only think about this and to carry on their life without practical walk. That's why we have the last chapter of this book to deal with the practical walk of the believer.

Let me just refer you back to verse 22 of chapter 12 and notice what he tells them. He says, here come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to the innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly, the church of the firstborn which are written in heaven and to God the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Yeshua the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things that of Abel. See that's what he is telling them.

When they became believers in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, they have entered into a relationship that was far beyond the physical relationship. They have entered into a relationship with the Lord Jesus, with God which brought them into the heavenly Jerusalem, into the innumerable company of angels, into the general assembly, into the assembly of the firstborn which are written in heaven. They have been brought into a heavenly relationship with the Lord Jesus the Messiah. But now in chapter 13 he's taking them back to the walk here upon the face of this earth. And brothers and sisters, this is exactly what you and I need today.

We have been saved. We have been brought into a relationship with the Lord. We are sons and daughters of the Father. And yet, beloved brothers and sisters, we are still living here in this world and here is the apostle giving them practical things that they must seek to practice as they walk here in this world. And so you notice by the way that in chapter 11 he gave them an example of people who walk by faith. In chapter 12 he gave them an encouragement to walk by faith. And in chapter 13 he want to see an evidence in the life of the believers that they live a life of faith.

And you and I as believers sometime people ask us and tell us, you know, listen, I heard a lot about what you say, but what type of a life you live? How is your life? I hear so much about your knowledge of the Bible, but how is your practical walk with the Lord? And this is what we have been challenged and those Hebrews 2,000 years ago had to be challenged with also. And so now in this chapter he gives them four important things that need to be evident in the life of the believers. We are going to talk only about two today.

Next time in the will of the Lord we going to talk about the second two evidences that need to be in the life of the believers. So here it is. First of all, in the first six verses he tells them, first century Hebrews, that all of them as much as the same is for you and I, all of us, all believers should have a spiritual fellowship. All those Hebrews of old and all of you and I need to have what is known as spiritual fellowship with other believers. Have you ever heard of somebody ever saying to you, you know what, I'm a believer, I'm a Christian, I'm a Messianic.

I don't need necessarily to go to church meeting, to a public meeting, to a congregational meeting. I can be on my own. You see, I am a child of God. I am saved. I believe that the Lord Jesus the Messiah died for me and I'm going to go to heaven and therefore I do not need any communication with other believers. I'm going to be in heaven anyways and everything is going to be fine. Look what the apostle is telling to those Hebrew believers here in the first six verses. Five things he's telling them in the first six verses.

The first thing he's telling them, let brotherly love continue. You notice that? You see what he is saying? He's saying first of all, the love of the brethren, the love between the brothers and sisters is essential. It is the ground upon which we can continue on in our walk with the Lord. Can you imagine that you and I who became believers in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, became a believers in the Lord Jesus, we are saved and forgiven and we have no love relationship with each others. Can you imagine what kind of a conduct or behavior and outlook is going to be to a world around us?

And how we as brothers and sisters, if we have not this love one towards another, no wonder at times people do not want to associate with us if we don't practice this on a day by day basis. You notice he don't say let brotherly love start. He don't even say let brotherly love be, but he says let brotherly love continue. It should have been there before and it should be moving on in a continuation. We are to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. This is part of this spiritual fellowship that believers are to have is brotherly love.

You know, some years ago I remember hearing a message from one of the brothers who was told by others, he says, I'm coming to the meeting and really there's no love in the meeting. There's no love among the brothers and sisters there. This brother answering me says, where does it read in the Bible that people should love you? What it says in the Bible that you should love the others? If I will love you and you will love me and we going to love the others, there will not be any problem with brotherly love. The problem is we are expecting somebody will love us, but we ourselves who need to show that love to the others often time failing this.

That's why the apostle here telling them in verse 1, let brotherly love not only start, not even be, which is should be, but continue. It must have been there in these Hebrew believers. It must have been there because he's telling them let's continue with it. Don't stop it. Brothers and sisters, sometime it's very difficult to love the brothers and sisters. Sometime it's very difficult to love others because they are so complicated and we are so complicated and we have our own views and our own manners and we really only like those that are like us, that are suitable for our feelings.

