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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] We begin the service by going to song number 68 this evening. Remembering in Heaven. Song number 68. ["Remembering in Heaven"] Should I love in heaven, We grand with the sardines, Of the green and the lost, Of the shame and the loss, Let him come, Shall the Savior, I warn, Is complete in heaven, I laugh at the cost. Jesus, blood, pain, My ransom in time, Bound for heaven, The blood, blood, heat, When we can bring in heaven. For if on the cold streets, I think the word stretches, From the things I have bought, Of the faith, dear, he sought, I'd smile in my mess, And I'd dance, Let him get you in heaven, I'd smile in your love. Jesus, blood, pain, My ransom in time, Bound for heaven, The blood, blood, heat, When we can bring in heaven. Should I in the glory, Remember a loved one, One who walked by my side, What is lost and outside, If I had never fainted, To trust in the Savior in heaven, I'd sit down and cry. Jesus, blood, pain, My ransom in time, Bound for heaven, The blood, blood, heat, When we can bring in heaven. Oh, and spread the message, The word, he has given, Never mind the world's praise, For possessions meant great, But all for the sake of great souls, Into heaven enjoined, Through eternity's day. Jesus, blood, pain, My ransom in time, Bound for heaven, The blood, blood, heat, When we can bring in heaven. Let's come over for a prayer. We're going to give thank you, again, this evening, for the opportunity to come to your house, for preaching of your word. I pray you may bless the preaching of it, that would be, have been made better for having been here. You help me, Lord, this evening to preach your word, so that your people might be edified by it. I ask for Christ's name, Amen. Let's go over to song number three. I'll tell you which one that is when I get there. I don't have this thing memorized, even after all these years. I've got some savant up here. As you know, Jesus three, Jesus three. Number three, Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all, number three. I pray for you to see, That strength indeed is strong, Shall the beatless watch him pray, Find it deep and honorable. Jesus paid it all, All to him I know. Sin had left the prison stain, He washed it by the stone. For now indeed I find, That now my God alone, Can change the leper's cross, And melt the heart of stone. Jesus paid it all, All to him I know. Sin had left the prison stain, He washed it by the stone. For nothing could have by, That by thy grace to flame, God washed thy garments by, With the blood of Calvary's hand. Jesus paid it all, All to him I know. Sin had left the prison stain, He washed it by the stone. Let him blend before the throne, I stand in incomplete. Jesus died, my soul to stay, My lips shall still be clean. Jesus paid it all, All to him I know. Sin had left the prison stain, He washed it by the stone. We have the service times there in the upper left hand side. Don't forget this Thursday. At 7 we'll be starting a brand new book in the Bible. So if you want to know what that is, you're just going to have to be here. We're one of the subsequent services. Enough about that. I won't tease you anymore. We also have the salvation of the baptisms below that. Again, just pointing out the fact that this year We were able to set a record for another soul saved in a year. So the year's not even over. We're still going. Again, I'm just really encouraged by that. It's great to have a church, though maybe smaller in number, Still making an impact in this community. And going out and preaching the gospel. I'm thankful for faithful people. We want to do the work that we're called to do to go out and preach the gospel. So I thought I'd point that out. And also we had the farewell party in honor of Joshua and Teresa Elliott today. And it looks like there's still plenty of food left over. So be sure to, and people even brought more food from what I understand. We have some tamales back there. At least one tamale needs to be set aside for yours truly. I've yet to have a tamale this Christmas season. And you know how I am about that. So I'm a little crankier than usual. So hopefully there's one back there by the time I get back there. But if not, I'll just have to resign myself to another taco if the money goes. I like to think of worse things. So anyway, it was great having a good turnout and seeing the Elliots off. And we'll miss them, of course. And we also have the Tempe Christmas and then, I mean, I probably won't leave this in here until the end of the year. But if you haven't sent me your email information, then I'm not going to send you your yearbook photo. I don't know how more plainly to say it. If you, after having had your photo taken, do not then send me your email information, you're not going to get your yearbook photo. Because I'm not a mind reader. I tell my wife this all the time. I failed my reading class twice. Even if we're all on the mailing list already, we still have to alert you that we want a picture. Exactly. That is, I couldn't have sent it any clearer. Although I think I have. If you had your photo taken, you have to send me your email. They'll say, well, I sent it to you already. I'm on an email list. No. I'm not going to go through who's email do I have, who's email do I don't have, and match them up with photos. Ain't nobody got time for that. If you had your photo taken and you want the photo, maybe some people just don't want it. I get it. I see pictures of myself and I'm like, I can't believe I actually look like that. I don't want it. Maybe you're my vote. But if you want your yearbook photo, then you have to send me your email. Not you have sent me your email in the past. You must send it to me. Anyway. What if we don't have your yearbook? You know what? If I don't have an email, I'll draw you a picture. I'll just draw you a picture. This is you. I would like to get some friends. I'll print one off and bring it to you. That would be better. If you don't have an email, email me and let me know. I'm just kidding. Just text me. If you can't hear me, just say something. Anyway. That's enough of that. I'll try not to get too irate up here. But let's go ahead and just come up slowly and very quickly, going back to Friday, if anyone has anything from Friday to work. Or Saturday, if a group didn't. What about? Thanks. Fabian had one for Saturday. Great. And then what about Sunday? We had nothing to do. All right. Well, keep up the great work, soul and everything. Let's go ahead and sing one more song before we begin preaching tonight. We're going to go over song number 138. The Haven of Rest. The Haven of Rest. And he told me that. That's the only reason I know that. Give me a second. Get over there myself. 