Let's take our Bibles and turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 13. Today we'll begin reading in verse 7. Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result or the outcome of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever, Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings. For it's good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. 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 holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp Therefore, Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood suffered outside the gate. So let us go out to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased." This is the word of the Lord. A 1994 study in Switzerland focused on this question, whether, quote, a person's religion carried through to the next generation, and if so, Why? Or if not, why not? So that was the study question. Whether a person's religion carried through to the next generation, that is to his children. If so, why? If not, why not? In an article on that study, the writer says there's one critical factor. And it's overwhelming. And it is this. It is the religious practice of the father of the family that above all determines the future attendance at or absence from church by the children. How big of an effect is it? If a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife's devotion is, only one child in 50 becomes a regular worshiper. If a father goes regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children become churchgoers. If a father goes but irregularly to church, regardless of the wife's devotion, between half and two-thirds of their offspring will find themselves coming to church. A non-practicing mother with a regular church attending father will see a minimum of two-thirds of their children ending up in church. In contrast, a non-practicing father with a regularly attending mother will see two-thirds of their children never darken a church door. If his wife is similarly negligent, that figure rises to 80%. What the study shows is something that we all know and that is that there is no doubt that there is life changing power in an example. Now fathers, I hope that you heard those statistics because your example to your children is very powerful, even more powerful than that of a diligent, devoted, praying mother. And so, the Apostle Paul put it like this, 1 Corinthians 11, 1, be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. The power of an example In Hebrews chapter 11, which we spent quite a bit of time in, we saw the hall of fame of faith. And in that, what the writer did is he held up Old Testament models or examples who pointed to a life of faith in the promises of God. In a very real sense, Hebrews 11 is all about the power of an example of a life well lived. Now, ultimately in Hebrews 11, The ultimate model or example wasn't Abel or Abraham or even Moses, but ultimately Jesus Christ, upon whom we are to fix our eyes as the author and perfecter of faith, Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. As we proceed into chapter 13, the church's worship agenda, We are seeing what the writer is unfolding for us in how to live a life to the glory of God. And so we come now to another part of the puzzle of how to live a life to the glory of God. And it is another call, in a sense, to consider and to imitate the life of others. But this time, in Hebrews 13, 7, we don't have famous Old Testament saints who are inscripturated in the pages of our Bibles, but rather we have actually just ordinary people who are unnamed, who at some point led these people, taught them the Word of God, and exhibited a faithfulness to the very end. of their life. In this text, in this chapter, we see that leadership is an important factor. In verse 7, we focus on past leaders. Verses 17 and 24, the writer focuses on present leaders, but here the call is to think about, remember, consider, and then imitate the faith of those who have gone before you. It's actually three commands in verse 7. And the three commands actually are quite simple and straightforward. One, remember. Two, reflect. And then three, imitate. And so let's begin first with remember your leaders. Now, the writer here gives a two-fold description of the people that are to be considered or to be remembered. First, it is those who are your leaders, or more better, those who led you. Now it doesn't say specifically that they were elders or that they were apostles, but the word is actually used, the same word is used in Acts 15 and verse 22, where it says that the apostles chose from among the leading men, Paul and Barnabas, to go on a missionary journey. And so the word is somewhat generic, but the idea is that these men who are to be remembered were recognized leaders in the church. It is very, very possible that these were the men that God used to establish the very founding of the church. So they were leaders, but notice the next description. They were those who did what? Who spoke the Word of God to you. In other words, what marked these men out is the fact that not only did they lead the church, but more importantly, they led it by preaching and teaching the Word of God. You might remember back in chapter 2, the writer makes this observation. He asks the question in chapter 2 and verse 3. How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard. The leaders that the writer is talking about may very well be those mentioned in verse 3 as those who actually heard the gospel from the Lord Himself and then in turn brought the gospel to these people. The leaders that he's talking about are those who were the ones who initially evangelize them, initially brought the gospel to them and then taught them and built them up in their faith. Now, the writer says commands remember them. It's present tense verb. And so the idea is don't just recall them once a year, but rather to continually bring them to mind, bring them up afresh as it were, recall them, recall their message, recall their lives, recall the impact that they had in those early days on you. There are people like that in your life that you look back and you think of the impact that they had. the words they spoke, the lives that they lived, the writer says, remember them. Philip Hughes puts it like this, he says, our author is in effect making a further appeal to his