But no, he says let brotherly love continue. And it's not only, you know, we know that the word agapeo means not only loving people that are family, it is unconditional love. It's not loving somebody because this person suits me is to love somebody in spite of the fact that he or she do not suit what I like or what I feel like. And what an encouragement. You see, he was just telling them in the beginning in chapter 12 and verse 22 that we have come into this heavenly Jerusalem. Then he bring them back down to earth.

And he tell them, listen, you are belong to heaven. That's where you are heading to. But what about your day by day living? Let brotherly love continue. By the way, these verses a brotherly love and to love the brethren are often found in the scriptures. It is in the book of Romans in chapter 12 the apostle Paul said, I beseech you verse 1, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is good and acceptable, perfect will of God.

He's telling them in chapter 12 in the book of Romans. And then he's moving down and he says to them in verse 10, be kindly affection one towards another with brotherly love in honor preferring one another. You see, this is the standard that the Lord is given to us. Brotherly love it simply means that within the family of the people of God there are to be a love relationship that we should have and prove it for one to another. Now we have to admit that this is something that we lack so much in our life.

It's easy to talk, it's easy to send in here and to tell about the necessity of brotherly love, but in practice this need to be evident. And that's what he's telling the Hebrew believers of first century. Let brotherly love continue. Don't stop, but continue to love the brothers and sisters even though at time they are not lovable. Even though at time we are not lovable. Secondly, in verse two he's telling them another thing that is very important and this is the importance of hospitality. How important is the hospitality? Again, it's a spiritual fellowship. And you see what he is saying here in verse two.

Don't forget to entertain strangers. For thereby some have entertained angels unawares. He's speaking here of hospitality and we read the earlier in Genesis 18 which have been read to us. The interesting story of Abraham entertaining angels in his own home, in his own tent. He didn't know that at first at least. We just heard this in Genesis chapter 18 how he came out of his tent and low and behold he saw three men. The first thing that Abraham did, he beseeched those three men to come into his own tent. He says, come into my house.

Be a little while there I'll wash your feet, I'll feed you and then you can go on your way. The entertaining of strangers to be hospitable is very important. This is very practical. You don't need to be a theologian to have the practice of hospitality. It's not a matter of how many verses we know from the Bible. It is very practical to introduce, to bring people into our own homes and to meet sometimes some of their needs and to have fellowship with them and even, beloved brothers and sisters, even sometimes strangers. Now mind you, I would put here a qualification because we have to be careful, especially those days in which we live in, you have to be careful who comes into your own home.

But nevertheless the necessity not to forget to entertain stranger. Some he says thereby some have entertained angels unawares. You know that sometime you never know who comes to your home. Years ago when our children were young there were some people that I often time we brought people to our home in Niagara on the lake and sometimes you never know who comes to your house. But what a blessing at the end when you met the need of somebody and you gave him a word of encouragement, fed them a little bit with something and gave them perhaps a message from the word of God.

And if there were believers even more, what a blessing it was when they could share with us some of their experiences and so on. What a privilege it was to entertain people and to have a home with these hospitality. And you know, by the way, this is one of the qualification of an elder and of a deacon. And I'm using it. Deacon simply mean a servant of the Lord. An elder or overseer simply mean a person who oversee a local assembly, a responsible brothers in a local assembly. It is one of the qualification is hospitality, the necessity of bringing people in and encouraging them.

And you never know who would come to your home and what a blessing you can receive even from these individuals. There is a passage that I want to read in the third John. If you turn to the epistle of John, look at this what John is writing to this person. Third epistle of John, we read there in verse five. John is writing. Beloved, thou dost faithfully whatsoever you do to the brethren and to the strangers which have borne witness of thy love before the assembly whom if you bring forward on their journey after a godly sort you shall do well.