138. That's 138. 138. ["The Haven of Rest"] me your choice. With a hand in the hand in the breast. Thy name in my soul, in the hand in the breast. Thou still wide sees no more. And yet this may sweep for the last reading. In Jesus I'm safe and warm. I'm healing thyself to this tender embrace. And thanks be to all of the world. I'm finished, my Lord, and I need my soul. The hand in the breast is my Lord. Thy name in my soul, in the hand in the breast. Thou still wide sees no more. And yet this may sweep for the last reading. Jesus, I'm safe and warm. Thou son of my soul says the Lord may be Lord, as may be your story so blest. Oh, Jesus, you're stable so ever well. The Lord in the hand in the breast. Thy name in my soul, in the hand in the breast. Thou still wide sees no more. And yet this may sweep for the last reading. In Jesus I'm safe and warm. Come to the slavery, patiently placed, to save thy his power divine. The favor in your soul, in the hand in the breast, and say your love is done. Thy name in my soul, in the hand in the breast. Thou still wide sees no more. And yet this may sweep for the last reading. In Jesus I'm safe and warm. All right, this time we'll go through our, excuse me, we'll pass on our authoring plate. And as the plate goes around, you can follow along with Brother Gabriel as he reads from Hebrews 13. Hebrews chapter number 13 means tonight. Hebrews chapter 13. Verse 1, the Bible reads, let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some eventually take angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound wickly, and them that suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honor going on, and the bed under fire, where whoremongers and adulterers, God and the judge, their conversation be without covetousness, and make intent with such things as we have. For I had said, I would never leave you nor forsake you, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember then which hath a rule over you, and spoken unto you in the word of God, whose faith followed, considering the end of the conversation. Jesus Christ is saying yes to me one more day, and forever. Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace. Now it meets, which are not confident in them, that have been occupied therein. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat, sure of the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priests who sinned, are girded without the camp. Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here, have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 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. But to do good, we have to communicate. Forget not for which such sacrifices, God is well pleased. Obey them that have no rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, and they may do it with joy. Now, again, that is unprofitable for you. Pray for us, for we trust we have a good conscience in all things, willing to live honestly. But I beseech you to rather to do this, that I may resort unto you the sooner. Now, the God of peace, that brought again from dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, to the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do with will, working in you that which is well pleasing, in his sight, through Jesus Christ, who will be glory for ever and ever. Amen. And I beseech you, brother, suffer the word of expectation, for I have written a letter unto you with few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy is sent in liberty, to whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have a rule over you, and all the saints, they evidently salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this evening service. Thank you for our deacon who is here today to preach to us. Please edify the preaching and help him to just guide us in the Word tonight and for the preaching. And we thank you in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. In the name of the Son of Hebrews 13, this concluding chapter we have here at the end of Paul really just giving several different kind of commandments that are grouped together here. First of all, he says there verses kind of one through three about letting brotherly love continue and remembering those that are in bonds. He talks about marriage, your conversation. So you have just kind of these different things. I'm not going through it all, but they're just kind of coupled together, these different commandments. We have a few verses to each one and making some other application there. But I'm really just going to focus on the first three verses tonight where it says, Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body. So these first three verses here, he's basically telling us to be sympathetic, to be compassionate, and to think about other people. To think about the suffering that others are going through. He says in verse three, those that are in bonds as bound with them. Back then, it would have been much more likely for a Christian to be apprehended, incarcerated. We see that in the life of Paul, and he's saying, just try to think about what that's like to be bound even as somebody else is. And them which suffer adversity, those that are going through maybe some kind of physical adversity, whether through imprisonment, maybe even some kind of a sickness or just persecution of some sort. He's saying, Remember them that suffer adversity, and he's talking about the body as being yourselves also in the body. So he's talking about the fact that we should remember people that are in these different types of adversity, specifically here of physical adversity. And that verse, this isn't really the sermon tonight, but it always makes me think of