Remember Your Calling

Life is full of things we need to remember. Remember to turn off the oven, remember to lock the door, remember to schedule your appointment. Then there are sayings that we often remind ourselves of, such as: Remember, you’re only human. Remember failure is an event not a person and remember to stop and smell the roses So, remembering is a good thing. In fact, every time I play golf, I try to remember three maxims from golfing legend Bobby Jones before I tee off: 1) You can’t swing the golf club too slow 2) Tension is the enemy of a golf swing 3) You are going to hit at least seven bad shots a round, so get over it when you do. Now, the problem is that I often forget that last one.

But what if you were to come up with three maxims to remember everyday as you run your race of faith, what would those be? What would you say? Remember to be thankful? That’s a good one. Remember to be kind? Absolutely! Remember to pray? That’s good too. But what if you were writing a letter to your grandchild and you wanted to boil down the entire Christian life to three things we need to remember everyday – what would you write?

Well, that’s just what the writer of Hebrews is doing as we come to the end of his letter to the Hebrews. Up to this point he’s spent a majority of this letter telling them how important Jesus is to their faith. He’s given them priceless examples of how to live by faith and how to run their race to the end. But now, he’s wrapping things up by giving us three main things to remember as we live out our faith. These three things are recorded for us in Hebrews 13:1-8, our passage this morning. So, if you brought your Bible, let me encourage you to open them Hebrews 13:1-8, where the writer begins by giving us the first thing he wants us to remember:

1. Remember Your Calling to Love Who are you to keep on loving?
To love your family: Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Hebrews 13:1 The command is literally, “let brotherly love remain.” Their brotherhood as a community of Christ followers was in danger of being torn apart by all the hardships they’d been facing. So, he’s reminding them, that no matter how hard life gets, we need to let brotherly love characterize our daily lives.
In fact, when we hear this command, “to keep loving those in God’s family,” we are instantly reminded that brotherly love is a revolutionary love that our unbelieving world doesn’t understand. You see, our world talks about the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, but it doesn’t really believe in God as Father, and so has no concept of this familial love between God’s people. It has no understanding of the unique bonds we share. We’re all bonded by our mutual faith in Jesus as sons and daughters of God. We are all bonded by our mutual fellowship in the Holy Spirit. And we’re all bonded as one because God has united us in Christ’s body – the church. And here, we see that we have a unique obligation as members of Christ’s body, God’s family: We are to let brotherly love remain. We are called to stick together so we can stick it out when hardships and trials come. And now it’s the love of Christ in us is the glue that God calls us to use to keep us together. As Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

So there are two applications to this first command: One, when you are enduring hardships, attacks, trials or tragedies, this is when you need to remain in the body of Christ. Don’t go it alone. You need the strength, encouragement, prayers and love of your brothers and sisters to help you endure. Second, this is a call to actively love your brothers and sisters who are going through it. Obviously, it is very easy to love someone when life is going well, when everyone is happy and enjoying life. But the real distinctive mark of a Christ follower is to come alongside a brother and sister in their darkest moments, and just love them. God doesn’t want anyone of us to go it alone when life is hard. So, let brotherly love remain, and especially when you see a brother or sister in need. That’s the first thing we are to always remember as we run this race of faith.

But we are not just to love one another, there are two other groups of people God doesn’t want us to forget about. We are also… To love strangers: Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 The idea here is bringing other people into our homes. In the ancient world, where traveling was dangerous and there were few inns, this was an important ministry. Today, with our compartmentalized lives, hospitality is equally critical. Here’s a couple of diagnostic questions: How many people could describe the inside of your home? How many people have sat at your dinner table? Are there any people you’ve entertained simply because you were looking to give a brother or sister encouragement and support? So, this exhortation applies not only to other Christians, but it also includes all sorts of people we don’t really know – strangers.