For because that for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. See here is this elder that he was writing to John. He's telling him, listen, he says in verse five, whatever you do to the brethren and to the strangers, you have done it faithfully just like Abraham of old. Their father or the first Hebrew to whom the apostle writing, to the Hebrews who he's writing, is that they who could look back and they could remember father Abraham, what kind of a man he was who had hospitality was part of his life.

And by inviting people and helping them he have been blessed and he actually entertained none else but the Lord himself and the two angels that later on went unto Sodom. By the way, when they went to Sodom these two angels, when Lot wanted to invite them to come to his own house, they didn't want to go there. You know why they didn't want to go there? Because Lot was not in fellowship with the Lord. Lot was away from the Lord. And Lot invited and they didn't want to go there. But when Abraham asked them to come in they came in and they set him and they had fellowship with him and they shared with him.

Of course, the Lord shared with him the future that his wife Sarah will bear a child and they will call his name Isaac, Isaac. And so you can see, beloved brothers and sisters, here the apostle is going and he's sharing with the Hebrews the important things of practical daily life of the believer. Number one, brotherly love continue. Number two, the importance of hospitality. In first Timothy chapter three we can see that it is one of the qualification of the one that is an overseer is hospitality. The apostle Paul saying, the overseer verse two then must be blameless, husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, good behavior, given to hospitality.

They we have it in Timothy, but we also have it in the book of Titus. So we are really dealing with practical things today. Thirdly, look at this. We are continuing in Hebrews chapter 13 and look at the third thing that he's challenging the Hebrew believers with. He's telling them in verse three, be concerned for those who are in bond, those that are in jail in bond. He's telling them in verse three, remember them that are in bonds as bound with them with suffer adversity as being yourself also in the body. See here he's telling them not to neglect, but to remember the one that are in bonds.

Now perhaps he was thinking of those believers that have been in bonds because of the gospel or because of one way or another. And he was thinking, he was saying to them, listen, don't forget them. You know, brothers and sisters, we have liberty and freedom that we have today in the country in which we live in. What a blessings we have. But think about many believers that are today are being persecuted for the name of Yeshua the Messiah. And some of them are being bonds. And we cannot just forget about them all together. The apostle is telling them to remember them that are in bonds.

He's telling them also those which suffer adversity as being yourself also in the body because you never know what's going to happen. One day we may have to face such rejection because of the gospel and we have to realize that there are many that have gone before that have been now been persecuted and being in bond. By the way, it was the Lord Jesus himself that told the disciples in the Gospel of Matthew. Let me read this verse. Matthew chapter 25. He says this to them in verse 36. He says, naked and ye clothed me.

I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and ye came unto me. And then the righteous will answer and says, Lord, when saw we thee an hungry and fed thee and thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee stranger and took thee in and naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and we came unto thee? And the king will answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, in as much as ye have done this unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done this unto me.

See the Lord have anticipated the time of persecution that will come upon the believers. And of course chapter 24 and 25 deal with the tribulation period specifically and how the Gentiles will treat the brethren, the Jewish believers of the tribulation period. And the visitation and concern for those that are in bond is actually concerned for the things of the Lord. This is the third thing that the Lord is mentioned here in these verses. Again, we are in the first six verses of Hebrews chapter 13 and we are dealing with the spiritual fellowship that we need to have in our life.

Now here's the next thing in verse four. And isn't it so real for us today in the world in which we live in the necessity of sexual purity. And look at this. He is telling the marriage is honorable in all. You see God and giving us the institution of marriage. Of course, the world around us telling us today it's not important marriage. But God have given us an institution of marriage and it is honorable. God is intend to maintain this for his people. So marriage is honorable. But look what he's saying here. And the bed is undefined.

Sexual relationship between husband and wife is proper, is given, is to be enjoyed. But then he said in verse four, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levitan. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry write to Holy Scriptures and Israel Box 1411 Niagara on the Lake Ontario L0S 1J0 or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com.

God bless you. Shalom. Shalom.