people that maybe have some kind of a physical handicap. Obviously, those that are bound is referring probably to those that are in some kind of captivity. Those that have been taken to jail or something like that. But he does also at the end mention that the adversity is also in the body. So you can kind of even make the application. Obviously, the interpretation is that it's referring to those that are in bonds, but also that there's people that suffer physical bonds. So you think people who are bound to a wheelchair or people who are bound by some kind of physical limitation in their sight or their hearing. We should be sympathetic towards those people. We should have compassion on those people. And again, it's kind of a separate sermon. I really didn't even mean to go into all that, but we're looking at these first three verses. I guess I'll just kind of explain verse three and get it out of the way. The Bible does talk about us not setting a stumbling block before the blind, not to cause the blind to stumble. It's hard to imagine that there's even people out there like that in this world. But there are people who would exploit and take advantage of people who have physical disabilities that certainly should not be set amongst God's people. Also, maybe we would never exploit them, but maybe we could be without compassion or not patient with those type of people. We should make sure that we're remembering that they have adversity. We should try to remember that we also have a body that one day might be in adversity. Bring that into 2023 America. How would we apply that? Well, maybe when you're at Walmart, the grocery store, and that crippled person in front of you is just taking forever to get on their scooter or whatever like that, and it's busy, and you just want to kind of get that, no, I'm the only one. Okay. Maybe be patient. Maybe one day you're going to be, if you're fortunate enough, be that elderly person with that walker who's moving slowly. I mean, I practice this all the time when I go shopping for the church at Costco and stuff like that, and it's busy, and you get those older folks who are just kind of completely oblivious to everybody else, the hundreds of people that are going by them. We should remember that maybe they're just suffering physical adversity. Maybe their wits aren't as sharp, they're hearing, they're seeing. Maybe they have some kind of physical impediment. We should remember that we also are in the body that one day might be us. Again, that's not really the thrust of the sermon at all. I'm going to focus on more specifically these first three verses, verses one and two. We'll start out in verse two where he says, be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. So he says, be not forgetful to do these things, right? And he's saying, don't forget to do what entertain, excuse me, strangers. He's saying, be not forgetful, meaning be mindful, be reliable in this matter. Don't be someone who puts this off or has to constantly be reminded to do this. And that's a phrase that Paul uses throughout the scripture to reminding people to do certain things. That's the Christian life. We have to be reminded of things if we're going to succeed in them. We cannot be forgetful. We don't want to be forgetful here. And this is human nature. And that's why a lot of times there's certain subjects that preachers just have to get up and ring the bell every so often and remind us of some things. And specifically, you know, he's talking about entertaining strangers here, right? And he's saying to not be forgetful. Elsewhere Paul would say, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers. He would say that he would stir up, you know, Paul or Peter rather, said he would stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance that they may be mindful of the words. So human nature, again, is to forget. It's to slack on these things. There's things that we have to be reminded of. There's obviously some things, once we know that we know them, we're probably never going to forget. We're never going to wonder about salvation. Like, how is it that we get saved? We're never going to wonder about, you know, maybe certain doctrines like baptisms and other things. But the things that we tend to forget, the things that we tend to not be mindful in are the things when it comes to behavior, the way we treat others. Those are the things that we have to be constantly be reminded of because the flesh is always there creeping in and trying to, you know, have its way. And people, you know, aren't necessarily, their default position isn't to be hospitable. And that's really what he's talking about here is being hospitable. He says here, particularly, to entertain strangers. Some things in our Christian life must not be neglected due to regretfulness. We have to be reminded of these things, right? And he says, be not forgetful to what? That might not be a phrase that we're familiar with. You know, when we think of entertain, we think of entertainment, right? That's not really what he meant to provide them food, to take them in, basically. It's just another word for hospitality. You know, if you look that up in the dictionary, you'll see that. So he's straight or something like that. You know, find some strangers to, like, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. He's not talking about putting on a circus, right? He's not talking about putting on a circus, right? But he's saying, be not forgetful to entertain strangers. People that, you know, aren't from your area. People that aren't from your part of town. Maybe people that are traveling. Those people and we are hospitable. Obviously, today, you know, in the, you know, living in the lap of luxury that we use very easily, but it wasn't always that way. Back in Paul's day, you know, if you traveled, you were going to probably end up relying a lot on the help of strangers. And this was just, you know, your Christian duty. When someone came to town, you know, they were going to be looking for a place to stay. And who likes to impose? Impose, you know, entertain these people. Take them in. You know, be mindful of this. Be conscientious. I'm going to go over to, let's see, where do I want to have you land