Transcript

Well, let’s grab our Bibles and let’s go back to Hebrews. This will be the third installment as we are looking on these verses that, um, exhort us about the assembling of the saints together, how essential and foundational that is, and we’re talking about the local church. There are a lot of ways you can assemble with believers in a lot of places and a lot of good in that, but nothing takes the place of God’s ordained structure of local churches.

So as Paul is writing I believe it’s the Apostle Paul, we don’t know for sure, but as Paul is writing to the Hebrew church, he’s dealing with a good percentage of folks who probably are not believers though they’ve kinda joined in with the believers, and he’s dealing with a percentage of folks who believers are not, are tempted and many have already left the church meetings and gone back to the synagogue to, ah, embrace the law of Moses. Now I’m sure if you polled them and asked them, “Well, what are you doing,” they’d say, “Now we still hold to Jesus. Ah, we believe He’s, He’s God’s Messiah but we, we think we’re gonna hold to Him and not give up our traditions of the past. That’s so ingrained in us, we were raised that way so we want to hold to the moral law of Moses,” of course, we always do that but then they would add, “we’re gonna add the ceremonial laws and the ritual system, the sacrifices, etc.” Well, in Jesus Christ everything under Moses’ spiritual or religious economy has been made obsolete the Bible tells us. You can’t connect Jesus to anything and keep Jesus.

So all through Hebrews the writer is showing them, exhorting them, teaching them, commanding them that Christ and salvation by grace through faith and the new assembly called local churches is all that matters. The rest of it was a foreshadowing, a foundation, and now the real has come. So now we’re dealing in verses 24 and 25 of Hebrews 10 with those who were not being faithful like they should be so there’s a real truth for us here today. Now I don’t know of anyone, well, I do know of one actually, I do know of one person who left our church to go back to the law of Moses. Of course, I don’t know that he went back to the law, he just read something and decided he had to embrace the law. These folks, um, ah, were leaving and going back to the law of Moses and, um, that can’t help you. So but nobody is doing that today particularly but a lot of people are leaving sound churches where the Gospel is preached, where the elders are striving to be, ah, build biblically spiritually healthy churches to go embrace something else and they’ll say, “Now I’m taking Jesus. I still love Jesus but I’m going to this different kind of thing, this different kind of style of church.” Well, I don’t know that sometimes that’s just not a type, maybe that’s the best way to say it, a type of apostasy, a falling away from the real to embrace something that’s not sound at all but maintaining you’re taking Jesus with you as these folks would.

Well, real quick running review. In verse 24 he says,

24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

We’ve see that already. I called that agape factor. That was the first message. And the word “consider” there, the best illustration I can think of is, is like I told you before, it’s pointing your rifle but having your scope focused in. When you come to church, you’re to be focused toward the people of God, you’re to point your life, “I want to serve those people, I want to minister to those people, and I want to be focused in on what is the need of that brother or sister spiritually speaking?” In my, now for us it’d be in a small group. Matter of fact, for any church if you’re gonna be effective in living out a verse like this, you’ve gotta have a small group structure so that you get to know each other, you can learn each other, you can pray for each other, be transparent to each other etc.

“Let us consider.” Be focused. Be aimed at the right people and get in focus on what their need is and be, be purposing to meet that need, that spiritual need. Now he says, “to stimulate one another.” The word “stimulate” comes from some root words. I have a couple of ideas. One of the root words is “to prod or to poke,” and so it’s almost like a, a goading an oxen with a sharp stick to get him to go on. Ah, another, ah, root word is the word “vinegar,” where you splash some vinegar on them and vinegar gets a response and, um, he says that’s part of what we’re coming to church to do, to get focused in on what brother or sister can I help to go on for God, to get back on track better for God.

I, how many of us really come to church with that kind of attitude? Now be careful, we’re not all John the Baptist prophets. There’s a kind and gracious way to do this and even though we’re meeting in assemblies, most of this, I would say the great majority of this kind of stimulating should be done with, in private and in, in humility and with meekness. Nevertheless, that should be our heart attitude about coming together.

And then he says, um, “to stimulate one another to love,” and that’s that Greek word “agape.” Agape, I think it’s more than love though love so permeates the totality of what agape is, it can be called agape love. Agape is God in you. Agape is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. In other words, I think what the writer is saying here: we’re very prone as Christians to fall into the kind of common grace love that all mankind has. I love my buddies because we all fish together. I love the guys on my team because we’re, we’re all cooperating together for this common goal. That’s not wrong but that’s not agape, that’s phileo. That’s another Greek word that’s translated “love.” But agape is that thing that only the children of God have in common. We’ve all been born again, there’s been a new birth in us, there’s a new dwelling, indwelling presence, and that is the presence of God himself and so we want to stir one another to walk in God and to live out the kind of agape love that is unique only to us.

