Sometimes I wish I could go with them, like right now. How many of you remembered to set your clocks last night? How many of you didn't set your clocks last night? Steve and I didn't set ours until after we'd already gone to bed and we said, oops, we forgot to do that. 30 years ago, I was a pastor in Portland, Oregon, and we did a study on what is probably the most theologically rich book in the Bible concerning Jesus Christ, the book of Hebrews. This morning, I want to share with you the last message that was presented in that series. as we gather together under God's heaven to seek his will. So Father, we come before you now as your children, thankful that we have the opportunity to do this, that you love us and you care for us and you have wisdom to impart. You have words of truth that we need to hear We need your spirit to hold us accountable to your word that we do here, that we could grow into the likeness of your son, Jesus Christ, and glorify your name in all that we do as he equips us to live in this world. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Hebrews 13, 20 to 21. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do in his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. One theologian has said of these two verses in Hebrew, and I'll quote, he said, these two verses must rank among the most powerfully worded blessings found in scripture. They gather up the passionate concern of the writer for his reader's spiritual growth and stress the major factors that make such growth possible. the God of peace, the blood of the eternal covenant, the resurrection of Jesus, his shepherd care for his sheep, the indwelling life of God himself, the equipping of the spirit, the aim to please God, and the eternal glory and lordship of Jesus Christ. It is all there in one glorious outpouring. of good wishes and confident certainty. Amen. What a passage that we have to consider this morning. Sometimes being exhorted and comforted with exhortation, it can become less than exciting. As a matter of fact, it can become almost discouraging. For example, we hear over and over the challenges to persevere in the Christian life. I'm sure that each of us has experienced that. And so we get back into the race, we get back on the horse, and we run with our eyes fixed on Jesus. But as in previous attempts, we find ourselves once again losing focus. And the refrain of that hymn that says, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." It becomes all too familiar in a lot of our lives. We hear the exhortation, we respond to it again, and we fail again. These repeated exhortations, after a while, serve more to remind us of our failures than it does of our successes. We start, in fact, to think of these exhortations, these encouragements, these biddings to move on as only available to some sort of special Christian, some Christian that has it all together, that can walk in this kind of victory. And we just don't seem to measure up this prayer and this promise comes at the close of the epistle where there were repeated exhortations to a group of people who desperately needed to be exhorted. They were in a very difficult situation. They were in a tight spot, facing severe pressures for their profession of faith. Some had stumbled, some had begun to drift, and some had not matured to the stage to where they should be. Doesn't sound a whole lot different than church today, does it? But as they had sat under the proclamation of this epistle, they were moved to do what is right. The question perhaps lurking in the back of their mind was, can I? Can I get up one more time? This closing benediction assured them that they could. This prayer, a blessing, is rooted in a promise And those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ can, must, and will persevere in the faith. Paul says that he who began a good work in you, what, will bring it to completion. Having just asked for their prayers in verses 18 and 19, 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 sooner." The author exemplifies this by praying for them. His prayer is found in verse 21, where he prays that the Lord will make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. He prays for their spiritual wholeness And as you're going to find, or as you will find throughout this epistle, they were desperately in need of this. They had started well and he prays that they will continue well. He was praying for their salvation. Now hold on to that for a moment. A benediction is the conferring of a blessing. It is meant to encourage the congregation as we embark on a journey and a pilgrimage that we once began. The benediction was more fitting for this congregation. It is as well for us. It's a benediction concerning our salvation, your salvation and my salvation. Remember, salvation is both. A once for all action of the declaration of justification. That is the believing and therefore the repentance of a sinner that has been declared forgiven, justified, justified before God, and once and for all free from the sins of condemnation. In Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, we are freed from the curse of the law. That's the whole message of the book of Galatians, and Paul reiterates it over and over and over. Yet salvation is also a process of being freed from the power, the practice, and the pleasure of sin. We call this process justification. Good. You're awake. That's good. Finally, salvation will fully be experienced upon our death and our resurrection when we receive complete Christ-likeness, and this we call glorification. Very good. Salvation is our justification, our sanctification, and