tonight? Why don't you just go over to 1 Peter chapter 4. Keep something there in Hebrews 4. I'll just read some other verses and I'd like you to listen to the verses as I read them. I want to keep you on the edge of your seat here, but it says in Romans chapter 12 verse 9, Let love be without dissimulation. And he goes on and says in verse 13, Distributing to the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. This is, you know, this is good Christian. Chapter number 1, he says that a man of God must be a lover of hospitality. In 1 Peter chapter number 4, look at verse 8, he says, So Hebrews chapter 13 is just one of many examples where we are reminded and, you know, the other part of the phrase, and I'll make an application here at the end, but the other thing people tend to focus on when they read this passage in Hebrews 13 is the part about angels. That's the one everyone thinks about. They're always hospitable. Why you should not be forgetful to entertain strangers. Why should we not be forgetful to entertain strangers? And I want to kind of break this down a little bit. Now a lot of people obviously when they read this they immediately just think, what Paul is saying is that there have been times in some people's lives in which angels from heaven have been present and have been in their presence and people aren't even aware of it. Now that's certainly true. That has happened, but I don't know that that's necessarily happened to anybody that we know. I don't know that I can say in my life, but one, would we even know? Because it says unawares, right? But then you have people who will just swear up one side and down the other, that was an angel. Well, people that have entertained angels have done it unawares, meaning they did know. If some angel came in and into your life, you met somebody and they were an actual angel from heaven, you wouldn't even know it, right? And obviously we are in a spiritual world and we're spiritual creatures. That's definitely within the realm of possibility. That's what we believe. That's what the Bible teaches. But I'll point out again, it's some have entertained angels and it's entertained past tense, meaning some people have done this. Paul's not saying use hospitality. He's not saying be not forgetful to entertain strangers because from time to time an angel is going to drop in on you. That's not what he said. You know, there's a strong likelihood that, you know, you better be nice because there's a strong likelihood that at some point in your life, an angel of God is going to be in your presence. And he's going to, it's like Santa Claus or something. He's checking up on you to see who's naughty or nice or something. You know, that's not what I don't think. That's not what he's saying. That's not the primary application of the scripture. But that's where everyone's minds always go whenever they think of Hebrews 13 verses one through one and two. They think about all the fact that angels come in might come in and out of our lives. You know, and honestly, that might be a possibility. It wouldn't surprise me if we got to heaven. And, you know, that is the case. You know, but, you know, I don't know. I can't think of any instance or even a reason why that's something that has to happen in our lives. God knows whether or not we're being, you know, hospitable. God knows whether or not we are being mindful to entertain strangers. He doesn't need an angel to check up on us. Right. It's like every visitor that shows up on a Sunday morning, you know, it was God just testing the church. You know, maybe. I don't know. But God already knows how we're going to treat people that visit. He doesn't need an angel to prove that. Right. But maybe, you know, maybe those folks that were here this morning were a couple of angels just stopping in on us, like, to see how we're doing. I'd like to think we passed with flying colors. Maybe we should. It would be a good thing probably. Now, I don't honestly believe that. I'm just saying it's an example. Maybe they were. I don't know. But, you know, here's the thing. Like, we should operate under that assumption. You know, that there's going to, you know, that the people that come into our lives are important. Right. And if we treated everyone as if they were a messenger from God, you know, we would probably be mindful to entertain them or to be hospitable towards them. You know, that's what we would do. We wouldn't treat them poorly. At least I hope not. Right. If you knew it was an angel, you'd probably, you know, you'd probably treat them very well. Right. So that's kind of why I believe he's bringing that up. He's saying, hey, you know what, you need to make sure that you're not forgetful to entertain strangers. Why? Because some, you know, some very important people might drop in on you. Some people, in fact, have even entertained strangers unawares. And, you know, a lot of people say, well, that what he's referring to there is, you know, the Old Testament. You know, some people have entertained angels, you know, but again, it's some, you know, meaning few have entertained angels. Angels being, you know, heavenly beings. That's probably what's assumed by the use of angels here in Hebrews chapter 13. Now, if you would go back to Judges 13. Judges 13. So that's kind of an easy one. You know, you have Hebrews 13. You're talking about angels and then Judges 13. You have an instance where an angel showed up and unawares too. OK. Because I was thinking about this. Well, if he's saying some people have entertained angels unawares, like who's he referring to? Is he referring to people in the Old Testament? Because, you know, and I'm sure there's probably more than one instance that I'm probably just not it's not coming to mind. But most people in the Old Testament knew that they were angels. When you think about it, you know, when the angels came and visited Lot in Sodom, like he knew they were angels. He brings them in. Right. And he protects. He tries to protect them. The one instance I could think of was when it came to Samson's parents, which is which we were going to read in Judges chapter 13. And we'll move through it quickly here. But it says in verse two, And there was a certain man named Zorah