This is a whole new perspective on including and loving people. We simply do not know who we’re really seeing when we notice a beggar on the side of the road, or a person in the hospital without a visitor, or someone in prison, or someone seated next to you in worship. That person next to you may be an angel. Or that person may be on their last legs, and the love you give them may just be the encouragement they need to keep running their race.
The point here is simply this: every person created in the image of God needs to experience God’s love. And God wants everyone of us to be instruments of his love – whether that be to your brothers or sisters, your neighbors, and yes even strangers. This is part of our calling to love. Like Jesus once reminded his followers, saying, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40 So we are not to forget about strangers.
But there’s another group of people God calls us to not forget about. He also calls us

To love prisoners: Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with the in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Here we are being alerted to the plight of fellow Christians jailed and mistreated for their faith. God doesn’t want us to forget about those who are imprisoned, but to think of them as if we were in prison with them. God wants us to put ourselves in their shoes and give them the kind of love you would want to receive if you were in prison. In other words, we are to sympathize with anyone in need. For example, if you were starving, you would want someone to feed you, and that if hurting, you would want someone to heal you. And if you were imprisoned, you would want someone to visit you. So, this is a call to do for others what you would want done for yourself if you were in their shoes. As Jesus said, “So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 God doesn’t want us to get so caught up with pursuing our lives, that we forget those who need love.

Think about this principle as it applies to people in our church or community. It is easy to forget those struggling with health issues when you’re out playing pickle ball. It is easy to forget someone who’s going through a long recovery process, when you’re planning your next cruise. It is easy to forget when someone is grieving or hurting, when you’re always focused on living the good life. I

So, our part of our calling to love is to remember that there are people all around us we don’t often see because they’re in some kind of prison – a prison of pain or suffering, grief or hurt. And God wants us to remember them. And think of them as if we were in their shoes – and then do something about it. Visit them. Bring them some encouragement. Bring them your listening ears and your caring heart. Bring them a hot meal. Our mercy team does this well, but that doesn’t excuse the rest of us from loving those in some kind of prison. Everyone goes through hard times, and sometimes God wants you to go and love on them, just as if it was you in their shoes.

This is what we’re to remember as we run the race of faith: To love one another, to love people we don’t even know, and love those who are often forgotten. For when we love like that, we help people stay in the race of faith, and maybe even come to faith. So, loving people is the first thing God wants us to remember as we run our race of faith. Here now is the second thing God wants us to remember:

2. Remember Your Calling to Be Different Here the writer is reminding us of how we are to live differently than our sexually immoral and greed-oriented culture. He’s not only calling us a people who are actively loving, but to be a people who are living holy lives – lives that show the world a different way to live. And the first way we are to be different from the world is: To have a God-honoring Marriage: Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. In God’s eyes, marriage is honorable. He established it at creation and has honored it ever since. It’s pretty obvious that what God established is under attack today. It has always been under attack, because the model of Christian marriage is not just God’s idea, but it is the building block He put in place to create a healthy society. That’s why we are reminded not just to honor marriage, but to keep our marriages pure.

I like how Albert Mohler speaks to this calling. He says, “Many Christians get issues of sexual morality right in terms of a checklist but wrong in terms of understanding. The Bible does not have a “yes” list and a “no” list when it comes to sexuality. There’s no “allowed” list or “prohibited” list. Instead, the Bible teaches that sexual morality – in all of its aspects and manifestations – comes down to one central thing: sex belongs in marriage and nowhere else.”
This is a radical statement to make in today’s world, but its deeply biblical. Scripture recognizes sex within marriage as something good and worthy of celebration. So, we need to honor the marriage union. We need to protect our marriages. For when we do, our marriages not only strengthen society, but we show the world a model for marriage that works. And if there’s ever a time when our culture needs to see marriages that honor God’s calling, it’s today. You may not think your marriage is all that great of an example to our world. But in a society, that’s full of divorce, where traditional marriage is continually ridiculed, and where our culture is constantly trying to redefine marriage, your faithfulness and purity speaks loudly. This is why God commands us all to honor marriage. For when you do, your marriage will not just stand out as different but will show our world that there’s another way to live.

Which leads us to a second way we can show our world a different way to live To have a God-honoring Contentment: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So, we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 Today’s entire commercial economy is built on a foundation that not only encourages us to have what we want but want what we don’t have. We live in a culture that encourages covetousness – that tells us greed is good. That the one with the most toys wins! We are constantly being bombarded to surround ourselves with whatever our heart’s desire. So, get money and you will find satisfaction in whatever the world offers.