our glorification. And that's what this author is intending to share, particularly in the last two of that, being our sanctification and our glorification. So what encouragements, what foundational truth does our author mention that will serve as a blessed assurance concerning the answer to this prayer? In other words, what encouragements can we look to in our quest to increasingly experience the fullness of our salvation? I believe we can find them in three statements that we have in our passage this morning. By knowing God's peace, Shalom, by knowing his strength and by knowing his shepherd. First, this prayer of blessing is rooted in the promise of knowing God's peace. Very important. Why would this benediction appeal, especially to these Christians or any Christian or to you? Why would this be of effect to you? The author is confident of this benediction of salvation because he's confident in the Lord of our salvation. The God of our peace is mentioned in verse 20. The phrase, the God of peace is ascribed to God and five other places in the new Testament. Romans 15.33, 16.20, Philippians 4.9, 1 Thessalonians 5.23, and 1 Corinthians 13.11. And the relationship between God and peace is seen in many other New Testament texts. Ephesians 2.14 speaks of Christ our peace. He writes of the peace of God in Philippians 4-7, Colossians 3-15. So the concept of peace is intimately connected to the character of God and to his relationship with his people. And it goes back a real long way. The very first place that the God of peace is mentioned is in the relationship that Gideon had with the angel of the Lord. You remember the story? Israel had been overtaken by the Midians and Gideon was sitting out all alone. And all of a sudden the angel of the Lord appeared and said, Oh, mighty man of valor. Gideon probably looked around to see who he was talking to. What if the Lord appeared to you and said, oh mighty man of valor, calling you a mighty man of valor. And the exchange took place there in Judges 6, and the angel was commissioning Gideon to go and set Israel free. What a task, what a task. But the angel assured him that he would be okay, that he'd be safe, and that his peace would be with him. It was, this is where Gideon come to find out that his Lord, his God was the God of peace. And he built the shrine, he built an altar and he named it Jehovah Shalom. My God is my peace. And that has carried on through the history of Israel all the way up until today to the church of Jesus Christ. Our God is our peace. But what is meant by peace? Peace means far more than the absence of hostility, although that's a huge part of what peace is. After all, since Jesus Christ has atoned for our sins, all the enmity between God and ourselves has been removed. And we thank God for that because Jesus Christ is our peace, and there has been once and for all a removal of hostility. We need not fear judgment, condemnation from God our Father, because Jesus Christ has set us free from that. We have been wonderfully reconciled to God. Romans 8.11 says, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Do we believe that? We need to. To a first century faithful Orthodox Jew, perhaps nothing was more important than experiential shalom, experiential peace. This goes back to the Aaronic blessing as recorded in Numbers 6.22. You're familiar with it. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to Aaron and his sons saying, this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord makes his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So that, so they shall put my name on the children of Israel and I will bless them. The experience of God's peace or Shalom was to be the mark that separated God's people from the rest of, from the rest of the other people. This is what God was saying in verse 27, the true people of God, the real Israel of God would be characterized by this blessing of peace, God of peace. That should be a characteristic that dominates our lives. We should walk in this peace. We should live in this peace. We should expect this peace. How significant that the writer to the Hebrew should end his letter with a similar blessing. However, this time it's not a blessing through Aaron, a mere human priest, but it's coming through the high priest, the God man, our Lord Jesus Christ. But our peace may be accompanied sometimes by sickness, by unemployment, by relational shambles, through suffering, through trauma, through any number of other difficulties in this life. But to know the God of peace is to be able to know the peace of God. Let me say that again. To know the God of peace is to be able to know the peace of God. Such an experience transforms our struggles into shalom, into peace. Something to think about. Jesus said in John 14, 27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Now think about that passage. What does John, what does John teach us there? Or what does Jesus teach us there? Why was that verse important to those people at that time? Why is the peace given from Jesus different from the peace that the world gives? Would you take those thoughts home with you as you think about the God of peace in this passage? Think about the different kinds of peace that God offers and gives and the peace that the world gives, which is not a peace at all. We can know the promises of this blessing by knowing the peace of God. Second, this passage is rooted in the promise of knowing God's strength. Scripture says, brought up from the dead, and it speaks of the resurrection of Jesus. Of course, without his resurrection, we're all lost. In fact, if his resurrection hasn't taken