of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was Baron and Baronot. And the angel of the Lord appeared on the woman and said unto her, Behold, now thou art barren and barest not. Thou shalt conceive and bear a son. And he tells her about the things that the way she has to conduct herself because of the fact that he would be a Nazarite from the womb. Then it says in verse six, Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me. Now she says a man of God. She didn't say an angel. A man of God is like a prophet, you know, a preacher. That's what you know. Samuel was a man of God. That's a good example of that. A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God. Very terrible. But I asked not whence he was, neither told me his name. So he's saying he looked like an angel. He might have been, but I didn't know. So she just calls him a man of God. Verse eight, Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born. Verse nine, And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of the Lord came again unto the woman as she sat in the field. But Noah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto them, Behold the man that hath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came unto the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. I love how Manoah kind of refers to his wife, the woman. Verse fifteen, I do not recommend talking to your wife like that. I'm just saying that in her presence. Did you talk to the woman? My wife would have been the respectful way to put that, Manoah. Anyway, verse fifteen, And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, that we may have made ready a kid for thee. So, we skipped over some verses, but basically the angel says, I am. Talks about the Nazarite vow. And Manoah says, you know, let us detain thee until we have made ready a kid for thee. A kid being a lamb. Children, don't worry. Okay, it's not that kind of kid. And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread. And if thou offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. Look at the end there. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord. So here you have an example of somebody who's entertaining a stranger, or at least attempting to. Right, saying let us make a kid, you know, sit down, eat. And they don't know that it is an angel. And Manoah, verse seventeen, said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name? That when thy saying shall come to pass, we may do the honor. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why seekest thou after my name, seeing it a secret? So Manoah took a kid with the meat offering, and offered upon a rock unto the Lord. And the angel did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went upward toward heaven from off the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame off the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. So basically what happens, they make this offering, and as the flame is going up, the angel just kind of jumps into the flame. Right, that's not something a person would typically do. And goes up into heaven. It says in verse twenty-one, but the angel did no more appear to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that it was an angel of the Lord. So, say what is Hebrews thirteen referring to? Perhaps this story. Perhaps he's referring back to the fact that there were people in the Old Testament that entertained angels unaware. You know, and I'm probably missing some other references that we can go to, but this is a really good example of that. Because the Bible is real clear in saying he didn't know it was an angel until afterward. So when we read Hebrews thirteen, you know, the main application is not that, you know, hey, make sure you're nice because an angel might drop in on you. He's saying, you know, we should be mindful, not forgetful to entertain strangers. Because some, for thereby, some have entertained angels unawares. And I believe what also it could be seeing here, what's being implied is that, you know, if we are hospitable people, you know, we're going to attract God's blessing, right? You know, he, you know, people who are not forgetful to entertain strangers, they have entertained angels unawares. You know, God was able to send people to them, had important messages brought to them, whatever. God entrusted their well-being to other people, right? Because, you know, they would be taken care of, okay? That might be another interpretation here. Well, what I don't think it's saying is that you and I are going to have angels dropping in on us. So we better be nice, okay? We should be nice, and if we are, you know, maybe not angels, but we will attract, you know, the right kind of people in this church, okay? And, you know, that's the application I really want to make. And I don't, I'm not preaching this because I think this is something we're lacking in, you know. But again, the reason why I think our church is good about this, about, you know, I'm not saying we're good about, you know, opening up our homes and just inviting strangers in, because there's really not a need for that, you know. If we needed to, I'm sure, you know, people would if there was that serious of a need. I'm sure people, you know, maybe even just rent a hotel room for somebody or something. That's another option. That's hospitality, right? Providing food and lodging basically is all we're talking about. You know, but I think our church is good about greeting people when they come in here, making people feel welcome. But, you know, I want that to continue. You know, I don't want that to be something that we kind of, you know, fall off on and then I have to come back and revisit it. When something's going good, that's the time to kind of bring it up because then nobody gets mad at you, right? Because no one's like, oh, he's preaching about me. You know, no one gets under conviction or anything like that, right? But it is one of these things that we have to be reminded of. And that's something that, again, that's why it's brought up so often in the scripture. I mean, that's why it literally has to be a requirement, you know, a qualification rather for the pastor, right? Because the pastor isn't a sample to the flock. You know, and that's, you