readers to recall the former days, 1032, when they had given earnest and enthusiastic attention to the teaching of these leaders. And so the writer is calling back, and he may well have been one of those leaders at that time or at some subsequent time, but basically the writer is telling his readers, think back to those days when you first heard the Word, when it first came to you in power. Think back to those days when the Gospel made an impact on your life and it changed you, and God used these men to lead you and to teach you. Remember them. Bring up the impact and the example of their lives afresh. And then he says, to reflect on the outcome of their conduct. Reflection or consideration, in other words, is the way that they are to be remembered. And this too, by the way, is a present tense word. And the idea is to examine, to observe carefully. And so the writer's calling on them to actually give careful consideration to these men who had such a huge impact on their own lives. And here's what they are to examine and to carefully observe. The outcome of their manner of life. The outcome, the end, the result, the implication is probably the successful outcome. In other words, as the writer points these readers back to those who originally led them and taught the word of God to them, he can actually identify that they had a successful outcome to their life of faith. In other words, they finished the course. They finished the race. They finished well. I'll never ever forget in the year 2001 or sometime around there, we had Pastor Albert Martin come and preach for us. And somebody asked Pastor Martin, how can we pray for you? And he was in his late 60s at that time. And I'll never forget the way that he actually answered that question. How can we pray for you? He says, pray for me that I will finish well. Because many men start out well, but not nearly as many finish well. The writer could say, think back to those who led you and taught the word of God to you and consider the outcome of their life. They finished the race, they finished well and consider the outcome of their conduct. In other words, not only think about what they taught you, but think about the way that they lived in front of you. Think about the manner of life. Think about not just what you heard, but also what you saw. My former pastor and seminary professor, Jim Andrews, has preached for us before. Jim used to tell us in seminary, you have to understand this, your life will be a mantle of credibility to the message that you preach. Your life is a mantle of credibility to the message that you preach. That's why Paul could actually tell Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 16 to make sure that he gives careful observance to both his life and his doctrine. For in doing so, Paul tells Timothy, you will save not only yourselves but those who hear you. Notice, it is life and doctrine coming together that God uses to shape us and to mold us and to grow us. And so the writer says, you look at these men, you recall them, think of those who led you, think of those who spoke the word of God to you, and consider the outcome of their manner of life. Think about their teaching and the way that they lived. Now, from what the writer says here, we can conclude that these men have actually passed off of the scene by now. It's very possible that some had been martyred, but for sure all of them died in faith. In the year 2000, John Scheffer and I were in Orlando at a Ligonier conference, and James Montgomery Boyce was supposed to be one of the keynote speakers at that Ligonier conference. And he actually died the night before the conference started of a bout with pancreatic cancer that took him very, very quickly. And I will never forget the words of R.C. Sproul as he stood up and he said, our dear brother and my close friend, Jim Boyce, died in faith. died in faith. That's what these people are supposed to look back on. They are supposed to look back on these men who actually lived out their faith. Now notice, this is not the idea of just look at the mere morality of these men, although they were most definitely moral, but the idea is that you are to look at what their faith in God and His Word produced in their life. It's not just simple conduct, it's conduct that came from their faith and so these men were faithful to Jesus Christ they were faithful to the message of Jesus Christ and they were faithful to their flock all the way to the end whether it was through martyrdom or whether just simply dying through natural causes they all lived their life well before God and died well also Peter O'Brien puts it like this. They not only proclaim the word of God, they adorned the gospel of Christ by their faithful lives. So the writer says, remember them, consider, reflect on the outcome of their conduct. And then the third thing he tells them is imitate their faith. Now, the whole idea of imitate is the idea of follow a pattern. And in fact, this too is a present tense command. And right here in this text, we actually have the New Testament concept of discipleship. Discipleship is the idea of patterning your life after a model in front of you. And the writer says, now you, after you recall them, after you think about what they taught you, after you think about how they lived and how they died, imitate their faith. imitate the content of what they believed and imitate the life that flowed out of that commitment to faith. In other words, when he says imitate their faith, it is imitate the truth that they preached and the truth that they lived. The call here is not to some sort of superficial mimicry. The idea is to see the patterns. see the priorities, see the convictions of a life well lived, see the grace of a death well died and let those things, let what you saw and heard shape and impact and mold your life. And then we have verse eight. There's no connecting little conjunction, there's no, there's actually not even a verb. We have this, this marvelous statement in verse seven about those who led them. And then all of a sudden the writer just inserts abruptly and literally it goes like this, Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, the same and for ever. Now, you know that we can't go past this verse very quickly and so this will be our text for the Lord's Supper, alright? But the writer doesn't