Tackling Ten Timeless Truths, Part 7

Turn with me if you would to Hebrews chapter 13 as we Seek to tackle and to treasure 10 timeless truths if you've been with us we began a few weeks ago looking at Hebrews 13 verse number 1 and There we learned that we need to respond with love to the needs of others That was verses 1 to 3 Verse number 4 need to reaffirm your loyalty to marriage That was the second truth Tackle and to treasure number 3 was to resist the love of money That's verses 5 and 6 verse number 7

You need to remember your leaders and follow their example Number 5 is found in verse number 8 and that is to relish the unchangeable character of our great God Jesus Christ our Lord and then number 6 was last week and that was refused to listen to wrong teaching Today is is number 7 and that is you need to realize the importance of separation from the world Realize the importance of separation from the world and that's in verses 10 to 14 Let me read them to you It says verse number 10

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 Now you read that you think what on earth is he trying to say? How do you get the principle realize the importance of separation from the world? out of those four verses well Remember we're not Jewish if we were We'd really have no problem understanding what he's saying But because we're not we need to kind of come to grips with What he's trying to get across to this Hebrew audience What is he saying? Well, one of the keys is the phrase outside the camp verse 11 Verse 12 outside the gate verse number 13 outside the camp So whatever is on the outside is different from what's on the inside And so there's a separation there and what is that separation? What does he want us to understand? When you think about it and you understand Jewish history It's not that difficult The problem is if you read different commentators on this you'll get a variety of different Interpretations of it. I'm not going to go through all those with you this morning We wouldn't have enough time to do that But let me just give you what I believe the the writer is trying to say he gives us an illustration Then he gives us an exhortation and then he gives us the motivation Okay So if you just remember those three points when it comes to realizing our need the importance of separation from the world There's an illustration

There's an exhortation and then there's a motivation What is the illustration? Well, look at verse 10 We have an altar Who's we the Jewish nation? We have an altar They know the altar in the temple the new of the altar in the in the tabernacle They knew of the altar in the tent of meeting We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat

Well, who's that? Well read on 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 So there's a an offering Which cannot be eating eaten and what is the only offering that the priest could not eat? It was the offering offered on the Day of Atonement The offering which once the animals were sacrificed the blood was sprinkled in the Holy of Holies on the mercy seat The carcasses of those animals were taken outside the city Outside the camp and they were burned Why? Why is that the high priest could partake of any other offering offered? But on the Day of Atonement, he couldn't partake of this offering Which was offered instead it had to be taken outside the camp and burned Because it happened on the Day of Atonement The day in which the high priest would go in and offer sacrifices for the sins of the people anticipating their sins in the new year and looking for forgiveness of sins from the previous year and the reason they took those animals outside the city and that burned them was because it it symbolized a Separation there's our key word from their sin in other words I'm offering a sacrifice on behalf of my family on behalf of the nation For their sins and there needs to be a separation of my life from that sin So there was great shame and great reproach upon those carcasses that were burned because it symbolized me Truly repenting of my sin. I want nothing else to do with that sin I'm gonna separate myself from that sin The blood sacrifice has been offered

My sins have been covered Therefore. I don't want to go back into that sin that's why the carcasses were taken outside the city and They were burned Then he says this Therefore verse 12 Jesus also Jesus also that he might sanctify the people through his own blood Suffered outside the gate now we know that Jesus suffered outside the gate because outside the Damascus Gate is Mount Calvary the place of the skull with the crucifixion took place and Christ was crucified outside the gate But Christ also was rejected like the sacrifice The carcasses that were burned were rejected

So Christ too was rejected by those of the Jewish nation and He was crucified outside the gate but the problem is Christ was the fulfillment of Everything the Old Testament offering pictured Christ was the fulfillment because he was the one sacrifice that once offered Would not just cover their sins but remove all their sins So Christ was the fulfillment of what the Day of Atonement was pointing to So as they would reject the carcasses and burn the carcasses to separate themselves from their sin Jesus himself was also crucified outside the gate That's where he suffered and he did it bearing the reproach of the people