know, that's why I'm always trying to greet visitors when they come in, make them feel welcome. And when they leave, too, you know, go over there and say goodbye, thank you for coming, and tell them we're glad to see you, hope to see you again soon. You know, trying to set that example. And I feel like we've done a good job of that here. But I think that's really what Paul's getting at here when he's saying to entertain angels, right? When he's saying, hey, don't be forgetful to entertain strangers. Because the right kind of people will come your way, important people, people that are worthy of your time and attention, okay? And look, people that come to our church, they're worthy of our time and attention. And I'm not saying we have to fall over ourselves and, you know, but they're worthy of being greeted, of welcomed in, and made to feel at home here. Now, you know, the other thing we'll say, well, hey, wait a minute, what about ministering spirits, right? You know, the Bible does say that, you know, we have angels, if you want to look at Hebrews 1, if you're there, verse 14, he says, are they angels, referring to the angels, not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. So I don't want to crush anyone's hopes and dreams that angels aren't there to help you. Or that an angel might actually come into your life and do something, you know. The Bible does say very clearly, verse 14, that angels are what? Ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. Now, who's going to be heirs of salvation? It's me and you, the saved, right? That's you. So the Bible's telling us that, you know, there are angels that are sent forth to minister on our behalf. So I don't, I'm not trying to just like, you know, crush people's, you know, hopes that angels are there to minister to us. Because the Bible says they clearly are. I just don't think that's what Hebrews 13 is getting at. Be hospitable because angels are going to drop in on you and check up on you or something like that. That's not what it's saying. I don't think. You know, that's kind of my opinion. I think Paul's using that as an example. Hey, be, you know, make sure that you're not forgetful to entertain strangers. Because some people have entertained angels unawares. You know, you don't know who it is you're talking to when you're talking to somebody. You know, we might, when people come in here, we might just assume things about them. We might look at the way they're dressed or the way they talk or the way they conduct themselves and just kind of make, you know, assumptions about them. Right. But, you know, what's interesting is you get to know people and you start talking to people, you might be surprised. You know, you might find out you're completely wrong to think a certain way about somebody. And you might actually be really surprised about what they know or, you know, what kind of wisdom they have to offer or whatever. What kind of influence they could have on your life. You know, the people that come into our lives should not be taken for granted. That's really what I'm trying to get at this evening. And I know I'm kind of going a long way about doing it. But, you know, hopefully we're learning some additional things about the word of God tonight in the process of doing this. But what I'm really driving at is that, you know, we need to not take people for granted in our lives. The people that come into our lives should be, you know, looked after. We should entertain them, so to speak. We should care about them because you don't know what kind of an impact people are going to have on your life. Or what kind of impact you're going to have on them. So don't take people for granted. I think that's what Paul is trying to get across there. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 2. To not be forgetful to entertain strangers. It could be that stranger could turn out to be a very important person in your life. You know, what kind of brought up this whole thing, and I'm kind of preaching it now because they're not here and I don't want to make it awkward. You know, but obviously the Elliott's have, you know, amicably, meaning in a good way, left the church. You know, they're going on to serve God up there in Seattle and I'm glad for that. But, you know, they are endeared to our church. You know, and we to them. But, you know, there was a day when you first met them. You know, there was a day when you first met brother Josh and Miss Teresa. And I'm not saying, I don't know what you thought. I can't speak for you. But, you know, you probably didn't think, you know, I'm going to know these people for several years. You know, and then, and then, you know, you got to try the cookies that the cookie bake off. Right. And you're like, I'm really glad I was nice to these people. You know, you got to try the lumpias. And brother Josh brought those. And you're like, man, I was really glad I was nice to brother Josh. Right. Or maybe you went out to their property and, you know, they took you in as friends and as kind of a spiritual family. And, you know, we had a relationship with them. But, you know, what if we had just shown them a cold shoulder, taken no interest in them. You know, they might not have even wanted to come here. Who knows? You know, I believe they have enough spiritual character to get over that anyway. But, you know, they might have gone to a different church or something like that and not have been blessed and been the blessing that they have been to our church. OK. So that's kind of what got me thinking about that. You know, it's just this morning on the way home this afternoon, I was just kind of thinking about, hey, you know, there was a day when we first met these people. And that's the truth for every single one of us. You know, there was a day when we first met and we thought, what a weirdo. I don't like this guy or I don't know if she's funny or something like that. I don't know. Like maybe we had some kind of a feeling. Maybe I'm just being silly. Obviously, you know, I'm not saying everyone here had a negative first impression of everybody, but, you know, none of us saw this coming. You know, none of us could see, you know, here we are five years later, you know, and having, you know, grown