Well, one of the overwhelming unique characteristics of agape is it, it gives me a special love for other believers. We love all mankind but there’s a special unique bond, desire for, care for, ministry to those others who have been born again like I have been. So you might say, “Well, pastor, you’re saying we’re supposed to give preference?” Absolutely. That’s what the Bible teaches. We’re to do good unto all men the Bible says but especially those of the household of the faith. So we want to come together everywhere to stir up one another to get about the task of God, the purposes of God, the plans of God, the mission of God, the agape that’s in all of us because in this world we drift back and we get back into just the common graces of fellowships and, “Oh, that’s sweet and I enjoy these guys and that.” That’s not all bad but we constantly need to be stimulated to walk in the flow of agape.

Well, now we come to verse 25 and I call this “Motivations for Faithfulness,” and we begin in verse 25,

25 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.

Not forsaking. The word “forsaking” there means “a total falling away.” It’s not missing church but be careful that you think you can miss church and not violate the truth of this text. A habit of missing church is the beginning of forsaking church. Nobody starts missing saying, “I’m going to forsake.” But many who start missing end up forsaking. So we don’t want to get there. Not forsaking. Again, in this context a lot of these folks were drifting back off into the Mosaic economy and therefore putting in, in behind them the assembly of God’s church and the centeredness on Christ and Christ alone for their salvation.

Now, I., this is review. We talked about the fact that we have a sacred oneness. He says don’t forsake our own assembly. Brothers and sisters, there is a radical, glorious uniqueness to Christians who come together in a local church. There is a sacredness, a sanctity to it that no other organization, group or collectivity has. Literally God’s people who are indwelt by God, who are meant to be together for God and for their own good. It’s our, it’s a sacred oneness. We said a lot about this but there are a lot of good things you can be a part of.

But notice now, go back to verse 24, you might say, “Well, I don’t always feel that sacredness. I don’t always have this excitement about the specialness of the local church.” That’s why you need to come to church and stimulate one another unto agape, to get that stirred back up afresh. I don’t have much of a congregation here but all four or five of these folks here, they all leak like I leak. We’ve gotta get back together and get back on track with agape and that special, devoted, sacred oneness and love we are to have stirred up one for another. And by the way, by God’s grace and I don’t, that’s not just a phrase, I mean by God’s grace and certainly for his glory I see a lot of agape fellowship in Grace Life Church. But you know what? We need to keep stimulating one another to keep on going and we’re gonna find out a little bit more why in a moment.

Okay, II., review. Use the forsaker’s folly to stir your own faithfulness. He says, “Do not forsake your own assembling together,” here it is, “as is the habit of some.” Use their bad example as a warning to yourself, a caution to yourself, a reminder to yourself that I, too, could be one who falls away and I don’t want that to happen. So I wanna, when I hear of and when I see others, oh, they’ve left our church, don’t, don’t make it, never start with the notion, “Oh, what’s wrong with us?” No, no, no, no, turn back around and start with the notion, “What’s wrong with them and I don’t wanna go there.” Now I’m not saying you’re saying what’s wrong with them in some sort of arrogant condemning posture. I mean, and, and, unless there’s glaring biblical compromise and failure in your church, those who fall away should be looked upon as having a weakness or a problem, not those who are trying to be faithful.

Well, III., this is new material. We have a divine interdependency, a God-ordained, you might say, interdependency. We all have to have each other. What did the Apostle Paul in Corinthians where he talks about the eye can’t say he’s more important than the finger, or and he goes all through the body parts and they all have to have one another, even the lesser members become as valuable. I think he even says more valuable than the, the ones we give greater esteem to. All members of the body have this God-ordained interdependency, this mutual reliance. In Christianity it’s absolutely and always true no man is an island. God has ordained you to be in a local church congregation because we are saved to need each other, we are saved to serve each other, matter of fact, in God’s great glory of his purposes, he didn’t just save you, he saved you to be with other Christians. It’s much like the husband and wife relationship. There is an incompletion until a man’s with a woman, then the whole is there, then the image of God is really seen as it needs to be seen.