He did it bearing the sins of the people But yet they not they don't know he just removed themselves or rejected The carcasses of those that were burned or that were sacrificed They rejected the one fulfillment of what all the Old Testament pointed to and They wanted nothing to do with him So he tells them therefore Jesus also that he might Separate sanctify make holy the people through his own blood

He suffered outside the gate Other words, he's taking them back to the fact that this is a fulfillment of New Covenant promise That everything that the Old Covenant pointed to Christ fulfilled it But yet you rejected him But they says this So let us go out to him outside The camp Now think about this in the book of Exodus Exodus chapter 33 33 Moses moved the tent of meeting from inside the camp to outside the camp Okay, Israel had committed idolatry immorality Israel had said we will obey all that the law says but Moses was taking too long to come down from the mountain and so they they took their jewelry and they they made this Molten calf this golden calf and began to worship the golden calf and the Lord was incensed with them And so he took the tent of meeting and moved it outside the camp of Israel and so if you wanted to approach God You couldn't approach him inside the camp Yet approach him outside the camp And so when Moses would go outside the camp to the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord would come down and the People would go outside their tents and stand and observe Moses was outside Moses was Separated from those who are inside the camp and the only way to approach God was to approach him outside the camp Not inside the camp because inside was a reminder of idolatry and immorality on the outside is a reminder of holiness and purity So the writer of Hebrews is writing to these people who know all this see they get it we don't know all this but they do They knew what happened on the Day of Atonement They knew why the carcasses were burned outside the city They knew they wanted nothing else to do with their sin

Although they would commit the same sins again It was symbolic of Separate themselves from their sin

They knew that Christ was crucified outside the gate They knew that the Jewish people rejected him as their Messiah Okay, even though he was the fulfillment as the writer of Hebrews have said throughout the previous 12 chapters He was the fulfillment of the New Covenant Yet they rejected him as they rejected the carcasses and they wanted nothing to do with him But he was the atoning sacrifice for their sins So now he says listen, you need to go outside the camp need to approach this one Christ Need to go to him Now when you think about the context of everything you realize that member last week He said these words in verse number nine He says do not be carried away by varied and strange doctrines or teachings For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods Look, it's not your dietary laws

It's not your ceremonial laws They're gonna strengthen you as he says through which those who were so occupied were not benefited In other words, they don't benefit you anymore when Christ came The ceremonial laws were done away with all those rituals were done away with the only law that stands is the moral law of God And Christ came to fulfill the law of the prophets and Now just like those dietary laws don't benefit you but you need to be strengthened by his grace So to nothing inside the gate nothing inside the camp is going to benefit you You have to approach the one Outside the camp the one that was crucified For your sins the one who bore your reproach in his body that you might be set free from your sin You ought to approach him outside the camp and that's what he's trying to say

It's an illustration It's illustration of being separate from the world system being separated from Legalism being separated from ceremonial ism being separated from your judicious judaistic practices and Come all the way to Christ To worship him and to adore him It's all about separation And then he says this So, let us go out to him outside the camp bearing his Reproach bearing his reproach There's something unique about that separation And that separation Causes you to bear the reproach of Christ Remember Moses talked about him months ago

He was 11 it says these words Verse 26 that Moses considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt In other words to bear the reproach of Christ was a greater treasure than all the treasures in Egypt Moses recognized that so here is The right of Hebrews going back to that helping you understand That when you go out to Christ when you approach him on his terms His way his time the one who bore your sin now, you're able to go to him and when you do You will suffer along with him Why? Because that's what Christianity is It's taking up your cross and following Christ It's bearing the reproach of Christ greater Riches than the treasures of anything else So important to understand So it gives us exhortation If you want to approach Christ You separate yourself from the world system You separate yourself from all that's that's keeping you from being totally committed to your God. I Thought about that. I thought to myself Wow, how many times do we let the world take control of our lives? Over the years I've told you very simply That you can't care about the things of the world Because once you begin to care for the things of the world You will soon become companioned with the things of the world James 4 for He is a friend of the world is an enemy of God So many times we are so concerned about the world where we care so much about the things of the world I'm not talking about the world in terms of its physicality. I'm talking about the world in terms of its its influence and having an attitude of worldliness The Bible says that the world's passing away and the lust thereof

