The Purpose of Assembling Together – Part 2
Hebrews 10:24-25
September 14, 2014
We are currently taking an extended break from our study of Genesis,
Which we will resume shortly.
However, during my time away from the church, as I attended various other churches,
I was able to sit back and sort of observe other congregations
And see why they meet and what they seek to accomplish in doing so.
And really without critiquing or analyzing them to closely,
It really caused me to think more about why we assemble together.
And as I told you last week, I don’t presume to judge why you come,
Or why you came this morning, after all, I can’t see your heart.
Since we can either please or displease God in the way we come,
I thought it beneficial to take a few weeks
And at least examine why we should be coming.
I don’t know why you came, but I know why you should have come.
And this is a very important issue, because it appears to me that
Across our land people are very confused about this issue.
It’s apparent that church attendance is no longer a priority across our land
And maybe that is because people don’t understand the purpose for it.
There was a time when “going to church” was the norm.
There was a time when it was morally expected.
Certainly all those who claimed to be “Christians” went to church, and really it was only those who adamantly wanted no part of it who failed to participate.
But my how times have changed.
Church attendance is not the fad of the day.
And this is a tragedy
On one of our mission trips to Sanyati we studied a sermon serious by John MacArthur called “Fundamental Christian Attitudes”
(I believe Judy Williams’ class has done it as well)
One of the sermons or fundamental attitudes he highlighted
Was the attitude of “Contentment”
And in that he began the sermon by highlighting
How this lack of contentment has directly affected church attendance.
In fact he outlined four reasons why people who call themselves Christians have quit coming to church.
1) OUR CONSUMER MENTALITY
He makes the statement,
“We have a consumeristic view of the church. It’s sort of the mood of the mob in this particular time in which we live in our culture. People have about the same commitment to the church they do to the mall. If there’s something there that interests them, they’ll go there…They look and say, “Well is there something there that I can get?”…I’m willing to go there if they offer me something.” http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-125/Fundamental-Christian-Attitudes-Contentment-1-of-2?Term=contentment
And that is true.
Churches today have spent so much time
Trying to offer people what they want that now people come to expect it.
• And if you can’t stay cutting edge, trendy, and relevant…
• If you can’t hold their shortened attention span…
• If you can’t prick their curiosity…
They’ll go do something else that interests them more.
2) OUR PRIVATIZATION OF SPIRITUALITY
“We live in a time which basically rejects authority as such in favor of personal rights. We don’t want to submit ourselves to an authority, we want to make sure that we have the personal right to do and be and believe and act in any way that we want…By that what I mean is I’m the person who will define for me what my spiritual life is going to be. I’ll pick and choose, I’ll assemble my own Christianity with a proliferation of tapes and books and radio programs and Christian TV and all of this…And the idea is that my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and my personal spiritual life transcends any compelling corporate life that a church might oppress upon me or hold me to.” (ibid)
In short, people don’t want someone else
Telling them what to do or believe or think,
And they sure don’t want someone else holding them accountable.
But as you will see today,
That undermines one of the very purposes for which we gather.
We need the instruction, insight, encouragement, correction,
confrontation, discipline, and accountability of other believers.
But in our country people have privatized spirituality to the point where church attendance has seemingly become less and less necessary.
3) DISILLUSIONMENT WITH CHURCH LEADERSHIP
“Christianity is full of people who have been deeply hurt and wounded by church leaders and that contributes to their distance from the church and contributes to their indifference to submitting themselves under the authority of teachers and leaders. They’re reluctant to do that because they have been exposed in the past to false pastors and false teachers and false leaders who were either unholy in their conduct or unholy in their teaching, or both.” (ibid)
Certainly this is a big one.
People don’t trust those in ministry leadership.
And this distrust grows into a bitterness
That keeps people away from church altogether.