Well, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you’re not whole without a stout, whole-hearted immersion and commitment to a local church. You say, “Pastor, we can’t even meet right now.” Yeah, but I want to stir you up for when we can and that’s what this truth, these truths, rather this text is doing for us. But encourage one another he says in verse 25. Don’t forsake it but encourage. This refers to an inciting to duty. It, not just inciting anyone, now in a general sense when we see brothers and sisters in Christ that we work with at the factory or in the office or run into them at school, yeah, we ought to try always to encourage one another but God’s not holding you accountable to be inciting to faithfulness every Christian you know in your neighborhood or in your work environment. That’s just too much but he is holding you accountable to be inciting one another in your local church. Now in Grace Life Church, that’s your small group primarily. You can do that. That’s 5,8 12, 15, 20 people. But we can’t just throw you out in the world, “Okay now, incite everybody you know to be faithful to God.” God’s not holding you accountable to that and that’s not the way he’s ordained things to function.

So instead of forsaking, the contrast here is meet together and motivate each other, encourage one another. The King James uses the word “exhort one another.” It literally means call upon another and stir him to duty. William Goe, the Puritan in his excellent commentary on Hebrews says, quote, “In reference to spiritual duties, we are dull and heavy and need both exhortation and incitation.” We need that. That’s what you need. Look, if you want a church or, or a so-called church, when you come and attend and it’s just comfortable, it’s just easy, it’s enjoyable, there’s some warm thoughts about Jesus and you go home and that’s about it, I’m gonna tell you what, you don’t want church, you want just a kind of a religious hangout club. That’s not church. Church is where men learn to help one another go on for God and ladies learn to help one another to go on for God, and all of us help, ah, our children together to go on for God, or find God if they’re not yet saved.

Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works, not forsaking your own assembly together, here it is, and encouraging one another. That’s what we’re working on now. The disciples are a good example for us of those who needed inciting and encouraging to stay the course. Remember it wasn’t just a few days ago that the disciples fell asleep and when he was in great agony of soul in Gethsemane praying before he went to the cross. Now these are, I think, good men of God but like us they needed the regular encouraging and inciting the faithfulness. Did not the Lord tell them and is not the Lord telling us this morning, “You are but flesh”? I remember the Psalmist in one of the Psalms says God remembers that we are but flesh. Thank God he does. But then God might back up and say, “But wait a minute now, I, I did say I remember that you’re but flesh but I gave you local churches, I gave you a way to get together to keep this thing going that you wouldn’t get too weak on Me and get too lazy on Me, get too, ah, ah, inactive on Me in serving Me.”

So we need these exhortations to remain faithful and excel all the more, even the most faithful need these. Ah, I miss you because I feed off of you. When I preach to you, you strengthen me to go on for God and God’s ordained that the preacher is used of God to strengthen you to go on for God, but it’s an interdependency, it’s a divinely ordained one, and then we have to have that for each other. Couple of verses that show how this is so consistent throughout New Testament teaching. 1 Thessalonians 4:1, ” Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk),” he says you’re doing good, “that you excel still more.” That’s it. Incite. Just do more. Keep going on for God. 1 Thessalonians 4:10, “for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more.” We need to be encouraged and incited to keep on keeping on. We have a God-ordained, a divine interdependency. We have to have each other to do this ministry one to another.

Now the fourth thing here in our text: realize the Lord’s coming is soon. Realize the Lord’s coming is soon. This is interesting here. He says in verse 25, I want you to, let’s just flow it through again starting in verse 24, “let us consider,” aim at the local church, that’s where your heart and energy should be aimed and get in focus how you can help that brother or sister go on for God, “stimulate,” goad or throw, splash some vinegar on every now and then, “one another,” not just anybody in the society who claims to be a Christian but primarily your local church, the one another local church, “to love and good deeds,” that’s the agape factor, we talked about that, verse 25, “not forsaking our own assembling together, some are in the habit of doing that, but encouraging one another,” and here’s the phrase, “and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” The day drawing near.

You might say, “Pastor, it’s been 2,000 years since Jesus ascended back into heaven. Why should we be overly concerned? Why? How should this be a challenge? How should this be a stirring?” Oh, but we should be greatly concerned because the day of the Lord’s coming is closer than almost any of you right now think it is. You, you, you need to be stirred afresh to a holy, joyous trembling at the Lord’s coming soon.

