Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15. We're just about to get on with Hebrews, by the way. Are you tired tonight? Okay, hang in there. It won't take too long. Okay, just a few suffer. Suffer the exhortation in a few words. You know, the writer of the Hebrews, having written 13 chapters, will end up saying, I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation, for I have written a letter unto you in few words. This 13th chapter is like, it's almost like a proverb because it has sententious sayings. And they are just packed with wonderful exhortations and encouragement and information. And this tonight is no different. This one is, I really, I really loved studying this today. And I hope you'll love studying it tonight. Here we go. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. Verse 16, but to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased by him. By whom? Jesus. The last proper personal noun in the context is the antecedent. It's talking about Jesus. Wherefore Jesus also, in verse 12. So it's by him. We need more and more to think about Him. Let's contemplate Him and who He is and what He's done. I was created by Him and for Him. I was saved by Him. He's the Lord, our righteousness. I am kept by Him. I'm in Him. Hello? and in his father's hand. We are interceded for by Christ. He ever lives to make intercession. He loved us with an everlasting love. We are those that rejoice in him and have no confidence in the flesh. And so he's worthy to receive glory and honor, power. Therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually by him. Let us is an expression used in the Hebrews lots of times. My old pastor, one of my pastors years ago, was a little short guy, and that's a song, named Noah Broughton. And he preached a sermon one time, I'll never forget it. He preached on the lettuce in the book of Hebrews. There's a lot of let us in the book of Hebrews. Let us. It's like saying let's do it. Let us is an expression used lots of times. It's an exhortation. Let us what? Let us offer the sacrifice of praise. Notice the word sacrifice. Sacrifices are done, are they not? All of those bloody sacrifices are over. Even the one sacrifice of Christ that sustained us for all time is done. But now, he says, offer a sacrifice. But this is different. It's so different. And we are enjoined to offer the sacrifice of praise. And why is it? What does it mean? Ever since the eighth verse of this chapter, the apostle has kind of drawn out our spiritual duties that have to do with worship in which God is the object. God is the object of our worship. And so he has continued to draw contrasts between the old covenant and the new covenant. Listen, our privilege is are great considering what was before us in the Old Covenant. This verse demonstrates this principle. The Old Covenant required God's earthly people to provide material offerings. But the Christian sacrifices are totally spiritual in their character. Not bloody sacrifices, but spiritual sacrifices. Now I think this, I think they use the word sacrifice because it's something that's contrary to the flesh. It's something your flesh doesn't necessarily want to do. It's something you have to yield to the spirit in order to do. Offer up the sacrifice of praise. The Israelite worshiper couldn't offer his sacrifice to God directly, but he had to allow a priest to officiate for him. He brought the sacrifice to the priest. Well, we don't do that. Our sacrifice goes directly to God. And under the old law, the sacrifices were presented at special times, special appointed places, like the Feast of Leviticus 23. But Christians, those of us that know the Lord, can at any time offer the sacrifice of praise. And that's why it says continually. We don't have to do it any particular time, but we can do it continually. Notice that it says, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Now, I don't know if anybody else agrees with me or not about this, but that's okay. I read almost everybody else's commentary and it seemed like none of them really saw the truth, and so I wrote it down myself. I think you have to say something. Now I believe that lips here are probably used like an English figure of speech. Lips to represent the whole person in a way. But I believe we have to say something. I think we have to. You remember when we sang a song a while ago? It said, cast your burden on the Lord and he shall sustain me. Evening and morning and at noon will I pray. He shall hear my voice. I think you can pray without praying out loud. But I think it's probably better if you find you a closet somewhere and pray out loud. I think sometimes you're driving down the road and you're in a pickle of some kind and you need to pray and you don't pray out loud. We understand that. I don't think it's sufficient just to meditate on praise and thanksgiving because our outward expression of thanks to God for his unspeakable gift is due. And we need to say that. And it's the duty of every one of us who are believer priests. Aren't you glad that I don't wear my collar backwards? And you have to come and do your thing to me through a screen somewhere. And isn't that an awful thing to think about? We all are believer priests. And we have that beautiful privilege. And we're appointed to this just as much as we were appointed to salvation and a point into tribulation. Now turn to 1 Peter chapter 2 and let's read verse 1 through 5. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 1 through 5. I read from the first verse to get the context. Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envying and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones. I like this expression. Listen, I'm going to say this. In the New Testament, when you talk about the Lord's churches, you're talking about local, visible assemblies always. But there is a church building. Jesus is a chief cornerstone. And we are like living stones that are set in place that are building that final church. And this is the point here. You're lively stones, and you're built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, that's you, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. That's our purpose. We are a priesthood, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and we've been appointed to offer up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable by Jesus Christ. Now it says the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name back in Hebrews 13, 15. Thanksgiving, I could talk about this on and on and on, but Thanksgiving is so important We let our requests be known to God with thanksgiving. Everything done with thanksgiving. If we're not thankful for past blessings, how can we go and ask for something else? We're told to be anxious for nothing. Don't worry about anything. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, thanksgiving is a form of praise. were to be rooted up and built up in him, established in the faith and bound in thanksgiving. And that's part of the fruit of our lips, to give thanks to his name. So thinking that we must speak out, It may be that this means our whole life. But the psalmist tells us that whoso offers praise, glorifies me. Psalm 50, 23. And he that ordereth his conversation of right, I will show the salvation of the Lord. We are bought with a price. Let me ask you this. What did God buy? You're a three-part person. Which parts did he buy? You're his, lock, stock, and barrel. He'd say, I'm not lock, stock, and barrel. I'm your body, soul, and spirit. The order should be spirit, soul, and body. But that's what we are. Y'all believe that? You know, tripartite nature, you are just like God in that sense. In his image, we are to give thanks always. Keep our mind on the Lord, and whatever we do, do in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. So, we're to praise and thank the Lord. That's a sacrifice. And if we don't do it, shame on us. You know, anymore, I guess if I looked around and I caught people not singing hymns, I think I'd go, just stand there and look at them until they started singing. I think I would, I really do. I used to wouldn't do a lot of things that I would do now, that's for sure. I heard about a preacher one time that they were passing the hat. In Baptist tradition, you pass the hat. Whenever Baptists meet together, we pass the hat. So when the deacons came up with the hats, The preacher grabbed one of them and he went with him and he was watching what they put in the hat. Somebody said, that's not right. He said, the Lord Jesus was looking into the box to see what they put in the box. He said, I just want to make sure you're doing something. So maybe we ought to say something. Look at verse 16. But to do good and to communicate, forget not. For with such sacrifices, God is well pleased, sacrifices include, here there's three, praise, four, thanks, doing good, and communicating. Okay, let's look at this now. It's the duty of Christians to express their gratitude, which we've already mentioned, and by doing good, That is, by performing acts of benevolence or active kindness, not passive kindness. You know what the difference is? Some people say, well, you know I ought to go over and help Sister Susie because she's in need. And they sit there and ponder about it until somebody else gets up and goes over and helps Sister Susie. It's active kindness. something you do actually. So we are to perform acts of feeding hungry people, clothing the naked, relieving the stressed, and in this way communicating to the poor and afflicted brethren especially the blessings which Providence has given us. You know we don't just Some of us think, some American people think they're self-made people. I've met Christian people that think that they're self-made. None of us are self-made. We depend on God and we depend on others. And we must. So providence gives us what we have. It's not in our power to get wealth, but it's in God's providence that we gain wealth. Two words here are used to set forth the duties mentioned. First is do good, and second is communicate. And this talks about the whole course of our life. Listen, this is so important. With respect to other people, there has to be a readiness of mind to do good. The Bible says the liberal devises liberal things, and that's not talking about left-wing thinking, that's talking about people that reach out to others. He doesn't wait until he's asked. But he asks, actively looking for a way to help and be a blessing to other people. Only learn. Anticipate the needs of others. See the needs beforehand and help with the needs. The actual doing of this, inclination to be benevolent, is helpful and useful to us in showing good work not only to our brethren, but to all men, to all mankind, as we have opportunity. Obviously, we can't feed the whole world. That goes without saying. But we can start here in Jerusalem, and we can surely go out to Judea, in part. Go out a ways. It starts at home. It's just like A man is worse than an infidel that will not work with his own hands and feed his own family. But then from his family, it's an extended family. And especially then extended into the house of God, into the