place, we are the most miserable of people, Paul tells us, for we have no hope if there's no resurrection. Where would that put us? We'd have no message. We'd have no expectancy. The writer speaks of the God who brought up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. He seeks to remind us of the power we need and the power that is available. He points to the strength of our shalom, of our peace. The phrase brought up could more literally be translated led out. It carries an exodus motif. One commentator noted, this leading out is the fundamental redemptive action of God under both the old and new covenant. Upon it are based the exclusive claims of God to His people's allegiance on the one hand and on the other the grounding trust in God's power and readiness to stand by His covenant people. God is ready to stand by us. He's ready to stand for us if we would just rest in Him and trust in Him. We've experienced a powerful exodus and we should live like it. We shouldn't be like the children of Israel when they came through the Red Sea and rejoiced and praised God and were all excited. And then three days later, they found themselves at Moab. Still rejoicing and praising God for his provision? No. They were grumbling and griping and complaining. Just like many of us, God could have brought a tremendous blessing in your life a week ago, But too many times we find ourselves grumbling and complaining because we don't have this or we don't have that. Has his power failed? Has he stopped delivering? Has he weakened on his covenant promise? I think not. The verse says that God accomplished the resurrection of Jesus through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Jesus' death and sacrifice was the covenantal sacrifice. The sacrifice that fulfilled all the previous Old Testament sacrifices. They were but types and shadows, but Jesus is the fulfillment. He is the promise. The writer is saying that God raised Jesus from the dead because of the blood of the everlasting covenant that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament sacrifices. In response to Jesus fulfilling his side of the everlasting covenant of grace, our salvation, providing justification, The new covenant in his blood is established. Matthew 26, 26. Now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body. And he took the cup and when he had given things, he gave it to them saying, drink of it, all of you. For this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Do we really realize what we just experienced a few moments ago? When we come to this place every first Sunday and we do this, are we thinking back on the price that was paid? Are we thinking back on the deliverance that was provided? Are we thinking back to the promise that God in this covenant would be our God at all times, in all circumstances, no matter what. We need to, it's more than just a ritual that we come and do on that Sunday morning. The father fulfilled his obligation of the covenant by raising Jesus from the dead. And because Jesus lived a perfect life, his shed blood covers and cleanses these sins from all of our lives for those who place our faith in him. And the proof of his, that his once for all sacrifice was both sufficient and efficient, that the father raised him from the dead. And this assurance of justification is ours. Jesus who was delivered, Paul says, was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification." This covenant statement sums up the main idea of the epistle. This is the one occasion in the epistle where the covenant is described as eternal. There is no possibility of it coming to an end, becoming obsolete, Are there needing to be another sacrifice? And it's certainly not to be repeated in some future temple service. Jesus is the fulfillment completely. Since the love of Jesus has perpetually atoned for our sins, and therefore since Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us, we can be assured that his saving power is available to make us complete in every good work according to his will. According to his will. The basis for this marvelous work is the everlasting blood of the covenant in Hebrews 13, 20. This is the new covenant that was discussed in Hebrews 8. is a covenant based on the sacrifice discussed in Hebrews 10. Because of this new covenant was a part of God's eternal plan of salvation. And because it guarantees everlasting life, it is called the everlasting covenant. But apart from the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection, apart from the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection, we can share in none of the blessings of the promise of this prayer. It's not for us if we don't believe. Third, this prayer of blessing is also rooted in the promise of knowing God's shepherd. In what sense is Jesus the great shepherd, the great shepherd of the church? In essence, in Matthew 26, Scripture says, then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. And this explains that without Jesus Christ, the church will fail. The church will fail if Jesus isn't put in his proper place. This benediction explains to us that we are his sheep and as sheep, Why do we need a proper and a good shepherd? How does the image of a shepherd picture the high priestly ministry of Jesus? Just read Psalm 23. It draws a very vivid picture of our shepherd. He is our shepherd. is because we have such a Great Shepherd that we know God's shalom and God's grace and God's strength. Without our glorious Great Shepherd, we would never have a peace and never have a power. This benediction seems to gather together the major themes of Hebrews. It talks about peace, God's peace. It talks about the resurrected Christ, the blood, the blood of the covenant, spiritual maturity, God's work in the believer. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ died for his sheep. As the great shepherd, he lives for his sheep in heaven, working on our behalf. As the chief shepherd, he will come for the sheep at his return. As shepherd, he cares for his own in the past, the present, and the future, because Jesus Christ is the same, what? Yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus equips us, we're told in Hebrews 13, 21, He equips us in every good thing. When you read that and you stop and think about it, it raises some profitable questions. Some questions that we need to seriously think through in our lives as we think about Jesus as being our shepherd. How does Jesus perfect us? How does Jesus mend us? How does Jesus repair us to make us useful? Having been equipped, how are we now able to do His will? What does proper equipping look like? Have we ever really stopped and thought about these questions, these kind of questions? We just assume that He's going to work in us to do His will, but how's He going to do this? What's going to be the process? Working in us that which is pleasing. The Greek word that's used here is to be able to do or to act or to carry out any activity. How does that give us encouragement when we're overwhelmed? What advice does John 15, 5 give us? Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Specifically, specifically, The term through Jesus is the key to all of life. Why so? Why is Jesus the key to all of life? In verse 21 of our text, we see that what is being prayed for is actually what God has already promised. Make you complete in every good work, the author says. and every good work to do his will, working in you what is well pleasing in his spirit. The promise of verse 21 is dependent on the premise of verse 20. With God for us, we can be sure that God's promise is true to us. The promise will be fulfilled. We not only hear the benediction, but we can believe it. We can believe that God will save us from our sins. Progress is our future and perfection is our destiny. We have every reason to be, be hopeful. It's tough right now. Sometimes. But all we have to do is realize that God is working in us to bring us to fulfillment, to be more like his son. And someday we're going to stand before him clothed in righteousness, looking like Jesus. And all of this that we've left behind won't even be a memory. It's helpful for us to always remember that we are broken people. It's significant that we are referred to as sheep because sheep are needy animals, and so are we. The most faithful Christian that you may know is a needy Christian. Amen? We all need to be fixed. In fact, this is precisely what the work of redemption is all about. God is restoring us by the shepherd to look like the shepherd. There's a phrase here, A Greek word that is used and it's translated as mending or fixing or taking care of. It's an unfamiliar word to us. We wouldn't use it, but it was familiar to the people who received this letter. The doctors knew it because it meant to set a broken bone. To fishermen, it meant to mend a broken net. To sailors, it meant to outfit a ship for voyage. To soldiers, it meant to equip an army for battle. Our Savior in heaven wants to equip us for living in this corrupt world. Tenderly, He wants to set the bones of our lives so that we might walk straight and run our life races successfully. He wants to repair the breaks in our nets so that we might catch men and save souls. He wants to equip us for battle and outfit us so that we would not be battered in the storms of life. In brief, He wants to mature us so He can work in us and through us that which pleases Him and accomplishes His will. How does He equip us? By tracing this word through the New Testament, we discover the tools that God uses. They're familiar tools. We just need to appropriate them. He uses the Word of God, 2 Timothy 3. He uses prayer, 1 Thessalonians 3. In the fellowship of the local church, Ephesians four, that's why you need to be here. You need to be here. Not only are we exhorted to be together when the time of assembly comes, but we're to be here, not just for ourselves, but for one another. You need you and you need you and you need you and I need all of you. That's how we grow when we come together and we share the Lord Jesus Christ among us. And then not only that, but God also uses individual believers to equip and mend us in Galatians 6.1, where Paul talks about giving honor to those who lead us and who teach us and minister over us and watch after us. He has placed in authority over us those who will teach us and encourage us. Friends, I can't think of a better place in Tyler, Texas to be than right here. You have a teacher and a shepherd that cares deeply for you and gives you the truth whether you like it or not. Amen? You better say amen, because he'll listen. No, I'm serious. I'm serious. That's his job. That's what he's called to do. And if we forsake the opportunity to sit and gain from what God has worked into his life and into his heart, Then we've, we've failed. We have failed not only our pastor, not only ourselves, but we have failed to honor God by choosing to do this. And finally, he uses suffering to perfect his children. We don't like that one though, do we? And this relates to what Hebrews 12 teaches us about chastening. What a difference it would make. What a difference it would make in our lives if we would turn Hebrews 13, 20, 21 into a personal prayer each and every day. Something