I found this in Goe’s commentary. There are 6+ days of God’s governance over the world that have already come and gone. Day here symbolically referring to an epoch of time. There is epochs of time, six distinct ones God’s already passed the world through and there’s only one day left. Day 1, the first epoch of time was from Adam to Noah where God’s covenant of grace was first made to man. Day 2 was Noah to Abraham where God’s covenant was revealed. Day 3 was Abraham to David, the covenant was promised in the seed of Abraham. Day 4 was David to the captivity of Israel, the covenant was established in the royal line. Day 5 from captivity to the birth of Christ where the covenant through Christ was formally established. Day 6, the last epoch of time before this last one, day 6 from Christ’s birth to the end of the church age. Now listen, we’re already 2,000 years in to the last epoch before he returns. The last days began when Jesus came to the earth. The last days began when the church age began 2,000 years ago. We’re th th right at the back end of the last day before the 7 day and the 7 day is the eternal state when Jesus returns. I think what the writer is saying you read that and you think, “Well, the Bible, biblical writers thought he was coming the next couple of months and that’s why they said that. Well, we know that’s kinda not true.” No, what they mean is we are in the last of the last of what God’s doing. God has no other agenda on earth but to come again and establish his kingdom in the earth. That’s the last thing that’s left and we’re already 2,000 years closer than we were. Day 1 is gone. Day 2 is gone. Day 3 is gone. Day 4 is gone. Day 5 is gone. We’re 2,000 years into day 6 and day 7 is when he returns.

What’s my point? Well, the point of the text is my point, that is be about being faithful to God’s church and the work of God’s church because it’s close. Maybe this Covid19 pandemic we’re in is God sending a little wake-up shaking like the disciples sleeping in the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus says, “Wake up, boys. Can you not stay awake and pray? Don’t you know something significant’s about to happen?” They didn’t get it. They didn’t know what was coming. Jesus knew.

This is why the Lord could say in Luke 21:28 “your redemption is drawing nigh.” James 5:8, “the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5, “the Lord is near.” 1 Peter 4:7, “the end of all things is at hand.” Revelation 1:3, “Behold, I come quickly.” So we should behave as if it’s the early morning hours just before the dawn of the new and final day when he returns.

Romans 8:19 reminds us, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” Now when are the sons of God gonna be revealed? When he returns on the final day and the eternal state is set up. How much , one Bible translation says the creation groans for that day when the curse is lifted. See, the curse of sin has affected all of creation and it groans for that day because when the sons of God are glorified, the, there’s a new heaven and new earth and the worlds are all glorified. What groaning they must be doing at this point.

Now I’ll not much more than read these so don’t get anxious on me. Ten conclusions for practical application about being faithful to the assembly.

1. Learn what a true church looks like. Learn what a true church looks like. Ephesians 4:14 says we’re no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. Don’t be chasing this and chasing that. Find out what a true church is. Look, it doesn’t matter if it fits you, it doesn’t matter if it cranks your tractor, it doesn’t matter if it blesses you, does it fit God? You find a church that fits God and you learn to be happy in it. Make sure they have a sound confession of faith. Make sure they have a sound understanding of evangelism and conversion. Make sure they have a true membership roll. Make sure they’re committed to every member ministry through small groups. Make sure they have an expository pulpit. Make sure there’s an evidence of spiritual power. Here’s what I mean by that, are they, are they looking primarily to events and gimmicks, creativity? Are they looking to God using his word to th change men’s lives? Now look, I’m in my 40 year, just starting it today here, so not every church has had the time to get this done but if your pastor’s got a heart to do these things and build a true church, then you dive in and be his most faithful encourager and supporter. Learn what a true church looks like.

2. Make a resolution to be faithful. 2 Timothy 1:9 says he saved us and called us with a holy calling. Your calling to serve God and that includes, of course, that is foundationally a calling to serve him in a local church. Make a resolution to be faithful.

Thirdly, guard your heart against pride. Guard your heart against pride. The Bible says in Romans 11:20, quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited but fear. You have a little cockiness, you have a little raised up confidence that, “I think I can do it this way. I think this.” And all this kind of stuff? Look, pride goeth before the fall. Bloom where you’re planted. Find a place to serve and say, “Sign me up. I’ll do what needs to be done.”

Set specific parameters for your attendance. We used to tell folks, “Man, you ought not to miss eight times if you’re in leadership. Don’t miss anymore than eight times.” Now we were not legalistic, we just challenged folks try to not miss. Have you done that for you and your family? You know, we’re just gonna decide we’re not just gonna let this thing just happen. You don’t do that in anything else in your life that’s important so I’m just gonna decide I’m not gonna miss more than this right here. Now things could happen, a child could get sick, we all know that. Set a parameter for your attendance. I’m not gonna go beyond this. Mark 7:15 says beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing. You’ve gotta understand there’s a lot of folks working out there to pull you away and they’re not solid men to follow or sometimes women to follow.