4) UNREALISTIC EXPECTATION
“I think another think that contributes to the people’s indifference toward the church is some kind of expectation for perfection that is really unrealistic. The expectation that the church should be everything that the Bible says all the time without any failures leads people to a certain kind of disillusionment. People leave a perfectly wonderful church…because of some perceived weakness…or some perceived failure…and they wander away.” (ibid)
It is that person who is looking for the perfect church,
And if you hold any church up to the N.T. you’ll find inconsistencies.
One would do good to ask the question about the New Testament.
• What do you suppose the people of Ephesus did?
• What do you suppose the people of Corinth did?
They only had one church, if it wasn’t perfect, people had to pray
And seek to make it better, because there were no options for a new one.
But I share all that with you because he hits the nail on the head
And it is apparent that for reasons just like this,
People are no longer concerned about attending church regularly.
And this is a shame.
Not only did God intend for us to gather together,
And there are definite purposes we are to fulfill when we do.
I told you that I’m going to give you three here on Sunday Mornings.
(I’m actually giving a fourth on Wednesday nights)
1) EXALTATION – “To Praise God”
This we covered last Sunday.
We don’t meet for social advancement or personal satisfaction.
We meet “to proclaim the excellencies of Him” who has saved us.
Certainly there is more to worship than just praise,
But I can confidently say if you refuse to praise God then your worship isn’t much.
Hebrews 13:15 “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.”
Psalms 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”
And we know that we are to do this praise
In the midst of the assembly of believers.
Psalms 100 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”
Don’t let God catch you coming to this place and refusing to sing
HE DESERVES IT!
2) EXHORTATION – To Encourage One Another
(which we will look at this morning)
3) EXPOSITION – To have the word of God explained
(On Wednesday nights we are studying a fourth which is
INTERCESSION – we gather to pray)
But this morning let’s examine that second reason we gather,
Which is EXHORTATION, and to do that let’s look at Hebrews 10
These two verses do not comprise the complete thought
Of the author of this passage.
In reality his encouragement is much broader
Than just that the church should encourage one another.
He has just proven his doctrine that Jesus is a faithful high priest
Who successfully atoned for our sin,
And has granted access for us before the Father.
He then writes (based on this fact)
Hebrews 10:19-25 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
We want to study the last part of that command,
Namely verses 24 and 25 about encouraging one another.
Our culture wants to Privatize Spirituality
This morning let me show you why that doesn’t work.
Now there are three points to be made here this morning.
#1 WE HAVE A BROTHER TO ENCOURAGE
Hebrews 10:24
If you study the passage as a whole you will recognize that
This is the third of three “Let us” statements.
And here the requirement is crystal clear.
“Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”
It’s really quite clear isn’t it?
The goal of the Christian life is that we have “love and good deeds”
If you lose either one of the two
You are off the course that God intended.
Love without deeds is an empty emotion and sentiment.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
Deeds without love is a hypocritical action meant only to serve self.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
The Christian must live his/her life with “love and good deeds”
But the reality is that you are far less likely to achieve it
Without the help of other believers.
Let’s face it we are all prone to wear blinders
In regard to our own personal spiritual condition.
If given the opportunity I will see myself in a better light than is probably reality.
We all have a little bit of that Pharisee in us, to whom Jesus said:
Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
It is really odd that we can at times so easily see our brother’s fault,
And yet at the same time be so blind to our own.
Well, that’s why we need the discernment of our brother.
We can help him and he can help us.
We each need someone to continually remind us of what is expected.
Here the word is “stimulate”
We are called to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,”
The Greek word here is a word that actually means
“provocation” or “sharp disagreement”
The NIV translates it “spur one another on”
And that paints a better picture for us.
A person uses spurs on a horse to make them move and go.
It certainly is not pleasant, but it is effective.
It is implied in that often quoted verse:
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”
If you’ve ever sharpened iron, you know it doesn’t’ happen without a little friction.
It may not always be pleasant, but it is always necessary.
And that is the idea the writer carries here.
You need to “consider how to stimulate one another”
You need to figure out how to get your brother or sister in Christ
Moving in the right direction.
Your brother is your responsibility, you figure out
How to spur him on to being what he is required to be.