He who does the will of God abides forever Christ said in 2nd Corinthians 6 come out from among them and be separate Christ has always called us to separation He died to sanctify us He died to separate us from the world system We are in the world, but we're not to be of the world Remember lots wife in Luke's gospel He tells us remember lots wife Why? Because you see a lot of his family They they were they they love Sodom

That's why they were there And and the angel said you got to go because the Lord's gonna destroy Sodom But but they weren't moving So the angel had to grab them and remove them from Sodom physically remove them From Sodom and we know from Peter's account that lot was a righteous man We would have never known that had Peter not told us that but he was a righteous man and God removed him the angel removed them from Sodom and said to them do not look back Don't look back Look straight ahead move on get out But lots wife she couldn't resist the temptation She couldn't she couldn't come to grips with the fact that everything that she had in Sodom

She would have no more her hairdresser Her mall her shoes Everything that she ever wanted was all in Sodom If she couldn't bear the fact that it was all gonna be destroyed

And so even though I said don't look back Lots wife she couldn't she just couldn't resist She turned and looked back with probably a a tinge of of Pain in her heart and tears in her eyes that she'd lost everything And she was immediately turned into a pillar of salt and the Bible says remember lots wife now she cared For the things of the world and when you care for the things of the world You soon will be companioned With the things and the people of the world And if you become companioned with the things of the world You will become Contaminated by the things of the world You will James 1 verse number 27 James makes it very clear that pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and father is this to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world Unstained by the world But you see if you care for You're gonna be companioned with it You're gonna become a friend of the world And if you become companioned with the world You'll be contaminated by the world If you're contaminated by the world You'll be conformed to the world And what does Paul say in Romans chapter 12 and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind How many people that you know Care so much about the things of the world That they dabble in the things of the world And soon they become contaminated by those things Because they became a friend of the world And because they were contaminated all of a sudden everything about them becomes conformed to the world the jokes they tell the words they use the way they dress the places they go They become so molded into the world's image instead of Christ's Image And those who care for the world and become companioned by the world and Become contaminated by the world and conform to the world Are soon controlled by the world and redeem us Secutivity for verse number 10 He has left me Paul says Why because of his love for the world His love for the world And he was controlled by it So if that's the case If you don't become convicted You'll be condemned along with the world first Corinthians 11 32 Paul says When we are judged we are chastened by the Lord or disciplined by the Lord that we should not be condemned along with the world But when the right of Hebrews says listen You know, we have an altar You know what took place on that altar on the Day of Atonement And that priests were not allowed to eat of that offering because that offering was a sin offering When that was taken care of and the blood was sprinkled on mercy seat you took that offering you took that carcass You took it outside the camp and you burned it because you wanted nothing to do with it You wanted to separate yourself from that sin and likewise Christ He was the fulfillment of all that the Day of Atonement pointed to but you rejected him as well And he went out bearing the reproach of the people Bearing the sins of the people so that so that You will be separated sanctified By his blood for without the shedding of the blood there is no forgiveness of sins So here's your exhortation you want to approach him You need to approach him in a way that you are outside the camp bearing his reproach other other words outside the world system Outside the legalist system Outside all those things that are tempting to control you and contaminate you that you might be conformed to those things Remove yourself from those things and go to him refuse Refuse to engage in sinful behavior and realize the importance of separation from the world for when you do You'll bear the reproach of Christ You will because Paul said those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution Christ said if you they persecuted me they're going to persecute you Christ said Take up your cross and follow me

Paul said he wanted to learn the the fellowship of of the Lord's sufferings And the motivation for all this verse 14 for here We do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come What's the motivation to to to going to Christ? What's the motivation to separate yourself from the world? This world's passing away, but but you have a city That's an eternal city in 12 It was a it was a kingdom