just put it in here willy-nilly, he puts it in here for a very specific reason. In other words, it actually is serving a function, and I would say that there's a twofold emphasis following the idea of remember those who led you, spoke the word of God to you, considering the outcome of their manner of life, imitate their faith. The writer then inserts this with great vigor, Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, the same and forever, and he does it for two reasons, and actually, 13.8 is connected to what precedes and to what follows in a profound way. I take the verse to basically mean something like this. Listen, those men who led you, those men who taught the Word of God to you, Those men who lived their life before your very eyes, they were the very kind of men who lived with the confidence that God would never leave them nor forsake them. And the very same Christ who upheld them, who led you, is the same Christ who is with you. The same Christ that sustained them, the same Christ that preserved them, the same Christ that caused them to end well, the same Christ who was with them day in, day out till the end of their lives is the very same Christ who is with you today. I think there's a second emphasis. And that is this. and the same message, the same message of Christ that they preached. You must hold on to today. The same word that they preached to you yesterday is the same word that you must hold on to today. Notice verse 9, don't be led away by varied and strange teachings. In other words, listen, Christ is not only with us today like he was with them, but the very message that they preach, that's the message that we hold. That's, by the way, why we sang faith of our fathers. The same thing they believed. We believe. 13.8 is, in a sense, a confession. It's the sum of the message. And I would take, and we'll unpack this at the Lord's Supper, but I would say the idea is, listen, there is a constancy to the truth of Jesus Christ. The message of Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. And so in remembering their leaders, in reflecting on their lives, and imitating their faith, ultimately they are focusing on Jesus Christ and His Word, which, by the way, is where all good leaders will point those who follow them. Good leaders do not point to themselves. Good leaders point to Jesus Christ. And so he says, listen carefully, the very same Christ that upheld those men who finished well, is the same Christ who upholds you. The same Christ that they preach, that you believe, that is the message that you need to hold on to today. And so once again, Peter O'Brien says, the Christological confession would remind them that the same Christ who was real to them at the beginning when their former leaders were with them is seated in heaven and rules continually. Their circumstances and perspective may change, But Jesus Christ and his gospel do not. What a wonderful passage. What a great way to start the new year. Think about those who led you, spoke the word of God to you. Reflect on the life that they lived and the outcome of their manner of life. And then imitate their faith. Why? Because Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same and forever. As I thought about this passage this week and tried to reflect on it and think about the way that God could use it with us, there were two things that seemed obvious to me by way of application. And the first is this. We need models of faithfulness to Jesus Christ and to his word. We need models of faithfulness to Christ and to his word. Now, I believe that we need heroes. As Christians, we need heroes. Let me just give you a caveat, and that is most of your heroes, if not all of them, should be dead. There's a very simple reason why most of them should be dead. And that is because you know how they finished. You know how they finished. Hebrews 11 reminds us that we need heroes. Hebrews chapter 13 in verse 7 reminds us of the power of an example lived before us. There is a motivating power to an example lived out before our eyes that we can see. Buzz Aldrin, you know the name? He did something like walked on the moon. Topps Trading Cards, you know Topps Trading Cards? Make baseball cards, football cards. They decided to do an American Hero series and they included Buzz Aldrin in the series. And instead of being honored, He sued TOPS for using his picture without his permission. We don't really have a whole lot of heroes today. I mean, let's face it. You're hard-pressed to find anybody in Washington DC who is worthy of emulation, right? We don't have statesmen anymore. That's a thing of the past. We have self-serving politicians. We don't have all that many great heroes. Now, when I was a kid, there was something that would stir my soul. I didn't know Jesus, but there was something that would stir my soul. You know what it was? Davy Crockett. Some of you chuckle about that, but I want to tell you, I think that there's actually a God-ordained reason why Davy Crockett stirs the souls of little boys. I would take my Walt Disney record with Fess Parker on the front in his buckskins and his coonskin cap, some of you know, and he's holding old Betsy right up above his head. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. And I would take my little corner group bed and I would turn it into an Alamo, and I didn't have a musket but I had a repeating rifle, which seemed to me would have really helped those guys. And I would put that record on, and I would listen, and then listen, and listen, and all the way to the end. And you know what would invariably happen? That record would come to the end with him being one of the last defenders of the Alamo, and I'd weep every time. Why? Because of courage, because of faithfulness, because of laying your life down when you didn't have to for a greater cause. God's actually wired us to be stirred by the courage and the faithfulness of others. There is a reason why you love Narnia. And there is a reason why when you're watching the Lord of the Rings and Gandalf comes down off of that mountain in the east with that whole multitude of that army following him to come to the rescue, there's something about us made in the image and likeness of God where our hearts are stirred. Rescue, deliverance by a hero. You're designed They have heroes. You're designed to look at the