We are to “consider how to stimulate one another”
And this call for encouragement saturates the New Testament.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
Philippians 1:27 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”
Paul called for the Philippians to have “one mind” and to strive “together”
He spoke of mutual prodding, mutual spurring, mutual encouragement.
It is necessary.
He even gave a specific need for this later in his letter to them.
Philippians 4:2-3 “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
There were two women who could not get along.
Not only did Paul command them to get over it,
But he commissioned this “true companion” to help them get over it.
That is he was to encourage them in the right way.
The call for a Christian to push his brother forward is a serious call.
HOW DO WE DO THAT? (“consider how to…”)
VERBALLY We take the truth of Scripture and use it to confront, correct, encourage the lives of others.
Titus 2:11-15 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
Paul told Titus that he was not to let anyone
Ignore the requirements of a true Christian,
And that he was to “speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.”
Now, it isn’t always negative or confrontational.
At times we also encourage the down-trodden brother.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
So one of the main ways in which we “stimulate one another”
By verbally Instructing, Challenging, Correcting, Comforting one another.
EXAMPLE
2 Corinthians 9:1-2 “For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints; for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.”
The Philippians were moved by the example of the Corinthians.
Our example is very powerful.
It’s hard to push someone to “love and good deeds”
If you don’t walk there.
So talk the talk, and walk the walk.
DISCIPLINE
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
And we are all aware of what Jesus said
About confronting the sinning brother.
The reality is that sometimes verbal encouragement,
And even a modeled example still do not succeed
In pushing that brother or sister to the required behavior.
For those moments, discipline is in order.
It is not pleasant, neither are spurs, but we as believers are commanded to “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”
We have a brother to encourage, it is a mandate, it is a requirement.
That is clear enough to see, but preacher, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH US COMING TO CHURCH?
Brother to Encourage
#2 WE HAVE A CHURCH TO ATTEND
Hebrews 10:25a
“not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;”
And all of a sudden the writer’s intention is coming more into focus.
He intends for us to encourage our brother,
And one would do good to ask the question,
“How do you do that consistently if you are skipping church?”
The believers this writer was writing too were persecuted for being Christians.
It was certainly easier to keep your faith private
And just not participate in the public assembly.
But the writer is adamant when he says, “not forsaking our own assembling together”
“forsaking” is a Greek word I can’t pronounce
Which means “to leave behind” or “let remain over”
It is the idea of just not caring and overlooking it.
(Like when I leave dishes in the kitchen)
And the writer is adamant that you should not do that
In regard to the assembly of the church.
Church attendance is not something to disregard
Church attendance is not something to ignore
Church attendance is not something to let slip away
And we have to state it plainly because this “is the habit of some”
It is a tragic reality, but church attendance
Routinely comes down to what is your habit?
There are many people who do love the Lord, and who do love the church,
And who do love to praise God,
But the fact of the matter is that they just got out of habit.
What once was the normal routine
Has now been pushed aside or forsaken.
And the writer is adamant that this should not be the case.
We are not to forsake assembling,
But rather to be “encouraging one another;”
So let me remind you again of why we gather together in this place
On Sunday mornings and Sunday nights and Wednesday nights.
Without a doubt the first reason is to praise God.
We enter His gates with thanksgiving and we enter His courts with praise.
But we also come to be an encouragement to each other.
Listen, I hear it all the time
“I don’t believe you have to go to church to worship God.”
“I believe you can worship God anywhere.”
Now, in a very basic sense, that is true.
Carrie actually came home two Sunday’s before I did,
But you didn’t know it because she had sick kids
And wasn’t able to come to church.
So she watched FBC Lubbock on television and Adrian Rogers.
• Could she learn the word that way? Yes
• Could she praise God that way? Yes
• Could she be equipped for the weekly ministry? Yes
But one thing she couldn’t do
Was encourage any one of you to do the same.
If the only person’s spirituality that you had to be concerned about was your own, then there would be no need to assemble, but it isn’t.