That was an unshakable kingdom, right? Here it's a city same city that and he was 11 Abraham Looked to then Abraham anticipated whose architect and builder was God himself What motivated Abraham that lasting city? What motivated? Moses it tells us he was 11 He chose rather to endure real treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin Considering the approach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he was looking to the reward For by faith, he left Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seen him who is unseen You see he was able to perceive the invisible Because he preferred the imperishable He preferred the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt Therefore he can endure as seen him who is unseen The writer of Hebrews comes back to that and says listen, here's your motivation This is all passing away It's all going off the scene It's not going to last But if you keep seeking the city, which is before you the unseen city of God The heavenly Jerusalem the opportunity to breathe the presence of God forever Now That'll keep you keep you motivated It's always a motivation in Scripture Always motivation remember the clearer you see the future The cleaner you stand in the presence That was all through the book of Daniel Right Daniel saw the future God gave him visions of the future You're hard-pressed to find anybody in the scriptures cleaner than Daniel But he clearly perceived the future He could stand clean in the presence It's always the motivation keep seeking those things which are above not below right Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you Everything is about searching for that which is imperishable That which is eternal That which is filled with the glory of the Lord so a truth you must tackle and You must treasure is to realize the importance of separation from the world That's number seven

Let me give you number eight two in one day Hold on there And that is Return all glory and praise To the Lord Return all glory and praise to the Lord verse number 15 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 now listen carefully if you're a Jew and You're converted to Christianity One of the questions you're gonna ask is I've been offering sacrifices all my life What sacrifices now do I offer he tells him? first of all you offer the sacrifice of Yourself by not associating associating associating with the things of the world and Then you you offer a sacrifice of song And then you offer a sacrifice of substance In other words you offer a sacrifice of your person, right? I've been teaching therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you offer yourself a sacrifice unto God, right Well to do that you're gonna bear the reproach of Christ to do that you're gonna separate yourself from the world He goes on to say and be not conformed this world would be transformed by the renewing of your mind That's that's Romans 12 1 and 2 so there's a sacrifice of person Then there's a sacrifice of praise And then there's a sacrifice of your purse where your money is where your substance is see He's telling them there's still a sacrifice Everything that Christ did fulfilled Old Testament promise everything Christ did he came to show you that he Fulfilled all of that Through his one sacrifice on Calvary's Cross But yet there's still a sacrifice you offer The first sacrifice is yourself You don't want to be conformed to the world You'll be transformed by the renewing of your mind you want to you want to separate yourself in the world Sacrifice of my myself as unto God If you don't do that You won't offer a sacrifice of praise, and you certainly won't offer sacrifice of your purse you see People meeting the needs of others is easy when they've already sacrificed themselves But sacrificing for the needs of others is very difficult if I'm unwilling to sacrifice myself for God's purposes for God's glory So you return all glory and praise to the Lord by offering a sacrifice of praise to his name Some say well You don't know my circumstances

You know my situation

You know how bad things are for me No, I don't but God knows And you hear people say it all the time you know I'm like I'm like Job. I'm going through all this affliction and all this difficulty and my answer that is no No, you haven't read the book of Job if you think you're like Job you haven't read the book If you read the book you're gonna realize you're nothing like Job Because Job's the epitome of suffering and affliction Beyond anything we could ever imagine You have the honor to glorify this God and praise his name And so we too are to offer a sacrifice of praise Continually he says Perpetually Repeatedly Listen if you are constantly offering a sacrifice of praise There is no room left For you to grumble if you are continually offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God there's no room for you to speak bitterness and anger and grumble and murmur and complain Because your mouth is filled with praise And that's a sacrifice Because if you look at our lives They're not necessarily characterized by praise They're characterized by all sorts of things and yet it's important that we realize That we offer a sacrifice of praise unto God Continually Repeatedly All the time We should do this on a regular basis we should praise him in the midst of your affliction as bad as it is You can say Lord. I thank you that I'm not like Job And I haven't lost everything. I Thank you that I'm not like Job that I can't sleep at night. I Have the affliction, but I don't have all the loss associated with the affliction Lord I thank you that that I'm not like Job because I don't have friends like Job had I have good friends I have a church I have a support system people that will pray for me people that will love on me people that were bringing meals Job didn't have that But I thank you Lord for what you've done to give praise to his name and he talks about offering a substance to people And Do not neglect doing good and sharing for with such practices God is pleased That great to be able to please the Lord Don't you want to please him When you sacrifice your person Your praise and your purse He's pleased Because you're putting him above all else You're returning glory and praise to his name And that's what God wants us to do As you have 43 21 The people I have formed for myself