like this, Lord, make me perfect in every good work to do your will. Work in me that which is well-pleasing in your sight. Do it through Jesus Christ and may he receive the glory. That's something you stick on your refrigerator door and be reminded of every day. The point is simply and profoundly this, this prayer is a promise and it is a promise backed by God's grace, by God's peace, by God's power, by God's shepherd. We have been supplied with everything we need to live the Christian life. Paul talks about this in Ephesians 1. And with this triple encouragement, we have every reason to be encouraged, every reason to be encouraged. There's one last thing this benediction encourages us to do. I don't know if you noticed it or not, but let me read it to you again. See if you see it. Now, may the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant equip you with every good that you may do his will working in us, that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Did you see it? Would you live to give him glory? That's our sole purpose. How do we glorify him for his peace? How do we glorify him for his eternal covenant? How do we glorify him for being our great shepherd or equipping us and enabling us in our Christian walk? Giving glory to Jesus is important. How do we do that? How do you give God glory in these things? This concluding prayer is reminding us that all that we are promised in the gospel. And so as it closes, we see that by the gospel, man's greatest good coincides with God's greatest glory. As we experience justification at the beginning of our salvation, Jesus Christ receives glory both now and forever. As we continue to grow and as we overcome the power of sin, Jesus Christ receives glory. Every time you say no to self and no to Satan and yes to God, you're giving him glory. And one day when we are gloriously perfected, Jesus Christ will receive all the glory forever and ever. The benediction is a blessing for us, but only to the degree that it enables us to take our eyes off of ourself and to place them on the one who both saves us now and forever. Yes, and forevermore. Do you see how deep and the need for this transformation of our mind is? Do you trust, do you really trust in the working of the Holy Spirit in your life? Do you pray without ceasing for spiritual wisdom and understanding? Not for material things or for health, wealth, and prosperity, but seriously, genuine, daily prayer for spiritual wisdom and understanding. I know there's a lot of fear going on right now with the virus and the market and those kinds of things, but that's not where your peace is. That's not where the glory is. So just remember that. And do you look steadily at the glory of God in all things that are eternal in the face of Jesus Christ and in the Bible and in actually everything that surrounds you. Have you gone out on your back porch lately and sat and just looked up at the trees, listen to the birds and thank God that you can see, that you can hear. that he's provided these blessings for you. There's no other way to become like Christ in the world than to behold Christ in the word. What a wonderful reminder that our high priest, our great shepherd ever lives to be praised and therefore he ever lives to fulfill his promise to save us forever. Because of Jesus, we can know the God of peace. So be it indeed. Amen. He is our God of peace. And because of that, we can be at peace with God. Would you pray with me? This is taken from the Valley of Vision, our all sufficient God. King of glory, divine majesty, Every perfection adorns your nature and sustains your throne. The heavens and earth are yours. The world is yours and its fullness. Your power created the universe from nothing. Your wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns, presiding over nations, families, individuals. Your goodness is boundless. All creatures wait on you, are supplied by you, are satisfied in you. How precious are the thoughts of your mercy and grace. How excellent your loving kindness that draws men to you. Teach us to place our happiness in you, the blessed God, never seeking life among the dead things of earth or asking for that which satisfies the deluded. but may we prize the light of your smile, employ the joy of your salvation, find our heaven in you. You have attended to our happiness more than we can do. Though we were fallen creatures, you have not neglected us. In love and pity, you have provided us a Savior. Apply this redemption to our hearts by justifying our persons and sanctifying our natures. We confess our transgressions, have mercy on us. We are weary, give us rest. Ignorant, make us wise unto salvation. Helpless, let your strength be made perfect in our weakness. Poor and needy, bless us with Christ's unsearchable riches. Perplexed and tempted, lest we travel on unchecked, undismayed, knowing. that you have said, I will never leave or forsake you. Blessed be your name. Amen. Before we call for our offering in just a moment, I need to make a couple of announcements to you that are in your bulletin. This is spring break week, so there will be no Wednesday services, no bill. It's a time just to rest. But this is also a fifth Sunday month, so that means that there will be a dinner at the end of the month, a fundraiser to support the youth camp. So be sure to make that on your calendar, make that note on your calendar. And remember, don't come Wednesday because nobody's going to be here unless you go by Chick-fil-A and bring it yourself. Okay. Which might not be a bad idea. Okay. Those that are going to receive the offering, would you please come forward?