closer as we have and gone through the experiences that we have. You know, but if none of that would have happened if we hadn't entertained one another, if we hadn't took each other into our lives and said, hey, let's be a part of this body and go through with this. And obviously there's been people that have gone, you know, and people that have come and gone out of this church, you know, and, you know, were not really a part of their lives. Right. Because, you know, they, you know, for whatever reason, you know, they but they weren't they didn't entertain us. And perhaps we then, you know, we don't have that opportunity. I'm just kind of rambling tonight, I know, but I wanted to get that thought across tonight is that, you know, we want to entertain people, be hospitable and bring them in because, you know, not just because this might be an angel. You know, the angels are great. We all have ministering spirits. OK, but the ministering spirit is the one that's going to get you out of the ditch or, you know, the one that's going to, I don't know, do some kind of a miracle in your life. I've heard different testimonies of the years where people said, you know, all of a sudden they're in some kind of peril and they said, Lord, help me. And something miraculous happened and they attribute it to some unseen angel. And you know what? Amen. I'm not going to sit here and say that's not possible. It very well likely could have been that way. But again, I'm rambling. But what he's trying to get across here is that, you know, we need to make sure we treat people well because there might be more important than you think. And not because of who they are, some kind of status, but because of the impact and influence that they can have on your life and you theirs. You know, the Elliott's expressed to us, you know, what an impact we had in this church upon them. You know, that's why they didn't just go anywhere. You know, they went back to a place where they knew they were going to be able to serve God and help a church there. You know, I believe that's because of the impact and the influence that this church had upon them. You know, so don't ever underestimate the people in your life. Don't take them for granted. Let me move along here, though, and it's not going to be a really long sermon. You know, another opportunity, another possibility, rather, about what it means, what angels might be in here is, you know, men of God. Paul might even be referring to himself, although I don't think he is. Because if you remember, angels are what's used to describe pastors in Revelations 2 and 3. When he writes to the seven churches which are in Asia, he says, you know, under the church here, you know, right under the angel which is in the church and, you know, these churches. He's saying right under the angel, right, in Smyrna, you know, all these different places, okay, Thyatira, so on and so forth. But he says, unto the angel which is in that church. Now, angel is referring to a pastor, right? It could refer to a man of God or perhaps even Paul himself. You know, there's probably people in Paul's life that entertained him, that showed hospitality and had no idea that they were bringing into their home, you know, the most, one of the most powerful, influential Christians that have ever lived. I mean, that's pretty, that's a pretty big deal. You know, how would you like to say, well, you know, Paul stayed at my house, you know. You know, that's the pillow he slept on, you know. This is the spoon he used. I've never washed it since, you know. That'd be creepy, right? But it would be cool, though. They'd say, hey, you know, I had Paul over, you know. Well, where are you staying tonight, Paul? I'm staying at so-and-so's house. And you're kind of like, yeah, that's right. You know, that'd be cool, right? You know, be hospitable towards people. You never know who they might be. But again, the message of Hebrews 13 here, verses 1 through 3, I believe, is to not take brethren for granted. And I mentioned earlier, did you notice when I read all those verses? And if you're there still in 1 Peter chapter number 4, the theme that's associated with being hospitable, it's brotherly love. Notice that it's love and charity or an association here with this word. As it says in Hebrews 13, the first commandment in the first verse is let brotherly love continue, right? And I love that Paul's able to say that, you know, to these people that he's writing to. Not, hey, you need to start loving in a brotherly way. Let brotherly love begin. He says let it continue, meaning you got it right and you're doing it right, okay? And that's all I'm trying to say tonight. Hey, I believe we're good on this. We're doing a good job. Let's let it continue. You know, let brotherly love continue. But that's the theme that's associated. Romans 12, again, I'll read to you. Let love be without dissimulation. Be kindly affectionate in another with brotherly love. Give into hospitality. You know, a bishop has to be a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men. Where you are in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 8, above all things have fervent charity, which is just another word for love, among yourselves. For charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. You know, if the Bible says I have to, I guess I will. That's a grudgingly way, grudging way to show hospitality, okay? And so my point is this, is that, you know, if you're going to show hospitality, if you're not going to be forgetful to entertain strangers, if you're going to use hospitality, it has to come from a place of love. It has to be genuine, too. It can't be grudging. Well, the Bible says I have to be nice. Deacon said I should treat people well, so how you doing? You know, it's insincere. It's fake, right? It should come from a place of genuine love. And again, love there, and I'm not just talking about the emotional lovey-dovey, you know, you put butterflies in my stomach kind of love. He's talking about, you know, it's a very practical thing. The brotherly love there is talking about being there for somebody, right? Using hospitality, helping someone out, you know, meeting somebody's need. That's what I mean by brotherly love. That's