lives of others and to be stirred by their faithfulness and to be stirred and motivated by the things that they have done. I want to challenge you for this new year. I want to challenge you. Pick up a biography of a Christian man or woman. If you're lacking in ideas, in feelings and faith, there is an appendix that is a bibliography, two pages chock full of ideas. Read about those who have gone before us. This year I've decided David Livingston is my guy. Brought the gospel to Africa. No small feat. to great sacrifice to himself. Read about somebody. Young women, what do you know of Ann Judson? What do you know of Amy Carmichael? Pick up the biography of a saint whose life was lived to the glory of God and who did great things for God and God did great things through them to the glory of His name. Read about a great saint and I promise there is something that will happen and that is God will stir your soul as that saint points you to greater faithfulness to Jesus Christ. When I think back over my Christian life, the times where I have grown the most, there is a common denominator. And that is that God was using the life of some saint in my life, whether it was a living saint or through the pages of a biography that changed my life. I can remember reading biographies of Spurgeon or Jim Elliot or George Whitfield or Jonathan Edwards and having my own heart stirred to greater godliness. Why? Because they are the ones who point us to the author and finisher of our faith. Young people, start reading Christian biography. Do you know how blessed we are to live in a time where there is more stuff available than you will ever have time to read in your lifetime? And there are biographies that are designed for kids that are just beginning to read all the way up. Pick somebody and make them your companion for the year. And considering the outcome of their conduct, imitate their faith because their faith will invariably point you to the author and perfecter of faith. But there's something else about this passage that we dare not miss or neglect. Not only do we need examples, not only do we need models, but the fact is, is that we ourselves need to think about the model that we are leaving to those who will come behind us. Steve Green sang a song years ago, may those who come behind us find us faithful. We actually need to consider and to contemplate the kind of example that we ourselves are leaving to those who will follow. Our children? What kind of model or example? Is it true that our kids would be able to say, for my mom or for my dad, The reality of Jesus Christ yesterday and today, the same and forever was so formative, was so powerful that I look at the outcome of their life and I am stirred to imitate their faith. Or will it be the case? That our kids will look at us. and say they sure talked the talk, but they never walked the walk. I didn't see the reality of Christ in them. I didn't see the reality of godliness in our own home. I heard talk about godliness, but it was lacking the power. By the way, if that is the example, God is more than able to overcome our pitiful, pathetic examples and to do something in our children. But let it not be said that if they are followers of Christ, that what their underlying motto is, I want to be a Christian, but not like my mom or dad. We need to seriously contemplate what we believe and how we live it. We need to seriously consider whether or not Hebrews 13, 7 would be able to be said of our children regarding mom or dad. I will tell you this week, I have felt the weight. Being a pastor, one who speaks the word of God to you, the realization that one of these days I'll be dead and gone. Only God knows when that is. But what we do know is that at this point there's one generation, and if God gives me three score and ten, then there will be another two generations of children that are raised up in this church under the ministry of the word. Will they be able to say, I'm considering the outcome of his life and I can imitate his faith? I so desperately want that to be true. Yes, I want the kids to think about how fun I was and how I would tickle them and do things like roll up a blanket and throw it as hard as I could and knock little Douglas Manzano clear off of his feet and to have that just be a memory. There are kids, I've given wedgies to kids that have been nothing less than nuclear wedgies and they are emblazoned in their minds. but there has to be something more. I don't want them just to think back and say, wow, he really was competitive at the annual softball game. Want them to be able to say, you know, he pointed me to Jesus Christ. and he did it faithfully all the days that God gave him. Don't you want to leave an impact on the coming generation? Make no mistake about it, people are looking at you. People are looking at you to see your kids are looking at you, your neighbors are looking at you, the people that you work with are looking at you and the question is, what kind of example are we leaving them and are we pointing them to the unchanging Christ. If the only thing people will be able to say about you is that you were fun to be around, then you will be the most miserable failure as a follower of Jesus. If our lives are to be lived for the glory of God, We need to have good models of those who have lived the faith before us, who loved Christ, who lived for Christ, who served Christ, and who died in the faith. And we also need to seriously contemplate what kind of legacy we're leaving behind those later generations. May God, in this new year, Help us to remember often, reflect frequently, and imitate consistently the faith of those who live out the reality of Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same and forever. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word and we thank You for the faith of our fathers, those who have gone before us. And Lord, we ask that we would take this to heart. We pray, Father, that truly we would be the kind of men and women who have godly examples to which we look Pray that we ourselves would be godly examples. And Father, for those who are here today who are without Christ and without hope, we pray that today would be the day where they see Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, and bank all of their hope on him. And we ask it for his everlasting praise. Amen.