They will declare my praise It's not optional it's gonna happen The people I have formed for myself They will declare my praise That's just what they do That's who they are There are people of praise read the Psalms, right? The Psalms over and over again, it is good to give thanks unto the Lord It is good to give praise unto the Lord It is good to give Thanks to the Lord over and over and over and over again In fact Psalm 33 says this Sing for joy in the Lord

Oh you righteous ones for praise is becoming To the upright it's fitting For the upright it is beautiful For the upright what makes the person beautiful their praise You ever been around a complainer? They're not very pretty You're better somebody's bitter They're not very beautiful But you'd be around somebody who praises the Lord and glorifies his name it lifts his name up on high that's a beautiful person You want to be around that person? You want to hang out with that person? Because they see God in every situation in every circumstance praises befitting becoming Is beautiful For the upright as you think about This week in Passion Week and the sacrifice of Christ outside the gate And how he would bear the sins of the people in his body He did that so that his sacrifice would allow you to be able to receive the beauty of his his gift of salvation That you might be set free from your sin As you might learn to praise him and give yourself to him And I wonder how many of us today sitting here can actually say Yeah, I do want to be separate from the world. I Don't want the world to control my mind and my my actions. I don't want to be controlled by a worldly system that's narcissistic and is antagonistic Toward my God. I want to stand firm For him remember what Peter says in the first Peter 4 Therefore since Christ has suffered in the flesh, which he did arm yourselves also with the same purpose Because he who has suffered in the flesh Has ceased from sin So as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lust of men before the will of God For the time already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles Having pursued past tense a course of sensuality lusts drunkenness carousing drinking parties and abominable idolatries and all this They are surprised that you do not run with them in the same excess of dissipation And they malign you What a testimony what a testimony that the people used to hang around with the things you used to do with them You don't do anymore Why? Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross And you gave your life to Christ and your friends malign you and right so Because you went outside the gate You went outside the city outside the camp You left the worldly system You left the legalistic system You left every human system and went to the Living God And gave your life to him And now your life is filled with sacrifice Sacrifice of myself and all of my song and all of my substance It's all about God Praising his name glorifying his name returning all glory to him because you're consumed with his glory not your own You're consumed with his sacrifice

You're consumed with his finished work on the cross

You're consumed with his honor Not your honor it will cost you Maybe not right away But if you stay true to the Lord and love him unconditionally and Serve him with a whole heart and a ready mind Those who are not into that well, they're gonna malign you That won't happen But the good thing is there's a city a City in which you're a citizen of You're not a citizen of America or California or Los Angeles You just live here You have another citizenship Your citizenship is in glory We are citizens of another country We are truly aliens and strangers in a foreign land Do you act as if America's a foreign land to you Do you act as if if the city you live in is a foreign city? Because you don't speak the language of the people in the city

You don't live the life of the people in the city You live the life of Christ When people see you Like they would see anybody from another country in this land of ours, they would see you as completely different Because the language you speak Not the language they speak The life you live is not the life they live Why Because you are a citizen Of the great city of God You're a child of the living God Over the years I told you umpteen times My parents used to always say to me when I left the house Remember who you are and what you are You're a child of the King Live like a child of the King Dress like a child of the King Speak like a child of the King Because the King is watching I Pray that would be us today

Let's pray together Father we thank you Lord for all you do You are the King the King of Glory I Pray for everyone in the room the pull of the world is great

It's so strong Parents trying to raise their children today Realizing that their friends are of the world And they pull their children in different directions I Pray that you give us strength The grace we need to stand strong when the precepts of your word To live for you and honor you To instruct our our children in the ways of God that they might perceive the city of God Live with the motivation to honor and glorify their God I Pray father for those in the room We're struggling with the things of the world That Lord they would treat them as if They're burned carcasses

They want to separate themselves from any kind of reminder of their sin Separate them They might live under Christ and your glory And Lord we always pray for those in our midst who do not know you It could be any number of people we don't know Only you know that And we pray Lord for them They realize their need to go outside of the city of the camp of worldliness Embrace Christ as their Savior Their Messiah their Deliverer the true God the true and living God Them I live for you in Jesus name