church. And then as you have opportunity, do good to all men, especially to them that are of the household of faith. Do good. I mean, Do something. Do something. And just, it's thrilling. Listen, this is a blessing. It really is a blessing. It's a joy. Just feeling and idealizing and theorizing, it's not sufficient. There must be an acting out of the will. We need to buy up every chance. and exercise compassion and loving kindness on other people. Now the second term is not just doing good work, good things, but it's using connection with the sacrifice of charity as communicate, which means passing on to others what God has entrusted to us. What do you have that's yours? Why not one? It's all God's. I get so amused at people that harp on the tithing issue. The tenth belongs to the Lord. Under the old covenant, yeah, that's true. Everything we have is God's. Our house is God's. or furnishing, or car. All we have is God's, and it's a trust. And we're stewards. If we're stewards, we're slaves. And somebody says, I don't want to be nobody's slave. I want to be God's slave. Because it's to glorify his name, not my name. It's to build him up, not build me up. Let him build you up. Focus on glorifying him. That's the point. The Greek word for communicate literally means to have something in common with others. That's what it means. It doesn't mean to talk, use your tongue. It can mean that, but here it doesn't mean that. Having something in common with others. It's the actual exercise of pity on the poor needy who have need. And it is a duty and a charge to us. It gives glory to God and it expresses the salvation of our soul, which we have inside. And it is a huge part, I think maybe the biggest part, of the good works that we have been ordained to walk in. And you know only you can choose what you do. Nobody can tell you, well you must do this, you must do that, because you're the only one that can see the opportunity. You're the only one that knows what you can do. But may I say this? Stretch yourself. Stretch yourself. Put yourself out. Somebody says, I don't like to get out on a limb because somebody else saw it off. You'll never be blessed until you give somebody an opportunity to saw the limb off. You never will. It's just like people hurt you and you say, I'll never be hurt again. You'll never be blessed until you put yourself in a place where people can hurt you again and again and again and again. Let them do it. You're bigger than that. So It was Paul who commended the Corinthians, who were obviously the worst. I don't know. They had more problems than any other church in the New Testament. I got an email the other day from a fellow who was a pastor of Corgan's Baptist Church, and I thought, man, he needs to resign and move somewhere else. Corgan's Baptist Church. Paul said they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ because they had helped the poor saints, which was at Jerusalem. And so, communicate. A couple of verses here that show how this is used, and you'll see the context. Philippians 4, 14, 15. Philippians chapter 4, verse 14 and 15. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. Communication had to do with helping out. Extending, taking our wealth and giving to other people. And what's the purpose of work? The purpose of work is that we work with our hands so that we have and have to give to him that needs. In 1 Timothy 6, let's look at that one. Verse 17 through 19, Paul said to Timothy, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, which giveth us richly all things to enjoy, that they do good, that they be rich in good work, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay whole on eternal life. John says, my little children, let us not love in word or just what we say, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. You remember Tabitha Dorcas. She had died and they come and the widows were weeping and they were showing Peter all the good things she did. She was filled with alms deeds and good works. So we're to do good to all, especially to the household of faith. It ends up by saying, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. Why? He has commanded us to do it. Now, I want to give you a verse. You all know this verse. Well, let's look at it again. It's Luke chapter 6, verse 36. 38, I think it is. With reference to communication. Yeah, it's 38. Jesus said this. give and it shall be given unto you. He didn't say maybe, he said it shall be given unto you. And not just a little, good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom. It reminds me of a bushel of corn. You ever see a bushel of shell corn in a basket? And you fill it up and then you shake it and let it settle and put some more in it. That's what God does when you reach out and give to other people. He surprises you. You will never have any idea where it comes from. Listen folks, don't you be stingy. Don't be stingy. Turn loose of what you have. Put yourself out and give. The Lord said that he would give to you again. And he said, for with the same measure that you meet with all, it shall be measured to you again. That's a principle. Paul said, That, in 2 Corinthians, if you sow a little, you reap a little. If you sow a lot, you reap a lot. And how does this happen? How does it occur? That's your payback. Men shall give into your bosom. Somebody will come along that you probably never thought about and somehow give you a blessing. because you've been faithful. That's the way we're supposed to live, people. There ain't no two ways about it. Excuse my English, but that's just the truth. Any comments?