what the Bible means by brotherly love. It's associated with action, meeting needs. Why? Because, you know, we rely on one another. Whether we like to admit that or not, people rely on other people in their lives. We need to have that. We need to have other people in our lives that when we're down, when we're having struggles, and maybe even it is an emotional nature. Maybe it's something we're going through in our minds or in our hearts. You know, we need to be able to rely on other people in our lives to help us through those times. Or maybe it's some kind of physical need. Like, maybe your car breaks down in the middle somewhere. I don't know. You know, everyone's thinking like, yeah, I remember that time, Deacon. Everyone's helped me with my vehicles over the years probably at this point, but no more. Okay, we got a good one. But you know what I'm saying? Like, you might have some physical need. You know, you might, maybe it's something real practical. You know, you just got to get something done. Right? We should be mindful of one another, have that love that's there to take action because people rely on one another. They need other people. And we cannot underestimate the impact we have on other people for better or worse. Go to Galatians 6. I'll close there. Galatians chapter number 6. So that's my message tonight. You know, let brotherly love continue. You know, entertaining. You say, why did you call it, the sermon's called Entertaining Angels. It's clickbait. No one's going to watch a sermon called Brotherly Love. They're not. They're going to watch it called Entertaining Angels. You know, angel talk, you know, angiology. You know, they're going to get into that. Mark my words, this sermon will have more views than a lot of these other ones. You know, not that I care, but you know, it's an important topic. You know, it's something that people need to hear. You know, it's more important to be in a church, you know, being part of a local assembly. You know, and helping one another rather than just being online and understanding some obscure doctrine about angels or something like that. You know, people can have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible and never put it into use because they're just simply not in church. Not being part of a body. And this is what it means to be part of a body of a church, is to have brotherly love one toward another. To have fervent charity towards the brethren. As it says, they're having charity, fervent charity among yourselves using hospitality. Why? Because some have entertained angels unawares. Some have entertained people who have had a very big impact on other people. We don't know how big of an impact people are going to have on us and we on them for better or worse. Look at Galatians chapter 6 verse 7, be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. It's interesting that it's tied in with these verses. That we all know this one, right? You know, you reap what you sow. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of his flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth of the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing. You know, what is it that we're supposed to be doing when it comes to sowing, right? To not be weary in well doing. Don't be weary in sowing to the Spirit. Don't get burnt out on doing that. Doing right is hard to do, right? For in due season we shall reap if we fate not. Look at verse 10 though, as we therefore have opportunity. So 10 is kind of like the practical application. Verses 7, 8, and 9 are kind of the admonition, right? Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap. Be not weary in well doing. Okay, give me something to take home, Paul. What am I supposed to do? Give me something specific. As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto those of the household of faith. You know, the sowing that we need to do in our lives is doing good unto other people. That's sowing to the Spirit, right? If we're walking in the Spirit, we're going to have the fruits of the Spirit, and that's not just for us. Obviously we get a lot of personal benefit from it, but if we're going to walk in the Spirit, that should project out and have an impact on other people. We should be doing things for others. Preaching them the Gospel, doing right unto them, whatever. Doing good unto all men, but especially unto them that are household of faith. The children of God need each other. We need the admonishment, the encouragement that comes with being part of a local body. You're not going to succeed in the Christian life without it. You're just not. You're not going to do the works of God that you're supposed to be doing without the local church. And a church needs to be united and strong. And praise God, I believe we have that here. I believe that we have a church that's charitable, that has fervent charity one toward another. And all I'm saying tonight is, hey, let brotherly love continue. I was very encouraged this morning. Obviously it's always sad to see people go. It's sad to part company with people, but I was also very encouraged by the fact that there was people showing up and showing our church members' love and us being able to see members of this body off in a good way. And them expressing what an impact we've had on them and they on us. And all I'm saying tonight is, hey, let brotherly love continue. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the body of Christ that you've assembled here. And Lord, I pray that you would strengthen it, Lord, in the coming year especially, Lord, that you would help us to continue in brotherly love. And, Lord, help us to continue to do good unto all men. Lord, help us to continue to reach even more souls for Christ in this coming year. And help us to understand, Lord, that we need one another for our spiritual needs, Lord, and physical needs and other needs, Lord, that we need this body in order to be able to serve you. And, Lord, help us to sow to the Spirit here in this church, Lord, by doing good unto all men and unto one another. We ask in Christ's name, amen. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song. All right, thanks for coming, everybody. You are dismissed and blessed to be here. Thank you.