6. I’m sorry, I should have said Mark false teachers is number 5. Did I miss that? Yeah. Mark false false teachers. That’s what I was talking about, those who would try to pull you away.

Now 6, deny your tickling ears and here’s the reality, hopefully you’ve matured to where your tickling ears don’t affect you much but we all have some degree of tickling ears. We all have some degree of, “I’d kinda like to go where it’s a little more fun. I’d kinda like to belong to a church where it’s not this accountability.” It’s kinda, you know, we all have that tendency. It’s just a part of being fallen and fleshly. 2 Timothy 4:3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but wanting to have their ears tickled or furnished with the latest fad these scholars tell us, you could amplify that out, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires. Deny tickling ears. Make a commitment to what’s true and right and be faithful there.

7. Hold back on the reins of lust. Faith falters when the conscience is hardened. When you give in to lust and you’re not in the battle, you get more hardened, you get more and then the word of God doesn’t penetrate as well, the word of God doesn’t bless you as well. The people of God are not the pleasure and the joy they should be and you get harder and harder. Hold back on the reins of… Be a faithful fighting repenter. You see, if you’re not fighting lust, it’s not because you don’t have any lust it’s because you’ve stopped fighting. You’re not, you’re not done yet, you just stopped fighting. Don’t stop fighting. Fight for truth. Fight for God. Fight for the local church. Fight for what’s right. Fight. Fight. Fight. Don’t quit. You know why we can’t quit? Because we’re not home yet. We’re in enemy territory. We gonna fight until we get home for what’s right and what’s true, what’s ordained of God, i.e. the local church. 1 Timothy 1:19, keeping faith and a good conscience which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Don’t let lust, things of the world, sexual lust, whatever it may be, don’t let those lusts reign in your heart and harden your heart and damage your conscience because it will shipwreck your faith in Jesus Christ.

8. Focus on the good in the church. Now that’s understanding that you’ve already discerned that I’m in a church where the elders are striving to build a true, spiritually, biblically, healthy church. Alright, that’s done, then there will always be a million and one things you can pick out and say, “Well, that ain’t just right and this ain’t just right and I don’t like this.” Well, sure, we can all do that. I’ve got news for you, I don’t like me. I’m the pastor, the preaching pastor. I don’t like me but I can tell you that I am striving to be a humbled repenter and God has to humble me. By the way, God knows how to humble his preacher. God knows how to humble his preacher. You get on your knees and say, “God, keep that preacher right and I’m gonna be faithful,” and you watch and see if he don’t keep that preacher right. Never be perfect. God knows how to take care of us. But focus on the good in the church. The Pharisees the Bible says sought for something to accuse Jesus. Don’t be like a Pharisee. Don’t look for something. The seeds of a critical spirit can grow into a crop of apostasy. How many people have fallen away and it’s just because they, they in their OCD complex they couldn’t get over picking just all this stuff as if they themselves had arrived.

9. Pray that the church will prosper. Do you do that? Pray that the church will prosper. Look, now, hold it now, do you do that? Do you do that? Well, I pray for. No, no, do you pray for the church? You know my prayer for the church is that we would be a true church that God might use as a model for others all for the glory of God. Now I’m gonna tell you something, when I first began to pray that, my heart wasn’t necessarily stirred about it. It wasn’t necessarily the passion of my heart, I just knew the Bible taught it, but as I prayed it through the years, it’s become the passion of my heart. You, your heart, your heart becomes changed, becomes molded to what you’re praying toward and for. You pray toward truth and then God changes your heart to align with truth. Pray that the church will prosper.

And then lastly, 10, pray specifically that God would hold you faithful. Acknowledge your weakness and be thankful that he’s allowing you to see the truth, in this context the truth of his work, his purposes in the local church.

So let’s all renew ourselves afresh and anew as we complete the unpacking of these two verses to honor what God honors, to put first what God puts first, to be committed to what God’s committed to. You know what? Our God is a local church God. That’s what th th he’s all about. He’s all about it until that last day. We’re in the end of the 6 day, the 7 day is coming, on that day we’ll be one glorious universal church, but even in that setting he says the apostles are gonna sit on the thrones so there might be some segmented organization to that. So let’s be about what God’s about. Let’s be committed to what God’s committed to. Let’s be faithful to what God’s gonna be faithful to take care of, his church for his glory.