You are also charged to “stimulate” your brother
“to love and good deeds.”
AND HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO DO THAT AT HOME ON YOUR COUCH?
I fully realize that there are times in your life when things are going good.
• Your relationships are at peace
• Your marriage is great
• You’re learning from the word in your private devotions
• And flowers are blooming and birds are singing
And it may be that you just don’t feel like you need church all that much
And so you wake up on Sunday and decide not to go.
And you may even have a great Sunday.
(Now first off you’ve disobeyed the call for corporate praise)
But let me tell you what else you didn’t realize.
While your life was great there was a man whose life wasn’t great.
• His finances are shot, and he doesn’t know what to do
• He has a loved one who is sick and he’s worried about them
• And he works with a man who challenges Christianity at every turn and he
doesn’t know how to confront him.
That man woke up this morning and came to church
Because he was in desperate need of something.
He needed help, he needed encouragement, he needed answers
He needed you
But you didn’t come because your life is fine.
Or there is that sister across town, who has been pretty faithful to come to church, but she is living in sin.
• She comes out of habit, but she wears her iniquity in public.
• She needs to be confronted
• She needs to be corrected
• She needs to be spurred on
But you didn’t come and so she didn’t receive it
Beyond that, think about the Sunday School teacher who spend a week preparing a lesson, volunteering his or her time, wrestling with the hard truths of Scripture, giving of themselves to give the word to you.
And then you didn’t come,
And now they wonder if it is really worth the effort.
If you’re wife keeps cooking meals that you keep skipping how long do you think it will be before you start getting a steady diet of hot dogs and tuna fish?
DO YOU GET MY POINT?
You need to be in church because your brothers and sisters in Christ are there and they need your encouragement.
They need what only you can supply.
• That sinning brother needs to be confronted
• Euodia and Syntyche need to be told to get along
• The Thessalonians need to know they haven’t missed the day of the Lord
• The Corinthians need to be shown that the resurrection is real
• Those tax collectors who wandered in need to feel loved
• That widow struggling with debts needs to be supported
And you can’t do that if you get in the habit of coming.
And so at this point I hope you are getting a reoccurring theme.
• You don’t gather here for just for you.
• You gather for the glory of God
• You gather for the encouragement of your brother
You have a Brother to Encourage You have a Church to Attend
#3 YOU HAVE A LORD TO MEET
Hebrews 10:25b
“and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
When I say “You have a Lord to meet” I don’t mean that you meet Him here in worship, although hopefully you do.
What I mean is that someday He will return
And you will answer for how you lived,
And for how you encouraged your brother.
The day of the Lord is nearer now than it has ever been,
And what a tragedy for Christ to return and find
That your brother was in disarray and you weren’t doing anything about it.
Christ is returning and we are accountable for our brother,
And since with every second His return draws nearer,
We should continually make our brother a greater priority.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”
And that explains why Paul took such an interest in their lives.
It mattered to Him how they looked when they met Christ.
That is the mindset we should all have for one another.
It’s not just a concern for personal holiness,
But a concern for corporate holiness.
We certainly want to walk in “love and good deeds”
But we also must “consider how to stimulate one another” as well.
You’ll never do that if you forsake “our own assembling together”,
Because that is one of the main reasons we gather.
And let me take this one step further this morning.
If we gather to praise, but you don’t praise did you fulfill your purpose in assembling? No
And so if we gather to stimulate one another and encourage one another, but you don’t do that, did you fulfill your purpose in assembling? No
It’s not enough just to come
You come for a purpose
You come for EXALTATION
To Praise God for excellencies
You come for EXHORTATION
To encourage your brother to be all that Christ intends for him to be
That is our purpose in assembling together
SO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
• Do it by your example, live the life others can follow
• Do it by your words
• Confront the sinner
• Comfort the hurting
• Spur on the lazy
• Build up the weak
• Do it even by your discipline
But make sure when you come to this place you don’t leave
Until you have encouraged someone else “to love and good deeds”
For when Christ returns that is what that will matter.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”