Now, allow me to make a disclaimer here: God is not saying money is the problem. Instead, He warns us against the love of money. Rather than pursue money, money, money – God wants us to pursue contentment. The problem is that money can become an idol in your life. And we all know what an idol is. And idol is something that replaces God. And we live in a culture that simply worships money. We are constantly being taught by our culture to love money: that if you have enough money, you will have security, freedom, power, pleasure and happiness. It’s a powerful elixir today.
Now let me be clear here. God is not telling us to have nothing to do with money. The Bible comprehensively lays out the importance of thrift, labor, investment, and savings. God’s Word gives us a rich economic tapestry, but this verse tells us to be content with what we have. Why? Because the Bible describes love of money as greed. And calls greed “idolatry,” and contrasts it with contentment. And when we’re content with who God is and what He gives, we show the world a different way to live. Listen to how Jeremiah Burroughs speaks of a contented heart. He says: “You worship God more by contentment than when you come to hear a sermon, or spend half an hour, or an hour, in prayer, or when you come to receive a sacrament. These… are only external acts of worship… but contentment is the soul’s worship, to subject itself thus to God… by being pleased with what God does.” So then, to help us understand our source of contentment, the writer of Hebrews reminds us of what God has said to us: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So, we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

One way to cultivate contentment is to remind yourself that God is always with you. He will never leave you. And remind yourself that God is always there to help you, He’s your security, not money. But our world tells you that you are on your own. Our world tells you that if you want to get ahead in this world, then you need to help yourself. So, love money, not God. Money will get you what you need in life. But when you are chasing after money, you’re never going to be content. You can never get enough. Like the old Beatles song: “Money can’t buy me love.” That’s why God is the only real source of contentment. God loves you. He knows your needs; He knows your wants and desires. He created those desires. He alone can satisfy those desires. This reminds me of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25-33 So, let us remember our calling to be different. That means honoring our marriages and finding our contentment in Him. That’s the second thing we are to remember.

Now, here’s the third, we are called to remember: Remember Your Calling to Follow Again, these reminders are given to us in the context of running the race of faith. In in this race of faith we need examples to follow in how to run the race. Here he gives us two examples. The first is to Follow your leaders example of faith: Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7 Think back, Hebrews says, to the people who taught you the Word of God. Perhaps it was a parent or a teacher in school, perhaps a Christian who became your friend. We are to search the example of leaders in the church, and especially among them the preachers of the Word of God. Note what it is we are to imitate in leaders and teachers of God’s Word: Not their personalities, or their ministry techniques, not their flaws, but their faith. Imitate their faith. Study and reflect upon the times in their lives when they relied on the Lord and boldly stood with and for Him. Observe how their faith gave their ministries power. See how it was their faith that sustained them to the end. So, let me ask you: Do you have leaders from your past who have endured by faith?

What helped them endure? What did they do when times were hard? How did they keep going, serving, loving? What was it about their faith that kept them in the game? I’ll give you two of my examples. First, Billy Graham. What was it about Billy Graham that helped him endure by faith? He just kept preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the end. Good example. Here’s another, Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He gave up his medical practice because although he was gifted at healing the body, he knew men needed to experience healing of their relationship with God. What did I learn from him? He just preached the Word of God without compromise. Who are your examples? Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

So, we are to follow leaders who lived by faith, but we are also called To follow Jesus: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus never changes. He’s the same Jesus who was tempted by the devil, and the same Jesus who knows what it’s like to be you. He’s the same Jesus who turned water into wine; and the same Jesus who calmed the storm. He’s the same Jesus who healed the lepers; and the same Jesus who cleansed the temple. He’s the same Jesus who forgave the woman caught in adultery and the same Jesus who wept over Lazarus’s death. He’s the same Jesus who washes feet and the same Jesus who gives us rest. He’s the same Jesus who was judged unjustly; and the same Jesus who forgave His executors. He is the same Jesus who ate with sinners and the same Jesus who laid down His life for our sins. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. And now it is this same Jesus, we are to follow today. He still heals, He still serves, He still loves, He still weeps, and He still forgives. This is what God wants you to remember – to follow Jesus, for He never changes… Life is full of things to remember. But today God reminds us that we are to remember to love, the remember to be different, and to remember to follow Jesus. For when we follow Jesus, we will not only love like Jesus, but Jesus will live though us and show the world that there really is a different way to live.